Top five biggest Vikings draft busts.

[Purple bruise]

How about Josh Freeman, oh wait a minute, your topic is Viking Draft busts So I guess the Vikings would have to have drafted that player, right

[Purple bruise]

Nope! I have no rules,

Chris Cook would be pretty high on my list.

[mansquatch]

There are far greater candidates for bust than Ponder. He is just high on everyone's list because he plays QB and he is recent in everyone's mind.

Some examples:

Dimitrius Underwood - Never played a snap, 1st round pick
The infamous duo of 2005: Troy Williamson and Erasmus James, both 1st rounders, very little on-field time
Tyrell Johnson: 2nd round pick, terrible
Chris Cook makes the grade given his fantastic INT percentage. (BARF)


To be honest I'm not sure T Jack or Ponder would make my top 5 or even my top 10. Neither of them are great players, but Jackson is still a backup in the NFL and Ponder probably will be for awhile as well. Ponder helped get this team into the playoffs in 2012. He is never going to be Joe Montana, but he isn't Ryan Leaf either. So a bad pick, yes, but a top 5 bust, I don't think so.

[Mothman]

There are far greater candidates for bust than Ponder. He is just high on everyone's list because he plays QB and he is recent in everyone's mind.

Some examples:

Dimitrius Underwood - Never played a snap, 1st round pick
The infamous duo of 2005: Troy Williamson and Erasmus James, both 1st rounders, very little on-field time
Tyrell Johnson: 2nd round pick, terrible
Chris Cook makes the grade given his fantastic INT percentage. (BARF)

To be honest I'm not sure T Jack or Ponder would make my top 5 or even my top 10. Neither of them are great players, but Jackson is still a backup in the NFL and Ponder probably will be for awhile as well. Ponder helped get this team into the playoffs in 2012. He is never going to be Joe Montana, but he isn't Ryan Leaf either. So a bad pick, yes, but a top 5 bust, I don't think so.

I agree. Ponder's been a disappointment but he doesn't rank as one of the top 5 draft busts in Vikings history.

Consider one of the players Jeff mentioned: RB Leo Hayden. he was the Vikings first round pick in 1971 and his NFL career amounted to 8 carries for 11 yards, 1 TD and a 17 yard reception.

Then there's another RB, D. J. Dozer, selected with the 14th pick in the '87 draft. He never came close to delivering on the promise he showed as a college player.

James Manley, an LB the Vikes selected in R2 of the '96 draft never even played in a regular season game! That's a real bust.

[Eli]

The trouble with the 12th pick out of FSU is that 1) they needed a QB so desperately, and 2) they put a lot of faith in him and wasted nearly three entire seasons figuring out just how bad he is. That makes him a pretty major bust. Other busts were often throwaways. So what if a 1st round running back is a dud? It doesn't derail a team for three years. So what if Underwood never played a down? It didn't set the team back at all.

[Mothman]

The trouble with the 12th pick out of FSU is that 1) they needed a QB so desperately, and 2) they put a lot of faith in him and wasted nearly three entire seasons figuring out just how bad he is. That makes him a pretty major bust. Other busts were often throwaways. So what if a 1st round running back is a dud? It doesn't derail a team for three years. So what if Underwood never played a down? It didn't set the team back at all.

LOL! You can't be serious. A first round bust represents a wasted opportunity, which is why it's bad to draft a bust, no? The Vikes spent their first round pick in '71 on Leo Hayden. They could have drafted Jack Ham or everyone's favorite broadcaster and HOF guard, Dan Dierdorf.

The Underwood pick set them back because they got nothing in return for a pick that could have landed them a starter. Atlanta chose DE Patrick Kerney one pick later. He played for a decade and had 82.5 career sacks, as opposed to the goose egg the Vikes got from Underwood. Missing out on a DE who can produce for your team for a decade isn't a setbacK?

We can all debate how to define a bust or a wasted season but even if you consider the "12th pick out of FSU" a pretty major bust, when compared to first and second round picks spent on players who never even played a meaningful down for the team, or to a first round RB who only managed to touch the ball 9 times, it's clear there are far bigger busts in team history.

[Cliff]

It doesn't derail a team for three years. So what if Underwood never played a down? It didn't set the team back at all.

That's a bit of an exaggeration, isn't it? lol

So if you're not picking a QB in the first round, it doesn't matter if you waste the pick because it "won't set the team back at all" to throw a 1st round pick away on any other position?

[Purple bruise]

That's a bit of an exaggeration, isn't it? lol

So if you're not picking a QB in the first round, it doesn't matter if you waste the pick because it "won't set the team back at all" to throw a 1st round pick away on any other position?

Yeah put all the blame on Ponder Any average QB would would have done great especially with that terrific defense and coaching.

[jackal]

Yeah put all the blame on Ponder Any average QB would would have done great especially with that terrific defense and coaching.

I agree he was not helped much by the coaching and the defense but he seemed like a little cry baby when he he lost his job
and i seriously doubt he had ten percent of Tom Brady or Manning's work ethic or tenacity..

[Purple bruise]

I agree he was not helped much by the coaching and the defense but he seemed like a little cry baby when he he lost his job
and i seriously doubt he had ten percent of Tom Brady or Manning's work ethic or tenacity..

Ponder never uttered a word about being benched (would love to see your source about that and him being a "cry baby"). In fact he remained upbeat and is to this day looking forward to the new staff and the opprotunity/challenge to compete for the job.

[Lash Man]

My top five 1. Underwood , there is no bigger bust than a player that is drafted in the first round ( against his own college coaches advice ) and never takes the field .
2. Darren Nelson not because he was awful but because we chose him over Marcus Allen grrr.
3. Troy Williamson just a brutal pair of hands and terrible eye hand coordination, although the dude could get wide open at will .
4. Dwayne Rudd I just expected him to rip it up and he was barely average .
5. forget the guys name sorry but the Defensive lineman from Wisconsin that was a bust about 5 years ago ? sorry old age

[Mothman]

My top five 1. Underwood , there is no bigger bust than a player that is drafted in the first round ( against his own college coaches advice ) and never takes the field .
2. Darren Nelson not because he was awful but because we chose him over Marcus Allen grrr.
3. Troy Williamson just a brutal pair of hands and terrible eye hand coordination, although the dude could get wide open at will .
4. Dwayne Rudd I just expected him to rip it up and he was barely average .
5. forget the guys name sorry but the Defensive lineman from Wisconsin that was a bust about 5 years ago ? sorry old age

Do you mean Erasmus James?

[VikingPaul73]

Duane Clemmons (man we NEEDED a DE at that point)

Raonall Smith (bust 2nd rd LB when we really needed a LB)

Dontairrous Thomas (another bust LB in the 2nd)

Basically the entire 2005 draft.... BRUTAL!!

Ryan Cook!!!!! Thanks Brad!

Darrin Nelson, Michael Bennett, Dwayne Rudd should not be on this list!!!!

[PurpleKoolaid]

Darrin Nelson's drop sucked, a horrible time to just completely screw up, but he wouldn't be called a bust. A lot of people never forgave him, and still haven't forgiven him, for that.

[Funkytown]

Darrin Nelson's drop sucked, a horrible time to just completely screw up, but he wouldn't be called a bust. A lot of people never forgave him, and still haven't forgiven him, for that.

This guy did:

For 20 years, one month and sixteen days I have laid the blame of that loss solely at the feet of Darrin Nelson. I am not alone. Most Vikings fans I know who watched that game blame Nelson as well.

But now I know I owe Darrin Nelson an apology. I’m sorry. I was wrong and I apologize.

http://twincitiesminnesotablog.com/2007 ... p-game/772