When the Minnesota Vikings hired Mike Zimmer, it was Rick Spielman’s last chance to find a head coach*. However, he found a long-term solution in the fiery defensive coordinator from Cincinnati.
Their relationship worked beautifully in the early years, and the 2015 draft class was a big reason. By finding Eric Kendricks, Danielle Hunter, and Stefon Diggs, Spielman presented Zimmer with a treasure chest full of talent that he took to the NFC Championship game in 2017.
But as much as the 2015 class was responsible for their success, it also attributed to their demise.
Spielman believed that he could find talent anywhere in the draft and began trading down to accumulate more picks. The Vikings made 41 Day 3 selections between the 2016 and 2020 drafts. Only five (Kris Boyd, Oli Udoh, Armon Watts, K.J. Osborn, and D.J. Wonnum) remain on the team.
A hit rate below 10% didn’t scare Spielman off — he traded down from the 14th-overall pick in 2021. While the trade with the New York Jets helped the Vikings get Christian Darrisaw, it also netted them two third-round selections, giving them four in that year’s draft. In Spielman’s eyes, those picks allowed him to hit the sweet spot of the draft. He selected a promising quarterback in Kellen Mond, an athletic linebacker in Chazz Surratt, a blue-chip guard in Wyatt Davis, and a moldable pass-rusher in Patrick Jones.
But this was a major problem in Zimmer’s eyes. His defense was crumbling, and he needed plug-and-play talent to fix it. Instead of trying to develop what he had, Zimmer kept the four picks on the sideline, and the Vikings missed the playoffs for the second-straight year.
The Vikings fired Zimmer and Spielman after the season, and Kevin O’Connell‘s staff was left to inherit a group we’ll call “The Spielman Four.” If O’Connell and his staff could develop this talent, Spielman would have had some level of vindication, but that’s not how it played out this preseason.
The new regime allowed Surratt to contribute, but he was too raw to make it in the NFL. The former quarterback from North Carolina became a heat-seeking linebacker, totaling 115 tackles in his first season playing the position with the Tar Heels. At 6’2″, 229 lbs., Surratt has a similar build to 2022 third-round pick Brian Asamoah 6’0″, 227 lbs.), but he didn’t have the instincts.
Although he was held out of the team’s final preseason game, it was due to injury. That means Surratt’s time in Minnesota has likely come to an end.
The same can be said for Davis. At 6’3″, 315 lbs., he was the bigger lineman that Zimmer had instructed the scouting staff to find. But after showing up to minicamp overweight, Davis never saw the field again, playing behind Udoh, who was a converted offensive tackle, Mason Cole, and Blake Brandel.
Zimmer’s old-school ways made it easy to assume this was tough love, but Davis never clicked with O’Connell’s staff. He played only 27 snaps this preseason and didn’t look anywhere near the player who was projected as a first-round pick during his junior season at Ohio State. The Vikings used a second-round selection on Ed Ingram, so Davis is another odd man out.
Davis will go down as one of the biggest busts of the Spielman era, but it’s not as devastating as the whiff on Mond.
Taking quarterbacks in the third round of the draft is a bold bet. Of the 73 signal callers taken in the third round or later in the past 10 years, only Dak Prescott, Russell Wilson, and Kirk Cousins have become regular NFL starters. Mond’s resumé at Texas A&M gave Spielman hope that he could buck the trend. But after three chaotic plays in Green Bay, Zimmer shoveled more dirt on his grave.
Zimmer’s dismissal in January gave Mond a second chance. He fully recovered from a bout with COVID that had caused him to lose 10 lbs. He was freed from a head coach who only cared about defense. Mond was paired with a new coach who vowed to get the most out of his young players. Everything was there for Mond to be successful…and he failed.
Mond showed promise in the first preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders but became unglued over the following weeks. His passes lacked velocity, and his decision-making was three steps behind in a league where you need to be a step ahead. He couldn’t even beat out Sean Mannion, who is probably more of an assistant coach than a legitimate quarterback at this point.
O’Connell has said all the right things about Mond, but his actions spoke louder than words. The Vikings moved to trade for Nick Mullens late in the preseason, and Mond floundered in the second half of Saturday’s preseason finale against the Denver Broncos.
With three of “The Spielman Four” placed on the chopping block, Jones appears to be the only one who escaped. He recorded four pressures on 26 snaps in Minnesota’s preseason opener against the Raiders and followed it up with two more against the San Francisco 49ers.
The Vikings’ lack of depth on the edge makes Jones’ development critical to their success, but it’s not enough to save the 2021 draft class.
That’s not to say that Spielman’s final draft was devoid of talent. The Vikings found a franchise left tackle in Darrisaw and a solid safety in Cam Bynum. With Kene Nwangwu making his mark as a kick returner, Spielman was at least able to add something to the roster. But the third round was where Spielman was supposed to work his magic. If Davis turned out to be a pillar of the offensive line or Mond turns out to be an intriguing young prospect, the Vikings are in a much better place than where they are now.
Instead, the Vikings are left saying something that could be a refrain in O’Connell’s first season: Mike Zimmer was right.
*An earlier version of this article said that Spielman hired Brad Childress. We regret the error.
