Rick Spielman: Vikings Will Be “Active As Far As Trades” On Draft Day

Don’t you fret your pretty little heads Viking fans: Rick Spielman is all over this rebuilding stuff. As the GM told Paul Allen Thursday morning on KFAN, he is actively concocting his master scheme for getting the Vikings back on top of the NFC North. RoboGM told Allen, “I’m putting together a gameplan right now, who we want to sign, who we want to release, and who we might want to draft.” I’m picturing a dark, smoky room. Spielman in his shirt sleeves throwing back a shot of bourbon. A long-legged blonde with slightly disheveled hair is zipping up her dress. Smiling with satisfaction she goes in for a farewell kiss. Spielman grabs her in a rough embrace, pulling her close. Arching her back she…hold on a second, that’s Mad Men.

Sorry for that small lapse into fantasy. I’ve been watching too much TV lately. We were talking about Rick Spielman’s plan for fixing the Vikings. Naturally the GM is reticent to reveal many details of his plan, but he would give at least one hint concerning his draft day strategy. Spielman told Allen, “I would anticipate on draft day we will be very active as far as trades, and possibly accumulating picks.” And flight attendants. No that’s Mad Men again. What’s the matter with me today? I can’t focus on this stuff. Maybe it’s because nothing any GM says this time of year is worth a crap?

And what about this idea of the Vikings making trades and accumulating more picks anyway? We know they have lots of needs, so it makes sense that they’d want more picks. The question I have is, how much faith should we have in Spielman to use those picks wisely? I don’t need to remind you how spotty Spielman’s record is with later round selections. In fact, calling that record “spotty” is being kind. It’s actually been rather atrocious. Whether the Vikings make a success out of this draft won’t be a matter of them picking the right guy at the top or them swinging a bunch of deals, it will be all about those 3rd-through-7th round guys. That’s where Spielman has struggled. So, more picks is a nice idea, but you’ve got to turn those picks into solid players, not more Nate Tripletts and Chris DeGeares.

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