Five Minnesota Vikings draft picks everyone probably forgot about

Erasmus James, DE – 2005

Many of Minnesota’s fans may remember how bad the team’s selection of wide receiver Troy Williamson was in 2005, but some forget that the Vikings had another first-round pick that year too. The Vikings decided to use that selection on Wisconsin defensive end Erasmus James.

James was coming off a senior season at Wisconsin in 2004 where he was named an All-American and the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. So he was basically the second-coming of Carl Eller.

He did pretty decent during his rookie season, registering four sacks and 28 tackles in 15 games. But in the two years after, he only managed to play in a total of eight games for Minnesota thanks to his knees that could not find a way to stay healthy.

By the start of the 2008 regular season, both of the Vikings’ first-round selections from 2005 were no longer on the team’s roster.