6 most disappointing Minnesota Vikings quarterbacks of all-time

Christian Ponder (2011 – 2014)

This shouldn’t be too hard to explain. Christian Ponder was the second-highest drafted quarterback in Vikings history behind Culpepper and he didn’t even come close to having the career in the NFL that Culpepper did.

Optimism seemed pretty high for Ponder when he first arrived to Minnesota, but the team and their fans quickly learned that his time in the league probably wasn’t going to last very long.

In his first full season as the Vikings starting quarterback in 2012, the team actually earned a spot in the playoffs. However, it had close to nothing one could get to do with the performance of Ponder. Without Adrian Peterson putting Minnesota on his back that year, who knows how disastrous that season could have turned out.

Ponder was given the starting job again in 2013 and to the surprise of very few, he struggled to do much of anything that resulted in the Vikings winning. He was eventually replaced by Matt Cassel, who really didn’t do a whole lot better.

Ponder’s last season in Minnesota came in 2014 when he was part of a quarterback group that included the guy who was supposed to replace him, Teddy Bridgewater. Once the Vikings made the decision to use another first-round draft selection on a quarterback, it was pretty clear that Ponder’s tenure in the Twin Cities was coming to a close.

For whatever reason, Minnesota felt the former Florida State passer was worth a first-round pick. But it didn’t take long for most to realize that Ponder was severely over-drafted.