5 NFL Draft habits Rick Spielman needs to change in 2021

Too much trading down

Rick Spielman tends to get trade happy during the draft, and sometimes it pays off, but other times it doesn’t. The Vikings were wise to move down in the first round in last year’s draft. They already landed Justin Jefferson and knew they wanted a cornerback next. Knowing that they would see similar value at the position at 25 as they would a few slots down the board, they swung a deal with the 49ers and moved down to the 31st pick.

That was a smart choice, but Spielman tends to get too trade happy in the middle rounds. In the last couple of years, especially in the third round, Spielman gets nutty and swings deals just about every time the Vikings were on the clock. He did it in 2019, where he moved down multiple times in the third round until finally selecting Alexander Mattison with the last choice of day 2.

In 2020, Spielman took Cameron Dantzler with his first third-round choice but then moved out of the round completely after swinging a deal with the Saints. Spielman often prefers quantity over quality and this has bitten him in the backside a few times.

While Alexander Mattison has been a productive backup to Dalvin Cook, the team could’ve ended up with players like Nate Davis, Damien Harris, and Myles Boykin. Last season the team opted for multiple choices instead of taking an offensive lineman like John Simpson or Ben Bartch, who could’ve competed for a starting job. Sometimes Spielman gets too cute with his trades and it is to the detriment of his team.