5 NFL Draft habits Rick Spielman needs to change in 2021
By Nik Edlund
Not trading up enough
We often see slick Rick trade plenty on draft day. He’s always swinging deals and acquiring additional draft picks, but we rarely see him package those picks together and move up for a player. He has only done this a couple of times in recent memory. Spielman traded back into the first round in 2012 to land Harrison Smith. He did it again a few years later when he moved to the end of the first round to get quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.
These types of moves are bittersweet for draft lovers. It obviously takes a pick or two away from the team, making future rounds less exciting to watch. Still, it does give the team a player they covet and believe can help them out immediately or be groomed into a long-term fix at a given position.
We barely ever see Rick trade up in any round after the first. This guy loves to stock up on late-round picks and, as stated above, seems to believe in quantity over quality. That is something that Spielman needs to change for this April’s draft. If there is a player who the team definitely feels will fix a certain position, he shouldn’t be shy about moving up to get him.
A great situation for this would be in round 2 this year. The Vikings don’t have a second-round choice after dealing Yannick Ngakoue to the Jaguars. If they go defensive line in the first round, as many believe, and say a top-flight guard like Wyatt Davis is still available in the late 40 range, the Vikings should be making a phone call.
They have two third-round picks and three fourth-round choices. It should only take a few of those to slide up and get a guy who could potentially be a decade-long starter for the team.
Doing that would make those later rounds less fun, but landing that type of player instead of a handful of guys who are long shots to have an impact would be a welcomed change.