Which players drafted by the Minnesota Vikings since 2014 failed to live up to their expectations?
In less than two weeks, the Minnesota Vikings will get their first opportunity to make a selection in the 2021 NFL Draft.
This is typically an exciting time of the year, thanks to all of the thoughts about who the Vikings could potentially add in the draft. But it’s also a time where we are reminded of the number of bad draft selections Minnesota has made during their history.
Since Mike Zimmer was named the team’s head coach in 2014, the Vikings have made a bunch of great picks in the draft. Guys like Dalvin Cook, Justin Jefferson, Brian O’Neill, Eric Kendricks, Stefon Diggs, and Danielle Hunter are some of the most notable draft selections Minnesota has made since Zimmer was hired.
But the Vikings have also made plenty of whiffs during the draft since 2014. Some have just been terrible, while others have been more disappointing.
We won’t include Minnesota’s 2020 draft picks since it’s still a little too early to evaluate the success of these selections, but which picks made by the Vikings from 2014 to 2019 should be considered the most disappointing?
6. Teddy Bridgewater – QB
Drafted: First Round (2014)
When it comes to the selection of Teddy Bridgewater being regarded as a disappointment, it’s mostly due to the unfortunate, career-altering injury he suffered during his tenure with the Vikings.
Bridgewater was coming off a 2015 season in which he helped Minnesota make the playoffs and his development during the 2016 offseason appeared to be headed in a great direction. But then he suffered a freak leg injury just prior to the 2016 campaign and his career with the Vikings was never able to recover.
5. Mike Hughes – CB
Drafted: First Round (2018)
The disappointment with the selection of Mike Hughes is similar to Bridgewater in that the cornerback has just dealt with too many injuries in his short career to ever showcase why Minnesota used such a high draft pick on him.
Mike Zimmer raved about Hughes heading into his rookie season and he showed some flashes out on the field during his first few games with the Vikings. But then he suffered a torn ACL midway through his rookie year, and since then, it’s felt like he’s spent more time on the injury list than on the field during his time with Minnesota.
4. Pat Elflein – OL
Drafted: Third Round (2017)
After a promising rookie season in which Pat Elflein started 14 games, the Vikings thought they had found themselves a steal of a pick in the third round of the 2017 draft.
But then injuries stunted Elflein’s progression in 2018, which led to Minnesota drafting a replacement for him at center in 2019 with Garrett Bradbury. His switch over to left guard in 2019 was a disaster and he was off the Vikings’ roster midway through the 2020 season.
3. Scott Crichton – DL
Drafted: Third Round (2014)
After adding Anthony Barr in the first round of the 2014 draft, Minnesota made an attempt to add even more depth to their defense with Scott Crichton in the third round.
The hope was that Crichton could eventually develop into a starter or at least be a rotational player for the Vikings defense. Neither ended up happening.
Crichton got on the field for two percent of Minnesota’s defensive snaps as a rookie in 2014 and then just 12 percent of the snaps in 2015. After accumulating a total of 10 tackles in his first three seasons, the Vikings parted ways with him in 2017.
2. Trae Waynes – CB
Drafted: First Round (2015)
With the Vikings using the No. 11 pick to draft him in 2015, Trae Waynes is the second-highest draft selection made by the team during Mike Zimmer’s head coaching tenure.
The guy who Minnesota spent their highest draft pick on during the Zimmer era, Anthony Barr, has had a solid career with the franchise that has seen him earn four trips to the Pro Bowl. As for Waynes, he was never voted to the Pro Bowl during his entire tenure with the Vikings.
It’s not that Waynes was a terrible player during his time in Minnesota, he just didn’t live up to the expectations that came with being the 11th player drafted in 2015. This is why he was a disappointing selection.
Corners who were drafted after Waynes in 2015 like Marcus Peters and Byron Jones have both managed to earn at least one Pro Bowl selection in their NFL careers. So it’s not like the Vikings didn’t have other cornerbacks to choose from in the first round that year.
They clearly just went with the wrong one. Luckily for Minnesota, they made up for this during the rest of the 2015 draft when they were able to land Eric Kendricks, Danielle Hunter, and Stefon Diggs.
1. Laquon Treadwell – WR
Drafted: First Round (2016)
Last year, the Vikings used the No. 22 pick to draft former LSU wide receiver Justin Jefferson. Back in 2016, Minnesota used the No. 23 selection on former Ole Miss receiver Laquon Treadwell.
Despite being drafted in pretty much the same slot, the careers of these two receivers have already turned out incredibly different.
Jefferson ended up breaking the NFL’s single-season rookie record for receiving yards last season while Treadwell finished his first year in purple and gold with one catch for 15 yards.
When they drafted Treadwell, the Vikings thought they were getting someone they could pair with Stefon Diggs in their offense. Luckily for Minnesota, Adam Thielen was able to emerge as Diggs’ partner in crime. But this doesn’t make the Treadwell selection any less disappointing.
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