Ranking all 10 Vikings draft classes during the Rick Spielman era

No. 10

2016 Draft Class

The Vikings’ 2016 draft class was essentially a giant swing and a miss. Picking 23rd after winning the NFC North in 2015 and being a Blair Walsh miss away from picking even later in the draft, Minnesota selected Laquon Treadwell.

There is no need to explain how terrible of a bust Treadwell was for the Vikings. Everyone reading this article combined for one less catch than Treadwell had his rookie season.

Minnesota dodged a serious impact from missing on that pick due to the emergence of Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen as top WRs in the NFC.

The best impact from this class came from Mackensie Alexander in the 2nd round. After a slow start to his career, he was a quality slot cornerback for the Vikings in 2018 and 2019 before leaving for Cincinnati. Alexander then returned in 2021, only to be one of the worst corners in football.

Willie Beavers and Moritz Boehringer provided absolutely nothing as fourth-round picks and sixth-round picks, respectively.

Kentrell Brothers, David Morgan, Stephen Weatherly, and Jayron Kearse actually provided some decent depth for being late-round selections. Had the top half of this draft class provided any substantial impact, these selections might have pushed this class over the top.

Considering Minnesota did not re-sign any of these players once their rookie contracts were up (although Alexander and Weatherly both ended up coming back), this class goes down as the worst of the bunch for Rick Spielman. Whiffing on the 2016 class is a big reason the team struggled with depth after 2017.