Biggest Vikings first-round NFL Draft busts from every decade
By Ben Donahue
Biggest Vikings Draft Bust from the 2010s:
Sharrif Floyd - DT (2013)
The 2010s were hit-and-miss for the Vikings. There were the good: Harrison Smith (2012) and Garrett Bradbury (2019), and the not-so-good: Christian Ponder (2011) and Teddy Bridgewater (2014). Then there was the downright disappointing.
Shariff Floyd was one of three Vikings first-rounders in 2013, along with Xavier Rhodes and Cordarrelle Patterson. Rhodes and Patterson fared well, but Floyd did not. It wasn’t that the defensive tackle wasn’t decent. He just didn’t stand out.
After starting once as a rookie, Floyd started 23 times in 2014 and 2015 combined and cobbled together 76 tackles and seven sacks. He then injured his knee in 2016 and was limited to one game. When the ‘16 season concluded, nerve damage from knee surgery chased Floyd from the game. He retired with totals of 24 starts, 95 tackles, and 9.5 sacks.
Honorable Mentions:
Laquon Treadwell (2016) and Mike Hughes (2018)
Treadwell’s career hasn’t materialized well due to injuries and poor performance. The 23rd overall pick of the 2016 draft had his best year with Minnesota when he caught 35 passes with one score in 2018. He left Minnesota after 2019 with 65 receptions and two touchdowns. Treadwell has since bounced around the league looking for work.
Hughes was the 30th pick in the 2018 draft and spent three years with the Vikes. During that time, he started seven games for Minny and pulled down two interceptions. He was traded to the Chiefs after 2020.