Top 5 Worst Draft Picks- Minnesota Vikings

These guys were brought in to help the team win, but couldn't accomplish anything on the field. Today I rank the top five worst draft picks by the Minnesota Vikings

He was brought in to give the Vikings an added dimension, but failed to show progress year after year.

At Florida State, Christian Ponder was a steady field manager quarterback. He didn't get more pro Scouting until the Senior Bowl where he was named the game's MVP.

Ponder was selected 12th overall in 2011. He started off fairly well as a rookie, but seemed to regress each season and failed to show toughness when he missed the Vikings 2012 playoff game because of a deep bicep bruise. The following year, he lost his starting job to Matt Cassel and was a backup for two seasons with Denver and San Francisco before retiring in 2017.

He was a two sport athlete that wasn't successful at either one at the pro level.

D.J. Dozier led Penn State in rushing all four seasons of his college career and scored the winning touchdown in their Fiesta Bowl victory over Miami that gave them the 1986 National Championship.

Dozier was the 14th overall pick in 1987 by Minnesota. The Vikings’ running game had been struggling with Darrin Nelson who had gained 793 yards in 16 games during 1986. The running game production fell even farther with Dozier on the team. Five of his seven career touchdowns came in his rookie season. In his five seasons in the NFL, the last one with the Lions, he gained a total of 691 yards. He was splitting the final two seasons of his football career with playing minor league baseball in the New York Mets’ system and in 1992 he began playing baseball full time.

Turns out his poor testing should have been a sign of what was to come.

In his three years at Ole Miss, Laquon Treadwell finished his college career as the all-time leading receiver in school history with 202 career receptions. He also ranks third in receiving yards with 2,393 and touchdowns with 21. He even displayed a solid arm as a junior competing 3 of 3 passes for 134 yards and a touchdowns.

Prior to the draft, Treadwell was viewed by many as the top wide receiver prospect in the class. Not running at the combine, he had a disappointing pro day with a slow 4.63 40yard dash time and underwhelming 33.5 inch vertical. Treadwell slid to 23rd overall in 2016, but Minnesota still felt they were getting a star. His rookie year was a disappointment as he had just one reception in nine games played. Much was expected of him in year two but he lost the starting role to fifth round pick Stefon Diggs and undrafted receiver Adam Thielin. In four years in Minnesota, he managed just 65 catches for 701 yards and two touchdowns. He spent 2020 with Atlanta and is currently a free agent.

He looked the part, but couldn't play the part.

At Michigan State, Dimitrius Underwood had monster size at defensive end. As a junior starter, he registered 57 tackles and 8 sacks.

Underwood was selected 29th overall in 1999. The day after he signed his five-year, $5.3 million contract, he left training camp and never returned. Underwood claimed he could not resolve the conflict between playing football and serving his faith. He was released by Minnesota a month later and bounced around the NFL and CFL until calling it a career in 2005.

His speed couldn't overcome his poor hands.

Unlike some of the other busts on this list, Troy Williamson didn't have much success at the college level.

Williamson was the seventh overall pick in 2005 by Minnesota. What the Vikings forgot to incorporate in their evaluation was a little attribute we like to call "catching" or "hands." Williamson did not possess either ability and it was blatantly obvious. He led the NFL in drops his rookie season, claiming his depth perception and therefore hand-eye coordination was poor due to vision problems. Un three mediocre seasons in Minnesota, he caught solely 85 passes for 1,131 yards, and four touchdowns.