Vikings · former general manager

Rick Spielman Draft History and Grades

10 draft classes, 2012-2021. Every pick graded against its slot.

The answer

Rick Spielman has made 104 picks. 26 became starters and 9 were busts. Draft Value Added per pick: -9.9, league average -7.6. That ranks 38 of 55 GMs with 20+ picks.

Best at safeties (+24.7 vs league on 4 picks) and defensive linemen (+22.4 vs league on 3 picks). Weakest at offensive linemen (-23.1 on 3 picks) and guards (-15.8 on 6 picks).

104Picks

35%Hit rateleague 40%

25%Starter rateleague 31%

29%Bust rate (R1-3)league 31%

-9.9DVA per pickleague -7.6

Open Rick Spielman in the draft explorer All GMs ranked

By position

Draft Value Added compares each pick's peak season to what that draft slot usually produces. Click a position to see those picks in the explorer.

Pos	Picks	Starters	Busts	Hit	DVA/pick	Verdict
WR	13	3	0	38%	-7.4	-1.4 vs league
LB	10	1	2	20%	-17.0	-10.7 vs league
CB	9	6	1	22%	-15.2	-4.3 vs league
DE	9	2	1	33%	-13.7	+0.1 vs league
T	9	2	1	44%	-14.4	-8.0 vs league
DB	7	2	1	43%	-12.5	-0.6 vs league
TE	6	2	0	50%	-1.6	-4.3 vs league
DT	6	0	1	17%	-9.4	+0.2 vs league
G	6	0	0	0%	-22.8	-15.8 vs league
RB	5	1	0	80%	+3.2	+4.6 vs league
S	4	3	0	50%	+24.3	+24.7 vs league
OL	3	1	1	0%	-33.9	-23.1 vs league
QB	3	0	1	33%	-26.1	-3.8 vs league
DL	3	0	0	67%	+17.5	+22.4 vs league
OLB	3	0	0	33%	-0.3	+7.1 vs league
C	2	2	0	50%	+1.0	too few to judge
K	2	0	0	-	-	too few to judge
ILB	2	1	0	50%	-14.1	too few to judge
LS	1	0	0	-	-	too few to judge
P	1	0	0	-	-	too few to judge

Best and worst picks

Best value

Jayron Kearse (S, R7 2016) +69 DVA
Ifeadi Odenigbo (DL, R7 2017) +56 DVA
Stefon Diggs (WR, R5 2015) +51 DVA

Worst value

Matt Kalil (T, R1 2012) -71 DVA
Kellen Mond (QB, R3 2021) -59 DVA
Jeff Gladney (CB, R1 2020) -59 DVA

Tenure

Vikings: 2012-2021

Whoever was in the chair on draft day owns that class. Our pick window starts in 2012, so earlier classes are not counted.

Every pick

Year	Pick	Player	Pos	School	DVA	Result
2021	R1, #23	Christian Darrisaw	OL	Virginia Tech	-5.1	starter
2021	R3, #66	Kellen Mond	QB	Texas A&M	-59.4	bust
2021	R3, #78	Chazz Surratt	LB	North Carolina	-41.5	bust
2021	R3, #86	Wyatt Davis	OL	Ohio St.	-54.7	bust
2021	R3, #90	Patrick Jones II	DL	Pittsburgh	+27.4	backup
2021	R4, #119	Kene Nwangwu	RB	Iowa St.	-32.5	backup
2021	R4, #125	Camryn Bynum	CB	California	-31.2	starter
2021	R4, #134	Janarius Robinson	DE	Florida St.	-34.3	active
2021	R5, #157	Ihmir Smith-Marsette	WR	Iowa	-24.5	backup
2021	R5, #168	Zach Davidson	TE	Central Missouri St.	-37.3	active
2021	R6, #199	Jaylen Twyman	DL	Pittsburgh	-31.0	released
2020	R1, #22	Justin Jefferson	WR	LSU	+22.1	starter
2020	R1, #31	Jeff Gladney	CB	TCU	-58.8	bust
2020	R2, #58	Ezra Cleveland	T	Boise St.	+10.5	starter
2020	R3, #89	Cameron Dantzler	CB	Mississippi St.	+31.7	starter
2020	R4, #117	D.J. Wonnum	DE	South Carolina	+13.3	starter
2020	R4, #130	James Lynch	DT	Baylor	-7.1	backup
2020	R4, #132	Troy Dye	LB	Oregon	+15.4	backup
2020	R5, #169	Harrison Hand	CB	Temple	-27.1	active
2020	R5, #176	K.J. Osborn	WR	Miami (FL)	+25.4	starter
2020	R6, #203	Blake Brandel	T	Oregon St.	+15.7	backup
2020	R6, #205	Josh Metellus	S	Michigan	+50.3	starter
2020	R7, #225	Kenny Willekes	DE	Michigan St.	+32.8	active
2020	R7, #244	Nate Stanley	QB	Iowa	-22.1	released
2020	R7, #249	Brian Cole II	S	Mississippi St.	-21.1	released
2020	R7, #253	Kyle Hinton	G	Washburn	-5.3	backup
2019	R1, #18	Garrett Bradbury	C	North Carolina St.	-1.0	starter
2019	R2, #50	Irv Smith Jr.	TE	Alabama	+16.3	starter
2019	R3, #102	Alexander Mattison	RB	Boise St.	+7.4	backup
2019	R4, #114	Dru Samia	G	Oklahoma	-38.5	active
2019	R5, #162	Cameron Smith	LB	USC	-38.5	active
2019	R6, #190	Armon Watts	DT	Arkansas	+48.5	backup
2019	R6, #191	Marcus Epps	S	Wyoming	-1.1	starter
2019	R6, #193	Oli Udoh	T	Elon	+39.3	backup
2019	R7, #217	Kris Boyd	CB	Texas	-31.6	backup
2019	R7, #239	Dillon Mitchell	WR	Oregon	-23.1	released
2019	R7, #247	Olabisi Johnson	WR	Colorado St.	+13.5	backup
2019	R7, #250	Austin Cutting	LS	Air Force	-	active
2018	R1, #30	Mike Hughes	CB	Central Florida	-2.2	starter
2018	R2, #62	Brian O'Neill	T	Pittsburgh	+27.2	starter
2018	R4, #102	Jalyn Holmes	DE	Ohio St.	-38.9	backup
2018	R5, #157	Tyler Conklin	TE	Central Michigan	+34.3	starter
2018	R5, #167	Daniel Carlson	K	Auburn	-	backup
2018	R6, #213	Colby Gossett	G	Appalachian St.	-13.2	backup
2018	R6, #218	Ade Aruna	DE	Tulane	-27.2	released
2018	R7, #225	Devante Downs	LB	California	+45.4	backup
2017	R2, #41	Dalvin Cook	RB	Florida St.	+24.6	starter
2017	R3, #70	Pat Elflein	C	Ohio St.	+3.0	starter
2017	R4, #109	Jaleel Johnson	DT	Iowa	-12.9	backup
2017	R4, #120	Ben Gedeon	ILB	Michigan	-52.3	backup
2017	R5, #170	Rodney Adams	WR	South Florida	-36.9	active
2017	R5, #180	Danny Isidora	G	Miami (FL)	-19.8	active
2017	R6, #201	Bucky Hodges	TE	Virginia Tech	-30.6	released
2017	R7, #219	Stacy Coley	WR	Miami (FL)	-27.0	active
2017	R7, #220	Ifeadi Odenigbo	DL	Northwestern	+56.0	backup
2017	R7, #232	Elijah Lee	LB	Kansas St.	-10.2	backup
2017	R7, #245	Jack Tocho	CB	North Carolina St.	-21.9	released
2016	R1, #23	Laquon Treadwell	WR	Mississippi	-18.3	backup
2016	R2, #54	Mackensie Alexander	CB	Clemson	+10.1	starter
2016	R4, #121	Willie Beavers	T	Western Michigan	-47.0	active
2016	R5, #160	Kentrell Brothers	OLB	Missouri	-23.9	backup
2016	R6, #180	Moritz Boehringer	WR	Unknown	-34.8	released
2016	R6, #188	David Morgan	TE	Texas-San Antonio	-7.4	backup
2016	R7, #227	Stephen Weatherly	OLB	Vanderbilt	+32.5	backup
2016	R7, #244	Jayron Kearse	S	Clemson	+69.3	starter
2015	R1, #11	Trae Waynes	CB	Michigan St.	-5.8	starter
2015	R2, #45	Eric Kendricks	ILB	UCLA	+24.0	starter
2015	R3, #88	Danielle Hunter	DE	LSU	+37.9	starter
2015	R4, #110	T.J. Clemmings	T	Pittsburgh	-54.4	backup
2015	R5, #143	MyCole Pruitt	TE	Southern Illinois	+15.1	backup
2015	R5, #146	Stefon Diggs	WR	Maryland	+51.2	starter
2015	R6, #185	Tyrus Thompson	T	Oklahoma	-33.8	released
2015	R6, #193	B.J. Dubose	DE	Louisville	-32.2	released
2015	R7, #228	Austin Shepherd	T	Alabama	-15.2	active
2015	R7, #232	Edmond Robinson	OLB	Newberry	-9.5	backup
2014	R1, #9	Anthony Barr	LB	UCLA	-51.2	bust
2014	R1, #32	Teddy Bridgewater	QB	Louisville	+3.1	backup
2014	R3, #72	Scott Crichton	DE	Oregon St.	-47.9	bust
2014	R3, #96	Jerick McKinnon	RB	Georgia Southern	+2.8	backup
2014	R5, #145	David Yankey	OL	Stanford	-42.0	active
2014	R6, #182	Antone Exum	DB	Virginia Tech	+2.1	backup
2014	R6, #184	Kendall James	DB	Maine	-34.0	released
2014	R7, #220	Shamar Stephen	DT	Connecticut	-3.6	backup
2014	R7, #223	Brandon Watts	LB	Georgia Tech	-26.2	active
2014	R7, #225	Jabari Price	DB	North Carolina	-15.8	active
2013	R1, #23	Sharrif Floyd	DT	Florida	-56.3	bust
2013	R1, #25	Xavier Rhodes	DB	Florida St.	+10.3	starter
2013	R1, #29	Cordarrelle Patterson	WR	Tennessee	+9.7	backup
2013	R4, #120	Gerald Hodges	LB	Penn St.	-36.5	backup
2013	R5, #155	Jeff Locke	P	UCLA	-	backup
2013	R6, #196	Jeff Baca	G	UCLA	-31.6	active
2013	R7, #213	Michael Mauti	LB	Penn St.	-13.2	backup
2013	R7, #214	Travis Bond	G	North Carolina	-28.0	active
2013	R7, #229	Everett Dawkins	DT	Florida St.	-25.0	active
2012	R1, #4	Matt Kalil	T	USC	-71.4	bust
2012	R1, #29	Harrison Smith	DB	Notre Dame	+22.5	starter
2012	R3, #66	Josh Robinson	DB	Central Florida	-44.4	bust
2012	R4, #118	Jarius Wright	WR	Arkansas	-8.6	backup
2012	R4, #128	Rhett Ellison	RB	USC	+13.6	backup
2012	R4, #134	Greg Childs	WR	Arkansas	-44.3	released
2012	R5, #139	Robert Blanton	DB	Notre Dame	-28.2	backup
2012	R6, #175	Blair Walsh	K	Georgia	-	backup
2012	R7, #210	Audie Cole	LB	North Carolina St.	-13.8	backup
2012	R7, #219	Trevor Guyton	DE	California	-27.0	released

Questions

How good is Rick Spielman at drafting?

Rick Spielman has 26 starters and 9 busts from 104 picks, with a hit rate of 35% and -9.9 Draft Value Added per pick. A positive number means the picks outperformed their draft slot.

How good is Rick Spielman at evaluating wide receivers?

Rick Spielman has drafted 13 wide receivers: 3 starters, 0 busts, -7.4 DVA per pick. That is 1.4 points below the league average for wide receivers.

How good is Rick Spielman at evaluating linebackers?

Rick Spielman has drafted 10 linebackers: 1 starters, 2 busts, -17.0 DVA per pick. That is 10.7 points below the league average for linebackers.

How good is Rick Spielman at evaluating cornerbacks?

Rick Spielman has drafted 9 cornerbacks: 6 starters, 1 busts, -15.2 DVA per pick. That is 4.3 points below the league average for cornerbacks.

Filter every pick by Rick Spielman