Vikings roster cuts expose shortcomings of former general manager Rick Spielman final drafts

Kellen Mond, the developmental quarterback taken 66th overall in the NFL draft a year ago, was the first to go on Tuesday.

Then came linebacker Chazz Surratt and guard Wyatt Davis, the two other 2021 third-rounders whose first NFL cuts arrived before either had taken a regular-season snap.

By the time the Vikings finalized their initial 53-man roster of the 2022 season — their first under general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah — they'd cut six of the 11 players Rick Spielman had taken in his final draft as Vikings GM.

The dissolution of the Vikings' 2021 draft class on Tuesday could, in some ways, be attributed to natural causes: a new front office, a coaching change that brought subtle alterations to the offensive scheme and an overhaul to the defensive playbook, new additions beating out other players for jobs.

But as the Vikings cut a half-dozen players with three seasons remaining on their rookie deals, including three selected in the top 100 of the 2021 draft, it was hard not to look at the names on the transaction list and see where the former GM's final super-sized drafts had fallen short.

A month after signing quarterback Kirk Cousins to a three-year, $84 million deal, the Vikings began trying to supplement a talented but top-heavy roster with young, affordable talent. They selected 46 players from 2018-21, with Spielman trading back to stock up on picks so frequently that on the first night of the 2021 draft, coach Mike Zimmer joked he'd threatened to take the GM's phone away. In 2019, they drafted 12 players, making long snapper Austin Cutting the last of their four seventh-round picks. In 2020, the Vikings made 15 picks, the most ever in a seven-round draft.

Those drafts produced an anchor for the offensive line in right tackle Brian O'Neill and, in wide receiver Justin Jefferson, a transcendent talent. Left guard Ezra Cleveland and left tackle Christian Darrisaw could become solutions to the Vikings' longest-running problem; center Garrett Bradbury and tight end Irv Smith will get final shots to extend their stays in Minnesota this fall.

Running back Alexander Mattison remains a reliable backup who drew significant trade interest this offseason. Wide receiver K.J. Osborn could thrive this year in coach Kevin O'Connell's offense, and the Vikings might find more ways to get running back Kene Nwangwu the ball after he brought two kickoffs back for touchdowns as a rookie.

As a whole, though, and especially on defense, the legacy of the Vikings' final drafts under Spielman might have been how many players the team ultimately decided it could do without.

Of the 46 players Spielman selected from 2018-21, just 20 made the Vikings' initial 53-man roster in 2022. Eight are projected to start. The Vikings had taken 22 defenders in those drafts; only eight are on their active roster to start the 2022 season.

There are two defensive players taken in the first three rounds of Spielman's impressive 2015 draft — Eric Kendricks and Danielle Hunter — still on the roster. In Spielman's final four drafts, the Vikings used five first-, second- or third-round picks on defensive players. Just one (2020 third-rounder Cameron Dantzler) remains on the 53-man roster.

The Vikings traded down nine spots from pick No. 14 in 2021, obtaining two third-round picks from the Jets and selecting Darrisaw 23rd overall as two defensive players Zimmer liked — Michigan's Kwity Paye and Miami's Jaelan Phillips — went off the board.

Those two third-round picks became Mond and Davis. The offensive lineman showed up to camp out of shape as a rookie and never climbed the depth chart. If the Davis pick puzzled some in the Vikings' front office, the selection of a developmental quarterback, not a defensive contributor, became a sticking point between Spielman and Zimmer, who said at the end of the season he was "not particularly" interested in playing Mond in the Vikings' no-stakes season finale because "I see him every day."

During O'Connell's first camp, Davis again languished on the depth chart, making his release seem like a real possibility. Mond shared the No. 2 spot on the QB depth chart with Sean Mannion, starting the Vikings' second preseason game after two second-half touchdown passes in their opener. After Mond threw two interceptions on Aug. 20 against San Francisco, though, the Vikings traded for Nick Mullens, who opens the season as the only quarterback behind Kirk Cousins on the active roster.

The story of the Vikings' 2021 draft class certainly isn't over. Darrisaw, who drew glowing reviews in camp from Hunter, could turn out to be the left tackle for the next decade. Patrick Jones — the final 2021 third-rounder still on the roster — might turn into a productive edge rusher after showing improvement this preseason. The team could, on Wednesday, add some of its young players to the practice squad once they've been exposed to waivers. Given more time to develop, several of those players could rebound from a rough start to fashion a productive career.

On Tuesday, though, the Vikings' current decision-makers looked at six of Spielman's 2021 draft picks (as well as 2020 pick Kyle Hinton and 2019 pick Armon Watts) and decided they were willing to risk losing them.

Jefferson's stardom, and the prospect of a solid, homegrown offensive line, will help form the legacy of the team's final drafts under Spielman. So, too, will the players who joined a club that's grown in size and is remembered mostly by dead money charges: recent draft picks who became former Minnesota Vikings.