Bleacher Report ranks the 2000-2009 drafts for Minnesota:
- 2007: Adrian Peterson, Sidney Rice, Marcus McCauley, Brian Robison, Aundrae Allison, Rufus Alexander, Tyler Thigpen, Chandler Williams. Without a doubt, the best draft of the decade: Adrian Peterson by himself would make it, but add in Sidney Rice and Brian Robison and this was an excellent draft. Thigpen might have been a contributor, but he was grabbed off waivers and never played a game for the Vikings.
- 2006: Chad Greenway, Cedric Griffin, Ryan Cook, Tavaris Jackson, Ray Edwards, Greg Blue. A very good draft, by anyone’s standards. Both Greenway and Edwards have been great contributors, while Cedric Griffin has been very good when not battling injury. Jackson showed flashes of brilliance at QB, but never could beat the consistency problem.
- 2003: Kevin Williams, E.J. Henderson, Nate Burleson, Onterrio Smith, Eddie Johnson, Michael Nattiel, Keenan Howry. Williams and Henderson were great draft choices. Burleson and Smith were good contributors, but Burleson was lured away to Seattle, while Smith left the league after the “Whizzinator” incident.
- 2009: Percy Harvin, Phil Loadhalt, Asher Allen, Jasper Brinkley, Jamarca Sanford. It’s too soon to make a permanent judgement about such a recent draft, but Harvin and Loadholt were both major contributors in their rookie seasons, while the others have been good in backup or situational roles.
- 2002: Bryant McKinnie, Raonall Smith, Willie Offord, Brian Williams, Ed Ta’amu, Nick Rogers, Chad Beasley. Other than McKinnie, the rest of this draft class fade quickly out of memory.
- 2008: Tyrell Johnson, John David Booty, Letroy Guion, John Sullivan, Jaymar Johnson. The best part of this draft was trading the first-round pick to obtain Jared Allen. Tyrell Johnson and Jaymar Johnson are both still with the team, although neither has really made a name for himself. Guion has played well and should be a bigger contributor this year.
- 2004: Kenechi Udeze, Dontarrious Thomas, Darrion Scott, Nat Dorsey, Mewelde Moore, Rod Davis, Deandre’ Eiland, Jeff Dugan. Moore and Dugan were good picks, but the rest were forgettable. Moore still does good work . . . for the Steelers.
- 2000: Chris Hovan, Fred Robbins, Michael Boireau, Doug Chapman, Antonio Wilson, Tyrone Carter, Troy Walters, Mike Malano, Giles Cole, Lewis Kelly. Hovan was a player who seemed to be a legend in his own mind. Robbins did some good work, but not for the Vikings.
- 2001: Michael Bennett, Willie Howard, Eric Kelly, Shawn Worthen, Cedric James, Patrick Chukwurah, Carey Scott, Brian Crawford. The best that could be said of this draft class was that Michael Bennet, when healthy, could be good. The key words there were “when healthy”.
- 2005: Troy Williamson, Erasmas James, Marcus Johnson, Dustin Fox, Ciatrick Fason, C.J. Mosely, Adrian Ward. A flat-out terrible draft on any level. Two first-round picks, both wasted.
