For young Vikings fans, Rick Spielman is the only GM they know (or can remember).
He’s been around for nearly 15 years and has always kept the Vikings somewhat competitive, but the team has yet to win a Super Bowl.
Gregg Rosenthal over at NFL.com put together his GM rankings a week before the draft and Spielman ranked in the middle of the pack, coming in at No. 14.
Here’s what Rosenthal wrote about Spielman:
Spielman has quietly overseen Vikings personnel for 14 seasons, drafting 16 Pro Bowlers during that span. The team has finished 117-105-2 in those years, with a 3-6 playoff record. There’s a lot to be said for staying consistently competitive, and his ranking only dips here because the hit rate on draft picks has slowed in the last five seasons. The stellar Mike Zimmer defense grew too expensive without ever being quite stellar enough, so this is a team slowly pivoting to a more offensive mindset.
This offseason has been an especially rough one for Spielman. The Vikings were tight financially and that led to Xavier Rhodes, Trae Waynes, Mackensie Alexander, Linval Joseph, Andrew Sendejo and Jayron Kearse finding new teams. Everson Griffen has announced he won’t be back in Minnesota and the team traded its best receiver in Stefon Diggs.
If Spielman can somehow come out of this offseason with a winning team, it might be his biggest accomplishment yet. A lot of that will depend on what he does with his 12 draft picks next week.