The 2021 NFL Draft was the last draft for the long-time HC and GM duo Mike Zimmer and Rick Spielman. While many remember the trade back and selection of rising young star Christian Darrisaw in the first round, not as many remember the disaster day two of the draft for the Vikings.
Heading into Day 2 of the 2021 NFL Draft, The Minnesota Vikings had four picks; the 66th pick, which they got the day before trading back with the Jets, #78, the Vikings’ original 3rd Round Pick, #86, which they also got from the trade back with the Jets, and finally #90, which they got from Baltimore in a trade that occurred in the middle of the 2020 season where the Vikings sent Pass-Rusher Yannick Nkagoue to the Ravens.
It’s also important to note that the Vikings did not have a second-round pick in this draft after sending it to Jacksonville for the previously mentioned Yannick Nkagoue at the end of August. Starting off with the #66 pick, the Minnesota Vikings selected Kellen Mond, a Quarterback from Texas A&M. Some fans viewed Mond as Cousins’s possible successor, others viewed Mond as a massive reach and a very imperfect prospect with egregious flaws in his game, Kellen Mond threw just three pass attempts for the Vikings in the regular season before being a surprise cut last August under the new regime after trading for long-time reliable backup Nick Mullens. Mond was picked up by the Browns and stayed on their practice squad for all of the 2022-23 NFL Season, Mond was recently cut by the Browns, possibly ending his journey in the NFL.
With the 78th pick the Vikings selected Linebacker Chazz Surratt out of UNC, Surratt competed for a starting linebacker spot during the 2021 preseason ultimately not proving enough to earn significant playing time. In the 2021-22 NFL Season, Surratt played nine games but had zero defensive snaps and after the departure of Mike Zimmer and a poor 2022 Preseason Chazz Surratt was cut in August, playing a total of ZERO regular season defensive snaps in his time as a Minnesota Viking, Surratt is currently on the New York Jets practice squad, and doesn’t appear to have a good chance to make the team, already 26 years old, his time in the NFL could be coming to an end, like Mond.
The Vikings are back on the clock at pick 86, selecting Wyatt Davis, a guard from Ohio State; Many believed this to be a steal at the time as Davis fell due to minor injuries. Originally Davis was slated to be the team’s starting right guard heading into the 2021-22 NFL Season, but after a lackluster preseason performance, he lost the job to a less-than-stellar player in Oli Udoh, Davis was inactive for most of the season, and in the games he played he recorded ZERO offensive snaps. In 2022 Davis had another chance to win a starting position on the Vikings O-Line with a very winnable job in front of him competing against; Oli Udoh, Jesse Davis, and very raw rookie Ed Ingram, Davis ended up losing the job to rookie Ed Ingram who played very poor last season for the Vikings, and just like Mond and Surratt on August 30th, 2022 Wyatt Davis was cut playing a total of ZERO offensive regular season snaps for the team that drafted him barely a year prior. Davis was picked up off waivers by the Saints, and ended up getting cut and has floated around NFL Practice Squads since.
I could end this article here, but there was still one last pick the Vikings had on Day 2, the only one who remains on the team today, with the 90th pick in the 2021 NFL Draft the Minnesota Vikings selected Pittsburgh Pass-Rusher Patrick Jones II. Now, unlike Mond, Surratt, and Davis, Patrick Jones II still remains a Viking and has played a decent amount in the NFL, recording 4.0 sacks in his two seasons so far, Jones II currently slides in as the Vikings #4 pass rusher and offers some solid production from that position, while not a complete disaster of a pick like the previous three, Jones II hasn’t really done enough and most likely won’t to save this dreadful night of picks for the Vikings.
While some might argue the Vikings new regime completely wiped off Zimmer and Spielman’s last draft and replacing the promising day two picks with their own from the 2022 NFL Draft without giving guys like Surratt and Davis a chance. However, all three of those guys haven’t been able to get off an NFL Practice Squad and could all be out of the league within months, and it’s safe to say it was just bad player scouting and drafting.
