Follow the bouncing ball

Perhaps in another life, "Trader Rick" Spielman ran one heck of a shell game on the street corner. One tends to lose track of the pea as the tentacles attached to one of his draft-day trades stretches on for rounds or even into the following year. The example below is from Spielman's first trade as general manager on Day 1 of the 2012 NFL draft:

Trade

Vikings trade the third overall pick to Cleveland for the fourth overall pick. Cleveland selects running back Trent Richardson. The Vikings select left tackle Matt Kalil, their original target at No. 3.

Vikings receive

• Cleveland's fourth-round pick (118th overall): Vikings select receiver Jarius Wright (pictured).

• Cleveland's fifth-round pick (139th): Vikings select safety Robert Blanton.

• Cleveland's seventh-round pick (211th):  Vikings trade pick to Tennessee for its sixth-round pick (176th) in 2013. The Titans select Rice DE Scott Solomon.

August 2012

Needing a cornerback at the end of training camp, the Vikings trade the sixth-round pick they got from Tennessee to Arizona for A.J. Jefferson and the Cardinals' seventh-round pick (213th) in 2013.

2013 NFL draft

• The Vikings use the seventh-round pick they got from Arizona to select linebacker Michael Mauti.

Recap: For trading down one spot with the Browns, the Vikings got Kalil, Wright, Blanton, Jefferson and Mauti. The Browns got Richardson.

MARK CRAIG