TODAY'S LOOK BACK: The 148th overall pick.

Looking back on previous NFL drafts for a better understanding of the crapshoot nature of this business is oh so much easier and more fun to do than pretending to know how the next wave of draft picks will perform. We've already looked back through the past 20 drafts for some perspective on the picks the Vikings hold in the sixth (184) and seventh (223) rounds of next week's draft. Today, we move up to the fifth round to so the same with the 148th overall pick. Fans of the Purple might want to shade their eyes when they see 1996.

Pro Bowlers picked No. 148 since 1994: None.

Have the Vikings picked No. 148 since 1994?: Oh, yeah. In 1996, they took North Carolina defensive back Sean Boyd. He certainly looked the part at 6-2, 206. But he never played for the Vikings and his NFL career was limited to two games with the Falcons.

Ouch 1: We'll go right back to that 1996 draft. Six picks after Boyd was selected, the Dolphins took an undersized linebacker named Zach Thomas 154th overall. Twelve picks after that, the Cowboys took an undersized defensive tackle named La'Roi Glover 166th overall. Both players played 13 seasons in the NFL. Both players made the NFL's Team of the Decade for the 2000s. Thomas was an All-Pro five times. Glover was an All-Pro four times. Thomas went to seven Pro Bowls. Glover went to six.

Ouch 2: In 2008, the Broncos took defensive tackle Carlton Powell. He was on the practice squad of five teams over five years. He played three games for the Falcons in 2011. Sixteen picks after Powell was selected, the Saints took guard Carl Nicks. Nicks is a two-time All-Pro, a Super Bowl winner and has 70 NFL starts and counting.

Ouch 3: In 2004, the Bears took Ohio State quarterback Craig Krenzel. He played one year and completed 59 passes. Six picks after Krenzel was selected, the Chargers took running back Michael Turner. Turner backed up LaDainian Tomlinson for years before becoming one of the league's best rushers in Atlanta. The two-time All-Pro led the NFC in rushing in 2010 and 2011.

Other highlights/lowlights of the No. 148 pick since 1994:

2011: The fifth round was pretty deep in 2011. The Raiders selected receiver Denarius Moore, who now has 17 touchdown catches in three seasons. Six picks later, the Seahawks grabbed a pretty good and pretty outspoken cornerback named Richard Sherman.

1994: The Steelers might want a mulligan for this year. They took offensive tackle Gary Brown one pick before the Packers took running back Dorsey Levens. Not only did Brown not play for the Steelers, he ended up in Green Bay for three seasons. He started five games on Green Bay's 1996 Super Bowl champion. As for Levens, he lasted 11 years and was All-Pro in 1997.

2000: The Ravens took guard Richard Mercier. He never played for them. One pick later, the Packers took defensive end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, who played nine years and made a Pro Bowl. Four picks after that, the Chiefs took receiver/returner Dante Hall, who was two-time All-Pro and a member of the NFL's Team of the Decade for the 2000s.

2003: The Rams took tight end Dan Curley. He played one NFL game with no catches. Twelve picks later, the Giants took offensive tackle David Diehl. He played 160 NFL games and was All-Pro one season.