Cash cures Vikings' draft blunders

There was something missing at the Vikings practice Tuesday. Other than sunshine (why do we live here?) and Matt Birk.

Also missing was most of the team's 2005 draft class, which has been winnowed to one underachieving figure, backup offensive tackle Marcus Johnson.

Actually, "underachieving" isn't a fair word for Johnson, since he's outperformed his peers. The Vikings' 2005 draft class now is about the same size as the average group of graduating Gophers basketball players.

Remember the '05 draft? It was the Vikings' attempt to remake their franchise in the wake of the Randy Moss trade to Oakland. In addition to their own selections, the Vikings acquired the seventh pick in the first round, a seventh-round pick, and linebacker Napoleon Harris in the Moss deal.

With the seventh pick, the Vikings chose South Carolina receiver Troy Williamson. This winter, the team traded Williamson to Jacksonville for a sixth-round pick.

With the 18th pick, the Vikings selected Wisconsin defensive end Erasmus James. Last week James, who never distinguished himself as a competent player or worthwhile teammate, failed a physical and was to be waived before Washington acquired him Tuesday for a conditional 2009 seventh-round draft pick.

Johnson was a second-round pick. He should remain on the team this fall as a backup, but he has done little to ensure long-term job security.

That draft was conducted by director of college scouting Scott Studwell. Coach Mike Tice was involved, and Studwell received a recommendation on Williamson from receivers coach Wes Chandler, who argued that Williamson's explosiveness made him a perfect fit for Tice's vertical-passing offense.

When Williamson's selection was announced at the Vikings' draft party, Tice tried to talk over the jeering.

"I'm sorry to hear that some of the people that don't put the time that we put into it are booing," Tice said, testily.

The lesson: Never take a player because he fills a need. Doing so causes you to overvalue players at the position of need, instead of taking the best player available, which is how the Vikings have missed on so many defensive ends.

(Full disclosure -- I made the same mistake that week, arguing in favor of USC receiver Mike Williams, who was a bust in Detroit. The correct answer was Maryland linebacker Shawne Merriman, who was the 12th overall pick by the Chargers and might have made the Vikings a playoff team and saved Tice's job.)

And yet the 2005 draft, while producing embarrassing results, has not irreparably damaged the franchise. It has just cost owner Zygi Wilf a lot of money.

The Vikings spent $42 million this winter on Bears receiver Bernard Berrian, who will become the deep threat Williamson was supposed to be. They traded a first-round pick and two third-round picks to Kansas City for defensive end Jared Allen, whom they signed to a $74 million deal; Allen will become the pass-rusher James was supposed to be.

The Vikings also spent $33 million on Bengals safety Madieu Williams, who will be the starting safety Fox was projected to be.

That's apparently the cost of a bad draft -- about $150 million.

We've teased Fran Foley for his antisocial tendencies, but he ran the 2006 draft that landed, in order, Chad Greenway, Cedric Griffin, Ryan Cook, Tarvaris Jackson and Ray Edwards.

The 2005 draft was a bust. The recipe for recovery has been two promising drafts and a series of cash calls from the generous Mr. Wilf.