Reusse: Kalil could be Spielman's biggest Vikings draft bust

Brad Childress was the first coach hired by Vikings owners Zygi and Mark Wilf. Childress' deal came with full authority to choose a roster, and much power in the draft, in trades and signing free agents.

That didn't change much when Fran Foley's tenure in the front office was short-lived, and Rick Spielman was hired as player personnel director on May 30, 2006.

With Chilly in charge, dynamic events occurred:

• In mid-March 2006, Childress and salary-cap manipulator Rob Brzezinski came up with a ploy to wrest left guard Steve Hutchinson from Seattle as a restricted free agent.

• Before the 2008 draft, Childress convinced the Wilfs to agree to a huge contract for defensive end Jared Allen, then traded a passel of draft choices to Kansas City for the NFL's best pass rusher.

• In August 2009, Childress leaned on Darrell Bevell, the young coach he had hired as offensive coordinator in 2006, to lobby his friend Brett Favre to un-retire again, this time to play for the Vikings.

Hutchinson. Allen. Favre. Three Hall of Famers-to-be. Gosh, what a dummy was that Childress.

• 2006: First-rounder Chad Greenway will be a Ring of Honor Vikings player as a linebacker, while second-rounder Tarvaris Jackson couldn't cut it as a starting quarterback.

• 2007: Adrian Peterson, Sidney Rice and Brian Robison were among the draft's first 102 selections.

• 2008: Three early choices went for Allen. Trading up to get safety Tyrell Johnson in the second round was a blunder. The only success of that draft was sixth-rounder John Sullivan.

• 2009: Only five selections, but four played — Percy Harvin, Phil Loadholt, Jasper Brinkley and Jamarca Sanford.

• 2010: Drafting 30th after the success of the 2009 season, the Vikings traded into the second round to take Chris Cook (bust), traded up to take Toby Gerhart (backup), and landed Everson Griffen in the fourth round.

Bottom line: Childress got the grade point necessary to stay eligible.

He's ridiculed now, of course, while Spielman has accepted hosannas from Vikings worshipers in the instant analyses of the past four drafts.

Spielman was not yet the general manager in 2011, but he had the authority. He was lauded for winding up with 10 selections, even with a third-rounder having gone in the Randy Moss fiasco of 2010 that led to Childress' firing.

Spielman took Christian Ponder at No. 12 and declared him the quarterback to stabilize the position. He did get the talented, oft-injured Kyle Rudolph in the second round, Brandon Fusco in the seventh, and the other eight choices (Ponder included) failed.

Spielman had the third overall choice in the 2012 draft. He convinced Cleveland to give him three extra picks to move up one spot to draft running back Trent Richardson.

Again, Spielman had 10 draftees. Smith is a player, and sixth-rounder Blair Walsh is a kicker, and others are functional players, but Kalil?

Right now, the third-year left tackle has Vikings fans wondering if the versatile Brad Badger might be interested in a comeback.

In 2013, the cheers were even louder for Spielman's work in landing three first-rounders: Sharrif Floyd, Xavier Rhodes and Cordarrelle Patterson.

Right now, the reactions to that draft coup, in order, would be "hmmm,'' "he's still going to be OK'' and "well, he's dangerous on kickoff returns.''

This fall, linebacker Anthony Barr looks like a No. 9 overall selection should look, and Purple loyalists love rookie quarterback T. Edmond Bridgewater as much as they did Ponder after Christian's first two starts in 2011, and there's Jerick (The Juke) McKinnon as an intriguing running back.

We do know this, though: If Spielman got it wrong on Kalil — if he turns out to be a mediocrity — it's a much more heinous drafting crime than selecting Ponder.

Getting a shot at the first lineman in the draft and then being wrong … that would be close to a fireable offense.

Patrick Reusse can be heard 3-6 p.m. weekdays on AM-1500. • preusse@startribune.com