The Minnesota Vikings entered the 2012 NFL Draft looking to add a franchise left tackle for Christian Ponder, who they were hoping would evolve into the team’s franchise quarterback. Initially slated for the third-overall pick, the Vikings traded down one spot with the Cleveland Browns, taking USC left tackle Matt Kalil fourth overall.
Ponder never materialized into a starting-caliber quarterback, and Kalil regressed each season following his Pro Bowl rookie season. By 2013, the Vikings had the worst-scoring defense in the league.
The Vikings don’t make the same mistake in PFF’s 2012 re-draft. Instead of reaching for offensive line help, the Vikings take future Hall of Fame linebacker Bobby Wagner at pick 3.
Wagner parlayed his original second-round selection into a storied NFL career as one of the greatest linebackers of all time. The 10-time Pro Bowler and 11-time All-Pro has recorded an incredible 93.5 PFF overall grade so far in his career. He is still going strong deep into his 30s, ranking as the NFL’s third-highest-graded linebacker in 2024.
Of course, the Vikings were able to redeem themselves in the back of the first round in 2012. They traded up to pick 29 with the Baltimore Ravens to take Harrison Smith. But he gets nabbed at pick 7 in this re-draft, so the Vikings take advantage of their only selection.
This is one of those re-drafts that hurt, because there were plenty of quality players that the Vikings could have taken instead of Kalil. Luke Kuechly was also an option at linebacker. So was Andrew Luck, who would have been a massive improvement over Ponder and would have had the luxury of handing off to Adrian Peterson instead of taking such a beating.
But in reality, the Harrison Smith selection does take away the sting of the Kalil pick. Smith may be playing his last season in 2025, proving to be one of the best picks of the entire draft.