NFL general managers will be under the microscope this week with the draft less than four days away.
Gregg Rosenthal from NFL.com put together a GM power ranking, excluding first-year GMs.
Vikings GM Rick Spielman appears on the list at No. 11.
Here’s what Rosenthal wrote about Spielman:
Like Jeff Ireland now in New Orleans, Spielman rebuilt his reputation after leaving Miami. Spielman and Mike Zimmer have done an impressive job building around homegrown talent, and the roster isn’t as defense-heavy after the big-time contracts given to Kirk Cousins, Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs. This stars-and-scrubs approach — with so many long-term deals handed out — will put pressure on Spielman and Zimmer to spin gold with the bottom of the roster.
Spielman has been with the team since 2006 and the Vikings are 107-99-2 with Spielman at the helm with five playoff appearances, including two trips to the NFC Championship.
The upcoming draft for Spielman might be the most important one yet with so much pressure to win with Cousins at the helm after giving him such a big contract a year ago. Obviously, things didn’t work out the way the Spielman would have liked last season. Without a Super Bowl appearance, it will be hard to call the Spielman Era a success as we look back.
