Minnesota Vikings' Most Disappointing Players of the New Millennium

With two consecutive last-place finishes in the NFC North, the Minnesota Vikings  have had plenty of disappointing players of late.

Whether it's a high-profile free agent signing a huge contract or a decorated college player drafted to fill a need, a player is seen as a disappointment if the performance does not meet the expectations.

Through the 2012 NFL draft, the Vikings hopefully added at least one starter on both sides of the ball with their two first-round draft picks—left tackle Matt Kalil and safety Harrison Smith.

Because of their status as first-round draft picks, the expectations are a bit higher for Kalil and Smith than for the rest of this season's class of rookies. The lone exception to that may be Blair Walsh, the kicker from Georgia. Taken in the sixth round, Walsh has the unenviable task of replacing Ryan Longwell, the Vikings' third all-time scoring leader with 633 points over six seasons in Minnesota. 

Along with their 10 draft picks, Vikings general manager Rick Spielman signed a number of free agents to help address many of the team's needs. 

Among some of the "bigger" names, or at least as big as Spielman could either afford or convince to come to Minnesota, include tight end John Carlson, offensive guard Geoff Schwartz and wide receiver Jerome Simpson on offense and cornerbacks Chris Carr and Zack Bowman on defense.

The greatest factor that determines how these players will be judged,  right or wrong, is the hype that accompanies them as they join the Vikings.

Here's a look at 10 of the most disappointing Vikings since the start of the 21st century.

Cornerback Cris Dishman

Let's get this list started with the free-agent signing of cornerback Cris Dishman in 2000—yes, I know that according to some sources the millennium actually began on January 1st, 2001, but I'll still count this one.

The Vikings signed Dishman, a 12-year veteran who had played his first nine seasons with the Houston Oilers, and immediately put him at the top of the depth chart.

From his second year in the league in 1989, Dishman had averaged 3.8 interceptions per season. Despite having his second best interception total for the Chiefs in 1999 with five, he was released following the season. The Vikings picked him up and he started nine of 11 games for the Vikings at cornerback. 

Dishman did not have an average season that year, making only one interception.

His downfall was complete in Week 10 as he would become the goat in an overtime loss to the Packers in Green Bay. 

Thinking he had broken up a pass intended for Antonio Freeman, Dishman started to celebrate, not seeing that Freeman, who was on the ground, had actually caught the ball. Freeman was able to get up and score the game-winning touchdown.

Three weeks later, Dishman was released by the Vikings. It was his last year in the NFL.

Not only did he fail to live up to the expectations when he signed with the team, he allowed the winning touchdown against the Vikings' most-hated rival.

Running Back Michael Bennett

Michael Bennett joined the Minnesota Vikings in 2001 with some big shoes to fill.

He was the Vikings' first pick in the draft, taken with the 27th pick. The former Wisconsin Badger had the unfortunate luck of following Robert Smith, another Big 10 running back from Ohio State.

Smith unexpectedly retired following the 2000 season, a season that saw the Vikings lose 41-0 to the Giants in the NFC Championship game. It was Smith's best season in his eight-year career, finishing with 1,521 yards and a career-high seven rushing touchdowns.

Smith walked away from the game as the Vikings' all-time leading rusher with 6,818 yards.

Bennett led the Vikings in rushing his rookie season with 682 yards. He followed that up with 1,296 yards and a Pro Bowl appearance in 2002. 

That would be the best season of his career as his numbers would decline from there. Over the next three seasons he would gain only 1,166 yards before the Vikings released him following the 2005 season. He would hang around the league for another five seasons, playing for four teams, but never made it as the featured running back.

Running Back Onterrio Smith

The Vikings selected Oregon running back Onterrio Smith in the fourth round of the 2003 NFL draft.

Typically, the expectations of a fourth-rounder are not that high—especially for the seventh running back taken in the draft—but Smith declared himself the "steal of the draft."

He even shaved SOD in his head before the start of training camp that year.

Even though Smith started only nine games over the next two seasons, he led the Vikings in rushing in 2004 with 544 yards.

It would be his last season in the NFL.

In May 2005, Smith was found in possession of the infamous Whizzinator as he tried to clear security at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport.

Smith was eventually suspended by the NFL for the entire 2005 season for his third violation of the NFL Substance Abuse Policy.  The Vikings released him in 2006.

There was a steal—but it was not by the Vikings with the 105th selection in the 2003 draft.

Linebacker Napoleon Harris

Linebacker Napoleon Smith had the misfortune of coming to the Minnesota Vikings in a trade with the Oakland Raiders in 2005.

The Vikings had made it known that they were shopping Randy Moss, the five-time Pro Bowl receiver, after seven seasons in Minnesota. His antics included an incident in downtown Minneapolis where he "bumped" a traffic control officer with his SUV, as well as the infamous mooning of Packers fans.

The best deal the Vikings could get for one of the best receivers in the NFL was Harris and the Raiders' first- and seventh-round picks in the 2005 draft.

The four-year veteran made only three starts for the Vikings in 2005, recording only 18 tackles.

The following year, Smith started 14 games but finished sixth on the team with 42 tackles. 

The Vikings did not re-sign Harris as a free agent in 2006. Instead, he signed a six-year deal to play in Kansas City—a deal that lasted only one season. 

He returned to the Vikings again in 2008. In his final year in the NFL, he made five starts, recording only 24 tackles.

His biggest problem, which was no fault of his own, was being associated with Moss.

Wide Receiver Troy Williamson

If linebacker Napoleon Harris was a disappointment due to his association as part of the Randy Moss trade with the Raiders, then wide receiver Troy Williamson was a complete disaster.

The Vikings used the seventh pick in the 2005 draft, received from Oakland, to select Williamson, a speedster from South Carolina. 

Whether or not the Vikings were looking to replace Moss did not matter—the fans expected it.

In his three seasons with the Vikings, Williamson totaled 1,067 receiving yards and three touchdowns.

In his first seven seasons in Minnesota, Moss averaged 1,306 yards and 13 touchdowns per season for the Vikings.

The timing could not have been any worse for Williamson as the expectations to replace a future Hall of Fame receiver were extremely high.

Defensive End Erasmus James

In 2005, the Vikings had two first-round draft picks. As they did this season, they used the first to address a need on offense and the second to address the defense. 

Much like this year, the Vikings were hoping they had drafted a couple of starters in wide receiver Troy Williamson and defensive end Erasmus James.

As the previous slide pointed out, they missed on Williamson, and as this slide will detail, they missed on James, the 18th pick overall, as well.

The Vikings were hoping they had found another defensive end that could line up alongside All-Pro defensive tackle Kevin Williams and help improve the Vikings' defense.

For the better part of a decade, the Vikings' defense was ranked near the bottom of the NFL. In 2004, they dropped to 28th in the league in yards allowed, with an average of 368 yards per game.

James started nine games his rookie season and recorded four sacks. Over the next two seasons, he would only start another three games and pick up one more sack.

Following the 2007 season, the Vikings traded him to the Washington Redskins for a seventh-round draft pick. That season James only played in five games for the Redskins, his last in the NFL.

Here's hoping the Vikings' two first-round selections this year have better careers than those of Williamson and James.

Quarterback Tarvaris Jackson

The expectations should not have been that high for a quarterback taken in the second round.

If only head coach Brad Childress had stopped trying to convince Minnesota Vikings fans that he was smarter than everyone else, and that Tarvaris Jackson, selected in the second round of the 2006 draft with the 64th pick, was a bona-fide NFL quarterback. 

Jackson's best season came in 2007, when he was responsible for all of the Vikings' victories, finishing with an 8-4 record as the Vikings starting quarterback in 12 games.

Of course, with the likes of Kelly Holcomb and Brooks Bollinger as competition for the starting quarterback, it wasn't too difficult for Jackson to shine—he was the best of a lousy group.

The following year, he opened the season 0-2 and was quickly benched in favor of Gus Frerotte. Jackson would regain the starting role later in the season as the Vikings won the NFC North. 

Jackson even started the Vikings' playoff game as they hosted Donovan McNabb and the Eagles in the first round of the playoffs.

Jackson and the Vikings lost that game 26-14, marking the end of Jackson's run as the Vikings' starting quarterback.

In five seasons with the Vikings, he finished with a 10-10 record, throwing 24 touchdowns and 22 interceptions and a 76.6 passer rating.  

Wide Receiver Sidney Rice

For Sidney Rice, the problem was the potential that he displayed in his one season playing with quarterback Brett Favre.

Drafted in the second round of the 2007 draft, Rice played in 26 games over his first two seasons, starting seven of them. He totaled 46 receptions for 537 yards and eight touchdowns, catching passes from Tarvaris Jackson and Gus Frerotte.

In 2009, with a decent quarterback, he caught 83 passes for 1,312 yards and eight touchdowns. 

After five seasons, the Vikings had finally found a receiver to replace Randy Moss—or so many of us thought.

The disappointment started when Rice, who injured his hip in the 2009 NFC Championship Game against the Saints (a bounty related injury?) attempted to rehabilitate the injury, instead of having a recommended surgery. 

The move caused him to open the 2010 training camp on the physically-unable-to-perform list.

Rice would eventually have the surgery, causing him to miss 10 games in the 2010 season.

Following the disastrous 2010 season, Rice signed as a free agent with the Seattle Seahawks, ending his four-year career with the Vikings where he averaged four starts, 36 catches and 532 yards per season.

Perhaps the move to allow Rice to sign with Seattle was the right move as he played in only nine games last season for the Seahawks, making only 32 catches.

Wide Receiver Randy Moss' Second Stint with the Purple

With two disappointing acquisitions as part of the Randy Moss trade to the Raiders, it only seems fitting that Moss himself should be a member of one of the most disappointing players for the Vikings. 

His second stint with the Vikings came via a trade during the 2010 season. The Vikings traded away a third-round draft pick in a deal with New England in hopes of finding a replacement for Sidney Rice.

At the time, it seemed to be the right move. The Vikings were in desperate need of a receiver, and Moss had worn out his welcome in New England.

The problem is his second stint only lasted four games, good for a measly 13 receptions and two touchdowns.

Following a 28-18 loss to the Patriots in Week 8, dropping the Vikings to 2-5, Moss criticized the Vikings' coaching staff, stating that they did not use the information he tried to give them on the Patriots.

In no time, head coach Brad Childress made the decision to waive Moss, essentially throwing away a third-round pick.

Perhaps the bigger disappointment should be that the Vikings, who gave up on Moss six years earlier, should have known what they were getting into when they re-acquired him.

Quarterback Brett Favre

The two years that Brett Favre spent with the Minnesota Vikings were about as completely opposite as possible. 

After being lured out of retirement during training camp in 2009, he led the Vikings to a 12-4 record, starting all 16 games and extending his mark in consecutive games started. 

He also finished with the best passer rating in his career at 107.2, throwing for 4,202 yards with 33 touchdowns and only seven interceptions.

The Vikings would fall to the New Orleans Saints in the NFC Championship Game 31-28.

In 2010, everything fell apart. Favre's consecutive string of starts in the NFL came to an end as the Vikings fell to last place in the NFC North with a 6-10 record.

Favre finished with only his second losing record in his 20-year NFL career at 5-8.

As great as his passer rating was in 2009, it stunk in 2010, dropping to a career-low 69.9 with only 11 touchdowns and 19 interceptions. 

The biggest disappointment was the promise of a Super Bowl championship, as he was supposed to be the one piece that the Vikings were missing.

All things considered, with as terribly as he played in 2010, the greater disappointment came in 2009 when he brought the Vikings so close but was unable to finish the deal.