NFL Draft: Every team’s biggest first round bust of last ten years

If there were a 1A and 1B to this, Laquon Treadwell would be named as the Vikings biggest bust of the last decade. Instead we turn to the quarterback position with Christian Ponder, who lasted just four seasons in the NFL.

After trying two years of Brett Favre, the Vikings knew they had to go in a different direction at the quarterback position. Joe Webb and Tavaris Jackson each got starts during the 2010 season while Favre went 5-8 in the final stretch of his Hall of Fame career.

Minnesota went 6-10 and ended up with the 12th pick in one of the worst quarterback drafts in recent memory. Cam Newton, Andy Dalton, Tyrod Taylor, and Colin Kaepernick were the only ones who made a career as a starter, while Ponder, Jake Locker, and Blaine Gabbert fell apart early.

Ponder was the fourth quarterback taken after Newton, Locker, and Gabbert after Jacksonville leaped up six spots to take Gabbert. His numbers at Florida State didn’t jump off the page, but he was efficient and won the Senior Bowl MVP leading up to the NFL Draft.

After Donovan McNabb went 1-5 to start the season, Minnesota turned the keys over to Ponder. They didn’t fare much better, going 2-8 with Ponder throwing 13 touchdowns and 13 interceptions and completing just 54.3% of his passes.

Ponder returned as the full-time starter in 2012 and won 10 games, but the offense was primarily led by Adrian Peterson in his 2,097 yard season. Minnesota lost to Green Bay in the wild card game 24-10 after Ponder suffered an arm injury and Joe Webb was forced into the starting job.

Injuries and a poor start to the season limited Ponder to nine starts throwing seven touchdown and nine picks. Minnesota would trade Teddy Bridgewater in 2014, and Ponder made just one start that season. Despite backing for multiple teams through the 2016 season, Ponder never threw another pass in the regular season.