If you're a die-hard Vikings fan and have never heard of Leo Hayden, there's a good reason for it.
The Minnesota Vikings won the 1970 NFC Central championship with a 12-2 record. However, they weren't able to make it back to the Super Bowl after being upset in the first round of the playoffs by the San Francisco 49ers, 14-17.
The Purple People Eater Defense was thriving. The offense wasn't.
Quarterback Gary Cuozzo had taken over as signal called after Pro Bowler Joe Kapp signed with the Boston Patriots. In 1970, Cuozzo completed less than 50% of his passes for 1,720 yards, 7 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Backup Bob Lee was 2-0 as a started with 610 yards and 5 touchdowns and 5 picks.
The running game wasn't much better. Dave Osborn led the attack out of the backfield with 681 yards and five touchdowns on 207 carries. Clint Jones added nine touchdowns out of the backfield while splitting time with Boom Boom Brown.
The offensive line was there with future Hall of Famers Mick Tinglehoff and Ron Yary. The defense was loaded with talent and only gave up 200 yards per game. The offense was inconsistent, averaging about 272 yards per game.
The Vikings needed a dynamic play maker.
And they thought they found him in the 1971 NFL Draft.
Leo Hayden was a backup running back during his time at Ohio State, but when he was on the field, he flashed brilliance. Taking carries behind Big John Brockington (who was selected 9th overall by Green Bay in 1971), Hayden ranked seventh in the Big 10 in Yards From Scrimmage (787) and first in Rushing Yards Per Attempt (5.8). He scored three touchdowns on the ground that season as well.
John Brockington (42) and Leo Hayden combined for 20 rushing
touchdowns for the National Champion Buckeyes in 1970.
Brockington had 17 of them.
With the first pick in the 1971 NFL Draft, the Boston Patriots selected quarterback Jim Plunkett (they were 2-12 with Joe Kapp that year). Pro Bowlers Archie Manning, Dan Pastorini, JD Hill, Frank Lewis, Isiah Robertson and John Brockington and Hall of Famer John Riggins all went in the top 10. The offense-needy Vikings watched the top quarterbacks go one-two-three and saw five running backs go off the board before they picked at 24. So maybe Hayden was a panic pick and felt the need to grab somebody. The fact of the matter was that the Vikings needed to improve on their abysmal 3.2 YPC from 1970.
It's also worth noting Hall of Famers Jack Ham and Dan Dierdorf were still on the board, both selected in the second round. Pro Bowl caliber quarterbacks like Ken Anderson, Joe Theismann, and Lynn Dickey still available as well.
To say Hayden's Vikings career was underwhelming would be a dramatic understatement.
Hayden appeared in seven games for the Vikings in 1971, finishing the season with exactly zero touches. In 1972, he was with the St. Louis Cardinals. His stats from 1972: 8 carries for 11 yards and a touchdown, good for 1.4 yards per carry. He also added one catch for 17 yards. In 1973, he was on kick return duty for the Cards, returning five kicks for 98 yards.
In 1974, he was out of the league.
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