The Minnesota Vikings joined the National Football League (NFL) in 1961. The Vikings' first draft selection as an NFL team was Tommy Mason, a running back from Tulane University. The team's most recent first-round selection is Jordan Addison, a wide receiver from the University of Southern California.
Every April, each NFL franchise seeks to add new players to its roster through a collegiate draft known as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting", more commonly known as the NFL draft. Teams are ranked in reverse order based on the previous season's record, with team with the worst record picking first, the team with the second-worst record picking second, and so on. The two exceptions to this order are made for teams that appeared in the previous Super Bowl; the Super Bowl champion always picks last and the Super Bowl loser always picks second-last. Teams have the option of trading away their picks to other teams for different picks, players, cash, or a combination thereof. Thus, it is not uncommon for a team's actual draft pick to differ from their assigned draft pick, or for a team to have extra or no draft picks in any round due to these trades.
The Vikings have selected number one overall twice. The Vikings received the first pick in 1961 as an expansion franchise and then again in 1968 when the franchise chose Ron Yary, an offensive tackle from the University of Southern California. The Vikings have used first-round selections on players from the University of Southern California five times, Michigan State University four times, and from the University of Notre Dame, Oklahoma State University, Ohio State University, Florida State University and North Carolina State University three times. The Vikings have drafted 10 running backs, the most common position drafted by the franchise, followed by defensive end (9), defensive tackle (8), defensive back (8) and wide receiver (8). Six eventual Hall of Famers have been selected by the Vikings in the first-round: Carl Eller, Alan Page, Chris Doleman, Randall McDaniel, Ron Yary and Randy Moss. [1]
B | Back | K | Kicker | NT | Nose tackle |
C | Center | LB | Linebacker | FB | Fullback |
DB | Defensive back | P | Punter | HB | Halfback |
DE | Defensive end | QB | Quarterback | WR | Wide receiver |
DT | Defensive tackle | RB | Running back | G | Guard |
E | End | T | Offensive tackle | TE | Tight end |
^ | Indicates the player was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
§ | Enshrined in the Minnesota Vikings Ring of Honor | ||||
† | Indicates the player was selected for the Pro Bowl at any time in their career. | ||||
* | Selected number one overall | ||||
— | The Vikings did not draft a player in the first round that year. | ||||
Year | Each year links to an article about that particular NFL Draft. | ||||
Pick | Indicates the number of the pick within the first round | ||||
Position | The player's position | ||||
College | The player's college football team |
College | Draftees |
---|---|
USC | 6 |
Michigan State | 4 |
Notre Dame | 3 |
Oklahoma State | 3 |
Ohio State | 3 |
Florida State | 3 |
NC State | 3 |
Stanford | 2 |
Miami (FL) | 2 |
UCLA | 2 |
Pittsburgh | 2 |
California | 2 |
Wisconsin | 2 |
Florida | 2 |
Ole Miss | 2 |
UCF | 2 |
TCU | 2 |
Alabama | 2 |
23 colleges | 1 |
Position | Draftees |
---|---|
Running back | 10 |
Defensive back | 9 |
Defensive end | 10 |
Defensive tackle | 9 |
Wide receiver | 9 |
Offensive tackle | 8 |
Linebacker | 7 |
Quarterback | 5 |
Guard | 1 |
Center | 1 |
The 2001 NFL draft was the 66th draft annual of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft, which is officially referred to as the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York on April 21–22, 2001.
The 2006 NFL draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with additional coverage offered by ESPNU and, for the first time, by NFL Network. Having signed a contract with the Houston Texans on the evening before the draft, Mario Williams, a defensive end from North Carolina State, became the draft's first pick. The selection surprised many commentators, who predicted that the Texans would draft Southern California running back Reggie Bush or Texas quarterback Vince Young. Ohio State produced the most first round selections (five), while Southern California produced the most overall selections (eleven). Twenty-seven compensatory and supplemental compensatory selections were distributed amongst seventeen teams; Tampa Bay, Baltimore, and Tennessee each held three compensatory picks. The league also held a supplemental draft after the regular draft and before the regular season.
The 2007 NFL draft was the 72nd annual meeting of National Football League franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 28 and April 29, 2007. The draft was televised for the 28th consecutive year on ESPN and ESPN2. The NFL Network also broadcast coverage of the event, its second year doing so. There were 255 draft selections: 223 regular selections and 32 compensatory selections. A supplemental draft was also held after the regular draft and before the regular season. This was the first draft presided over by new NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
The 2008 NFL draft was the 73rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 26 and April 27, 2008. For the 29th consecutive year, ESPN televised the draft; the NFL Network also broadcast the event, its third year doing so. Of the 252 selections, 220 were regular selections in rounds one through seven, and 32 were compensatory selections, distributed among rounds three through seven. As of the end of the 2018 season, 27 players have been selected to the Pro Bowl.
The 2021 NFL draft was the 86th National Football League draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland from April 29 to May 1, 2021.
The 2022 NFL draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The first round was held on Thursday, April 28, and was followed by the second and third rounds on Friday, April 29. The draft concluded with rounds 4–7 on Saturday, April 30. It was the first draft to be held in the Las Vegas metropolitan area and the state of Nevada.
The 2020 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 60th in the National Football League (NFL), their fifth playing home games at U.S. Bank Stadium and their seventh under head coach Mike Zimmer. This was the Vikings' first time since 2005 that long-time assistant Kevin Stefanski was not part of the Vikings coaching staff, as he left to become the new head coach of the Cleveland Browns on January 12, 2020. After going 1–5 in their first six games for the first time since 2013, the team failed to improve upon their 10–6 record from 2019 after a Week 11 loss to the Dallas Cowboys and failed to match their 10–6 record after a Week 14 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Vikings were eliminated from playoff contention following a week 16 loss to the New Orleans Saints, and ultimately finished 7–9, their first losing season since 2014. The Vikings conceded 475 points during the season, the third-highest total in franchise history, although they also managed to score 430 points, also the third-most in team history.