List of Minnesota Vikings first-round draft picks

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Adrian Peterson, the Vikings' seventh overall pick in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft.
Adrian Peterson, the Vikings' seventh overall pick in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft.

This is a list of first-round draft picks made by the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League. The Vikings joined the NFL in 1961. The Vikings' first selection as an NFL team was Tommy Mason, a running back from Tulane University. The team's most recent first round selection was Adrian Peterson, a running back from the University of Oklahoma.

Every year during April, each NFL franchise seeks to add new players to its roster through a collegiate draft known as "the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting", which is more commonly known as the NFL Draft. Teams are ranked in inverse order based on the previous season's record, with the worst record picking first, and the second worst 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 32nd, and the Super Bowl loser always picks 31st. 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 selected players from the University of Southern California four times and from Michigan State University, Ohio State University, and Oklahoma State University three times. Three eventual Hall of Famers were selected by the Vikings in the first-round: Carl Eller, Alan Page, and Ron Yary.

[edit] Player selection

Selected number one overall Enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Draft Player Position College Notes
Year Pick
National Football League, Early Era (1950–1969)
1961 1 Tommy Mason RB Tulane
1962 No draft pick [1]
1963 3 Jim Dunaway DT Mississippi State [2]
1964 6 Carl Eller DE Minnesota
1965 8 Jack Snow WR Notre Dame [3]
1966 7 Jerry Shay DT Purdue
1967 2 Clinton Jones RB Michigan State [4]
8 Gene Washington WR Michigan State
15 Alan Page DT Notre Dame [5]
1968 1 Ron Yary OT USC [4]
1969 No draft pick [6]
National Football League, Modern Era (1970–present)
1970 25 John Ward OT Oklahoma State
1971 24 Leo Hayden RB Ohio State
1972 10 Jeff Siemon LB Stanford [7]
1973 12 Chuck Foreman RB Miami (Florida)
1974 17 Fred McNeill LB UCLA [8]
25 Steve Riley OT USC
1975 25 Mark Mullaney DE Colorado State
1976 25 James White DT Oklahoma State
1977 27 Tommy Kramer QB Rice
1978 21 Randy Holloway DE Pittsburgh
1979 16 Ted Brown RB North Carolina State
1980 9 Doug Martin DT Washington
1981 No draft pick [9]
1982 7 Darrin Nelson RB Stanford
1983 19 Joey Browner DB USC
1984 13 Keith Millard DE Washington State
1985 4 Chris Doleman LB Pittsburgh [10]
1986 14 Gerald Robinson DE Auburn [11]
1987 14 D. J. Dozier RB Penn State [12]
1988 19 Randall McDaniel OG Arizona State
1989 No draft pick [13]
1990 No draft pick [14]
1991 No draft pick [14]
1992 No draft pick [14]
1993 21 Robert Smith RB Ohio State
1994 18 Dewayne Washington CB North Carolina State [15]
19 Todd Steussie OT California
1995 11 Derrick Alexander DE Florida State [16]
24 Korey Stringer OT Ohio State
1996 16 Duane Clemons LB California
1997 20 Dwayne Rudd LB Alabama
1998 21 Randy Moss WR Marshall
1999 11 Daunte Culpepper QB Central Florida [17]
29 Dimitrius Underwood DE Michigan State
2000 25 Chris Hovan DT Boston College
2001 27 Michael Bennett RB Wisconsin
2002 7 Bryant McKinnie OT Miami (Florida)
2003 9 Kevin Williams DT Oklahoma State [18]
2004 20 Kenechi Udeze DE USC [19]
2005 7 Troy Williamson WR South Carolina [20]
18 Erasmus James DE Wisconsin
2006 17 Chad Greenway LB Iowa
2007 7 Adrian Peterson RB Oklahoma
2008 No draft pick [21]

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ The Vikings first-round pick in 1962 was acquired by the Los Angeles Rams.
  2. ^ Jim Dunaway opted to sign with the Buffalo Bills of the American Football League (AFL).
  3. ^ The Vikings traded Jack Snow to the Los Angeles Rams before the start of the 1965 NFL season.
  4. ^ a b The Vikings acquired the New York Giants 2nd and 28th (second-round) overall picks from the 1967 draft, the 1st overall pick from the 1968 draft and the 39th (second-round) pick from the 1969 draft in exchange for quarterback Fran Tarkenton.
  5. ^ The fifteenth pick in 1967 was acquired from the Los Angeles Rams.
  6. ^ The Vikings first-round pick in 1969 was acquired by the New Orleans Saints.
  7. ^ The Vikings traded quarterback Joe Kapp to the New England Patriots in exchange for the Patriots' 10th overall pick.
  8. ^ The Vikings traded quarterback Bob Lee and linebacker Lonnie Warwick to the Atlanta Falcons in exchange for the Falcons' quarterback Bob Berry and the 17th overall pick.
  9. ^ The Vikings traded their first round pick (18th overall) to the Baltimore Colts in exchange for Colts' two second round and one fifth round draft picks.
  10. ^ The Vikings traded their second overall pick to the Atlanta Falcons in exchange for Falcons' fourth overall pick and a third-round pick (60th overall).
  11. ^ The Vikings traded their eighth overall and 67th overall (third-round) to the San Diego Chargers in exchange for the Chargers' 14th and 44th (second-round) overall picks.
  12. ^ The Vikings traded their 16th overall and a fifth-round pick to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for the Dolphins' 14th overall pick.
  13. ^ The Vikings 24th overall pick was acquired by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
  14. ^ a b c The Vikings traded linebackers Jesse Solomon, David Howard, cornerback Issiac Holt, running back Darrin Nelson, defensive end Alex Stewart, their 21th, 47th (second-round) and 158th (sixth-round) picks from the 1990 draft, their 11th and 38th (second-round) picks from the 1991 draft, their 40th (second-round) and 71th (third-round) picks from the 1992 draft, and their 13th overall pick in the 1993 draft to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for the Cowboys' running back Herschel Walker, the 54th (third-round), 116th (fifth-round), 249th (10th round) picks from 1990 and the 68th (third-round) pick from 1991. The deal, known as the Herschel Walker trade, is the largest player trade in NFL history.
  15. ^ The Vikings traded offensive tackle Gary Zimmerman to the Denver Broncos in exchange for the Broncos' 18th and 179th (sixth-round) picks in the 1994 draft, and the 42nd (second-round) overall pick in the 1995 draft.
  16. ^ The Vikings traded defensive end Chris Doleman to the Atlanta Falcons in exchange for the Falcons' 40th overall pick in the 1994 draft and the 11th overall pick in the 1995 draft.
  17. ^ The Vikings traded quarterback Brad Johnson to the Washington Redskins in exchange for the Redskins' 11th and 73rd (third-round) picks in the 1999 draft and the 56th overall (fifth-round) pick in the 2000 draft.
  18. ^ The Vikings passed on the seventh and eighth overall picks.
  19. ^ The Vikings traded their 19th overall pick from the 2004 draft to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for the Dolphins' 20th and 119th (fourth-round) picks.
  20. ^ The Vikings traded wide receiver Randy Moss to the Oakland Raiders in exchange for the Raiders' middle linebacker Napoleon Harris and the seventh and 219th (seventh-round) overall picks.
  21. ^ The Vikings traded their 17th overall pick (first round), the 73rd and 82nd overall picks (third round), and 182nd overall pick (sixth round) in the 2008 draft for defensive end Jared Allen from the Kansas City Chiefs.

[edit] References

v • d • e
Minnesota Vikings first-round draft picks
Mason • Dunaway • Eller • Snow • Shay • Jones • G. Washington • Page • Yary • Ward • Hayden • Siemon • Foreman • McNeill • Riley • Mullaney • White • Kramer • Holloway • Brown • Martin • Nelson • Browner • Millard • Doleman • Robinson • Dozier • McDaniel • Smith • D. Washington • Steussie • Alexander • Stringer • Clemons • Rudd • Moss • Culpepper • Underwood • Hovan • Bennett • McKinnie • Williams • Udeze • Williamson • James • Greenway • Peterson
v • d • e
List of NFL team first-round draft picks
   

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 Chicago Bears
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