The 2020 NFL Draft will be the 60th in Minnesota Vikings franchise history. Over the previous 59 years the Vikings have made 60 first round selections. Here are those first round selections:
1961: Tommy Mason, RB, Tulane
1962: No Pick
1963: Jim Dunaway, DT, Mississippi
1964: Carl Eller, DE, Minnesota
1965: Jack Snow, WR, Notre Dame
1966: Jerry Shay, DT, Purdue
1967: Clinton Jones, RB, Michigan State
Gene Washington, WR, Michigan State
Alan Page, DT, Notre Dame
1968: Ron Yary, OT, USC
1969: No Pick
1970: John Ward, OT, Oklahoma State
1971: Leo Hayden, RB, Ohio State
1972: Jeff Siemon, LB, Stanford
1973: Chuck Foreman, RB, Miami
1974: Fred McNeill, LB, UCLA
Steve Riley, OT, USC
1975: Mark Mullaney, DT, Colorado State
1976: James White, DT, Oklahoma State
1977: Tommy Kramer, QB, Rice
1978: Randy Holloway, DE, Pittsburgh
1979: Ted Brown, RB, North Carolina State
1980: Doug Martin, DE, Washington
1981: No Pick
1982: Darrin Nelson, RB, Stanford
1983: Joey Browner, S, USC
1984: Keith Millard, DE, Washington State
1985: Chris Doleman, LB, Pittsburgh
1986: Gerald Robinson, DE, Aubrun
1987: D.J. Dozier, RB, Penn State
1988: Randall McDaniel, OG, Arizona State
1989: No Pick
1990: No Pick
1991: No Pick
1992: No Pick
1993: Robert Smith, RB, Ohio State
1994: DeWayne Washington, CB, North Carolina State
Todd Steussie, OT, California
1995: Derrick Alexander, DE, Florida State
Korey Stringer, OT, Ohio State
1996: Duane Clemons, DE, California
1997: Dwayne Rudd, LB, Alabama
1998: Randy Moss, WR, Marshall
1999: Daunte Culpepper, QB, Central Florida
Dimitrius Underwood, DE, Michigan State
2000: Chris Hovan, DT, Boston College
2001: Michael Bennett, RB, Wisconsin
2002: Bryant McKinnie, OT, Miami
2003: Kevin Williams, DT, Oklahoma State
2004: Kenechi Udeze, DE, USC
2005: Troy Williamson, WR, South Carolina
Erasmus James, DE, Wisconsin
2006: Chad Greenway, LB, Iowa
2007: Adrian Peterson, RB, Oklahoma
2008: No Pick
2009: Percy Harvin, WR, Florida
2010: No Pick
2011: Christian Ponder, QB, Florida State
2012: Matt Kalil, OT, USC
Harrison Smith, S, Notre Dame
2013: Sharrif Floyd, DT, Florida
Xavier Rhodes, CB, Florida State
Cordarrelle Patterson, WR, Tennessee
2014: Anthony Barr, LB, UCLA
Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Louisville
2015: Trae Waynes, CB, Michigan State
2016: Laquon Treadwell, WR, Mississippi
2017: No Pick
2018: Mike Hughes, CB, Central Florida
2019: Garrett Bradbury, C, North Carolina State
A breakdown:
Hall of Famers:
Carl Eller
Alan Page
Ron Yary
Chris Doleman
Randall McDaniel
Randy Moss
Adrian Peterson will join this list.
By position:
Quarterbacks (4):
Tommy Kramer
Daunte Culpepper
Christian Ponder
Teddy Bridgewater
Running Backs (10):
Tommy Mason
Clinton Jones
Leo Hayden
Chuck Foreman
Ted Brown
Darrin Nelson
D.J. Dozier
Robert Smith
Michael Bennett
Adrian Peterson
Receivers (7):
Jack Snow
Gene Washington
Randy Moss
Troy Williamson
Percy Harvin
Cordarrelle Patterson
Laquon Treadwell
Offensive Linemen (9):
Ron Yary
John Ward
Steve Riley
Randall McDaniel
Todd Steussie
Korey Stringer
Bryant McKinnie
Matt Kalil
Garrett Bradbury
Defensive Linemen (18):
Jim Dunaway
Carl Eller
Jerry Shay
Alan Page
Mark Mullaney
James White
Randy Holloway
Doug Martin
Keith Millard
Gerald Robinson
Derrick Alexander
Duane Clemons
Dimitrius Underwood
Chris Hovan
Kevin Williams
Keneche Udeze
Erasmus James
Sharrif Floyd
Linebackers (6):
Jeff Siemon
Fred McNeill
Chris Doleman
Dwayne Rudd
Chad Greenway
Anthony Barr
Cornerbacks (4):
DeWayne Washington
Xavier Rhodes
Trae Waynes
Mike Hughes
Safeties (2):
Joey Browner
Harrison Smith
Picks that thrilled me to the point of hyperventilation:
Joey Browner
Randall McDaniel
Dwayne Rudd
RANDY MOSS
Chris Hovan
Bryant McKinnie
Chad Greenway
Adrian Peterson
Percy Harvin
Harrison Smith
Anthony Barr
Teddy Bridgewater
I had watched a lot of Darrin Nelson at Stanford and he was a terrific back. I was thrilled when the Vikings drafted him but my thrill was muted a bit by the fact that Marcus Allen was still available. I hadn't seen as much of Allen in college as I'd seen of Nelson but I'd seen enough. Allen was going to be the better professional running back.
Picks that disappointed so, so much as players:
Dwayne Rudd
Bryant McKinnie
I was thrilled when both players were drafted but I can't remember ever being thrilled watching either play. Dwayne Rudd put more energy into celebrating routine plays than he ever put into actually making plays. For the entirety of his career, Bryant McKinnie simply showed no energy and no interest while he was on the field. He made one Pro Bowl, probably because Brett Favre made him look better than he was, and was sent home before the game was even played. Who does that? McKinnie being sent home from the Pro Bowl was less surprising than his actually being selected for the game. I've never been one to hate the players that play for the team that I love but I hated seeing these two players play for the Vikings. I was thrilled when both were drafted but I was more thrilled when they left.
The Vikings are scheduled to make two picks in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft (#22 and #25). If that holds and they do make two selections it will be the tenth time in franchise history in which they have had multiple first round picks. Hopefully, the results of those picks are more like 1967 than 2005.
As a youngster in California, I fell for the Vikings in the early 1970s. The first draft that I really remember following was the 1976 draft that brought James and Sammy White to Minnesota. Thanks to the tremendous work of Joel Buschbaum, Paul Zimmerman, and Mel Kiper I gradually started to understand the football fun of the NFL Draft. I can't wait for the 2020 edition.
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