List of Minnesota Vikings first-round draft picks
The Minnesota Vikings joined the National Football League (NFL) in the 1961 season. The Vikings first draft selection as an NFL team was Tommy Mason, a running back from the Tulane Green Wave. The team's most recent first-round selection is Donovan Jackson, a guard from the Ohio State Buckeyes.
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 selected Ron Yary, an offensive tackle from the USC Trojans. The Vikings have used first-round selections on players from USC six times. The Vikings have drafted 11 defensive ends, the most common position drafted by the franchise. Six eventual Pro Football Hall of Famers have been selected by the Vikings in the first round: DE Carl Eller, DT Alan Page, DE Chris Doleman, G Randall McDaniel, OT Ron Yary and WR Randy Moss.[1]
Key
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| ^ | 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 | ||||
Player selections
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By college
| style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"|College | style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"|Draftees |
|---|---|
| USC | 6 |
| Michigan State | 4 |
| Ohio State | 4 |
| Notre Dame | 3 |
| Oklahoma 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 |
By position
| style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"|Position | style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"|Draftees |
|---|---|
| Defensive end | 11 |
| Running back | 10 |
| Cornerback | 9 |
| Wide receiver | 9 |
| Offensive tackle | 8 |
| Defensive tackle | 7 |
| Linebacker | 7 |
| Quarterback | 5 |
| Guard | 2 |
| Center | 1 |
Footnotes
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References
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