There haven’t been very many of them over the years
We’re getting ready for the start of the 2024 NFL Draft from Detroit, and we want to take a look back. . .since we’re killing time and we’re all rumored out at the moment. . .at what the Minnesota Vikings have done in past drafts with certain picks.
The biggest rumor of the pre-draft process for the purple thus far has been that they will be moving way up to draft a quarterback, perhaps even into the top five selections. The Vikings have never taken a quarterback higher than #11 overall, so if they do that it will be a history-making move for the franchise.
However, throughout their history, the Vikings have selected in the top 5 of the NFL Draft on six different occasions. How did those picks go for the team? Well, let’s take a walk down memory lane and see.
Tommy Mason, #1 overall, 1961
Mason was the first pick in franchise history, selected before the franchise had even taken the field. He wound up playing six seasons for Minnesota, rushing for 3,252 yards and 28 touchdowns in 70 career games with the Vikings. He then moved on to play for the Los Angeles Rams for four seasons and the Washington Redskins for a year before retiring following the 1971 season.
Ron Yary, #1 overall, 1968
The Vikings have picked at #1 overall twice in franchise history, and neither time was connected to the team’s on-field performance. Tommy Mason, who we just talked about, was selected before the Vikings even played a game, and this selection was acquired by the Vikings in the trade that sent Fran Tarkenton to the New York Giants before the 1967 season. Yary wound up being the first offensive lineman ever to be selected at #1 overall and, as we all know, went on to a Hall of Fame career. He spent all but one season of that career in Minnesota, spending his last season with the Rams as a reserve player. I think you can label this pick a “hit.”
Clint Jones, #2 overall, 1967
Jones was also taken with a selection from the Tarkenton trade and currently stands as the only #2 overall pick in franchise history. He spent six seasons with the Vikings, rushing for 2,008 yards and 19 touchdowns in 75 career games with the purple. He also finished his career elsewhere, as he moved on to play for the San Diego Chargers in 1973 and then retired from the NFL.
Jim Dunaway, #3 overall, 1963
Dunaway was drafted by the Vikings with the third pick in the 1963 NFL Draft and never played a snap for the team, electing to go play for the Buffalo Bills of the AFL instead. He’s still the only #3 overall pick in franchise history.
Chris Doleman, #4 overall, 1985
Coming off of what was the worst season in franchise history, the Vikings still only managed to wind up with the #4 pick in the 1985 NFL Draft. They used that pick to select Doleman, and early on in his career it looked like he was in danger of becoming a bust. He was playing at outside linebacker for his first two seasons and looked out of place, but that changed in 1987. The Vikings switched from a 3-4 to a 4-3 defense and made Doleman a “hand in the dirt” defensive end instead of an outside linebacker. All he did from there was make life miserable for quarterbacks, collecting 93 of his 96.5 career quarterback sacks after making the switch and making six trips to the Pro Bowl as a member of the Vikings. He came back for one final year in purple in 1999 and, even at the age of 38, still managed to put up eight sacks. He went into the Pro Football Hall of Fame 2012. Sadly, he passed away in 2020 at the age of 58.
Matt Kalil, #4 overall, 2012
The Vikings were slated to draft at #3 overall in 2012 after the second 3-13 season in franchise history, but made a trade with Cleveland to drop down to #4 overall. It seemed like the Vikings were going to take Kalil all along, and that’s what they did. Things started off pretty well for Kalil as a Pro Bowler in 2012 and made the PFWA All-Rookie team that season, but things deteriorated significantly after that. The team picked up the fifth-year option on his rookie deal for the 2016 season, and he then proceeded to miss most of that season with an injury. He spent a couple of seasons with the Carolina Panthers before making his way out of the league by 2019.
As the Vikings have never selected at #5 overall, those six players make up the only Top 5 picks in franchise history. They’ve picked two Hall of Famers in those six selections in Yary and Doleman and one guy that didn’t even play for the team, so there’s quite a bit of variance in there. Hopefully, if they do find their way into the Top 5 in the first round of tonight’s NFL Draft, the player will find themselves on the high end of the scale instead.
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