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 was Caleb Banks, a defensive end from the Florida Gators.

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 12 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.

Key

+ Key ^ 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

+Minnesota Vikings first-round draft picksYearPickPlayer namePositionCollegeNotesNational Football League, early era (1961–1969) 1961 1 Tommy Mason  † * RB Tulane 1962 No pick 1963 3 Jim Dunaway DT Ole Miss 1964 6 Carl Eller  † § ^ DE Minnesota 1965 8 Jack Snow WR Notre Dame 1966 7 Jerry Shay DT Purdue 1967 2 Clinton Jones RB Michigan State 8 Gene Washington  † WR Michigan State 15 Alan Page  † § ^ DE Notre Dame 1968 1Ron Yary  † § ^ * OT USC 1969 No pick 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 1973 12 Chuck Foreman  † § RB Miami (FL) 1974 17 Fred McNeill LB UCLA 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 NC State 1980 9 Doug Martin DT Washington 1981 No pick 1982 7 Darrin Nelson RB Stanford 1983 19 Joey Browner  † § S USC 1984 13 Keith Millard  † DE Washington State 1984* 13 Allanda Smith CB TCU 1985 4 Chris Doleman  † § ^ DE Pittsburgh 1986 14 Gerald Robinson DE Auburn 1987 14 D. J. Dozier RB Penn State 1988 19 Randall McDaniel  † § ^ G Arizona State 1989 No pick 1990 No pick 1991 No pick 1992 No pick 1993 21 Robert Smith  † RB Ohio State 1994 18 Dewayne Washington CB NC State 19 Todd Steussie  † OT California 1995 11 Derrick Alexander DE Florida State 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 UCF 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 (FL) 2003 9 Kevin Williams  † DT Oklahoma State 2004 20 Kenechi Udeze DE USC 2005 7 Troy Williamson WR South Carolina 18 Erasmus James DE Wisconsin 2006 17 Chad Greenway  † LB Iowa 2007 7 Adrian Peterson  † RB Oklahoma 2008 No pick 2009 22 Percy Harvin  † WR Florida 2010 No pick 2011 12 Christian Ponder QB Florida State 2012 4 Matt Kalil  † OT USC 29 Harrison Smith  † S Notre Dame 2013 23 Sharrif Floyd DT Florida 25 Xavier Rhodes  † CB Florida State 29 Cordarrelle Patterson  † WR Tennessee 2014 9 Anthony Barr  † LB UCLA 32 Teddy Bridgewater  † QB Louisville 2015 11 Trae Waynes CB Michigan State 2016 23 Laquon Treadwell WR Ole Miss 2017 No pick 2018 30 Mike Hughes CB UCF 2019 18 Garrett Bradbury C NC State 2020 22 Justin Jefferson  † WR LSU 31 Jeff Gladney CB TCU 2021 23 Christian Darrisaw OT Virginia Tech 2022 32 Lewis Cine S Georgia 2023 23 Jordan Addison WR USC 2024 10 J. J. McCarthy QB Michigan 17 Dallas Turner LB Alabama 2025 24 Donovan Jackson G Ohio State 2026 18 Caleb Banks DE Florida

By college CollegeDrafteesUSC6Michigan State4Ohio State4Notre Dame3Oklahoma State3Florida State3Florida3NC State3Stanford2Miami (FL)2UCLA2Pittsburgh2California2Wisconsin2Ole Miss2UCF2TCU2Alabama223 colleges1

By position PositionDrafteesDefensive end12Running back10Cornerback9Wide receiver9Offensive tackle8Defensive tackle7Linebacker7Quarterback5Guard2Center1

Footnotes

References