The Minnesota Vikings were busy in the 2020 NFL Draft.
The Vikings entered Day 3 of the 2020 NFL Draft with *13* picks. How did THAT happen?
Thanks to two trades, the Vikings owned an absurd amount of Day 3 draft capital.
Harrison Barden-USA TODAY Sports
The team entered the draft with two first-round picks after trading Stefon Diggs to the Buffalo Bills in March. In the first three rounds, the Vikings picked LSU receiver Justin Jefferson, TCU cornerback Jeff Gladney, Boise State offensive lineman Ezra Cleveland, and Mississippi State cornerback Cameron Dantzler.
Then the Vikings took 11 more players, rounding out a 15-player draft class. That’s the largest haul for any team in a draft since the league switched to a seven-round format in 1994. It could’ve been more too. The Vikings somehow managed to amass 13 (THIRTEEN!) draft picks in the last four rounds before trading away two of them.
It only took two trades to gather up all those picks:
- The Vikings traded back six spots from the 25th pick to 31st. The 49ers wanted to move up to secure Arizona State receiver Brandon Aiyuk, and they sent Minnesota fourth- and fifth-round picks to make it happen.
- The next trade didn’t happen until the final minutes of Day 2. With the New Orleans Saints determined to land Dayton tight end Adam Trautman before the end of the night, Minnesota slid out of the third round altogether. To get the Vikings’ 105th overall pick, the Saints gave up fourth-, fifth-, sixth-, and seventh-round selections.
And — Voila! — just like that the Vikings had the following draft picks heading into Day 3:
- Fourth round (No. 117) via Bucs through 49ers
- Fourth round (No. 130) via Saints
- Fourth round (No. 132)
- Fifth round (No. 155) via Browns through Bills
- Fifth round (No. 169) via Saints
- Fifth round (No. 176) via 49ers
- Sixth round (No. 201) via Bills
- Sixth round (No. 203) via Saints
- Sixth round (No. 205)
- Seventh round (No. 219) via Dolphins
- Seventh round (No. 244) via Packers through Saints
- Seventh round (No. 249)
- Seventh round (No. 253)
New Orleans, on the other hand, had no picks left after taking Trautman.
Owning a baker’s dozen of late-round draft picks can be a bit of a burden, though. Minnesota was a playoff team a year ago and is too good to expect even eight rookies to make the final roster, let alone 17.
That’s why the Vikings were better off using the last day of the draft to set themselves up for a better 2021 NFL Draft. One of their fifth-rounders this year (No. 155) was sent to the Bears for a 2021 fourth-round pick. A sixth-round pick (No. 201) was used to acquire the Ravens’ 2021 fifth-rounder.
Minnesota used most of its long list of Day 3 draft picks, but it’s also set up well in 2021 now.
See More:
