The Vikings entered the 2021 NFL draft with no second-round pick, having traded it to the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for DE Yannick Ngakoue during the 2020 season; however, they picked up an extra third-round selection when they traded Ngakoue to the Baltimore Ravens a few weeks later.[2] They also received an additional fifth-round selection from the Ravens as part of a multi-pick trade during the 2020 draft, as well as additional fourth-round selections from the Chicago Bears (as part of a multi-pick trade) and the Buffalo Bills (as part of the trade that sent Stefon Diggs to the Bills ahead of the 2020 season). The Vikings were also awarded two compensatory selections at the NFL's annual spring owners' meetings; they received one additional pick in the fourth round and one in the sixth round, compensating for the losses of Mackensie Alexander, Jayron Kearse, Andrew Sendejo, Trae Waynes and Stephen Weatherly.[3] On March 19, 2021, the Vikings were forced to forfeit a seventh-round selection due to a salary cap violation relating to a practice squad player during the 2019 season.[4]
On the first day of the draft, the Vikings traded their first-round pick and a fourth-round pick to the New York Jets in exchange for the first-round pick the Jets had received from the Seattle Seahawks (23rd overall) and two additional third-round picks.[5] With their new first-round pick, the Vikings selected offensive tackle Christian Darrisaw, the first player at the position to be taken in the first round by the Vikings since Matt Kalil with the fourth overall pick in 2012.[6] With no second-round pick, the Vikings' draft resumed in the third round with the picks they received from the Jets the previous day and the one they received from Baltimore in exchange for Yannick Ngakoue, in addition to their original third-round pick. With these, they picked quarterback Kellen Mond, linebacker Chazz Surratt, guard Wyatt Davis and defensive end Patrick Jones II.[7] In the fourth round, the Vikings took running back Kene Nwangwu, cornerback Camryn Bynum and defensive end Janarius Robinson,[8] followed by wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette and tight end/punter Zach Davidson in the fifth.[9] The Vikings' final pick of the draft came in the sixth round, when they selected defensive tackle Jaylen Twyman with the 199th overall pick.[10]
^ a b c d eThe Vikings traded a first- and a fourth-round selection (14th and 143rd overall) to the New York Jets in exchange for the first-round selection the Jets received from the Seattle Seahawks (23rd overall) and two third-round selections (66th and 86th overall).[11]
^The Vikings traded a second-round selection and a conditional 2022 fifth-round selection to the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for defensive end Yannick Ngakoue. The fifth-round selection would have been upgraded to a fourth rounder if Ngakoue had been selected for the 2021 Pro Bowl.[13]
^The Vikings traded defensive end Yannick Ngakoue to the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for Baltimore's third-round selection and a conditional 2022 fifth-round selection.[16]
^The Vikings traded a 2020 fifth-round selection (155th overall) to the Chicago Bears in exchange for Chicago's fourth-round selection.[19]
^The Vikings traded a 2020 seventh-round selection (239th overall) and wide receiver Stefon Diggs to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for Buffalo's fourth-round selection, and 2020 first-, fifth-, and sixth-round selections (22nd, 155th and 201st overall).[20]
^The Vikings traded 2020 sixth- and seventh-round selections (201st and 219th overall) to the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for the fifth-round selection the Ravens received from the Pittsburgh Steelers and their 2020 seventh-round selection (225th overall).[22]
^The Vikings traded a sixth-round selection (223rd overall) to the Arizona Cardinals in exchange for offensive lineman Mason Cole.[24]
^The Vikings forfeited their seventh-round selection as punishment for a salary cap violation involving a 2019 practice squad player.[25]
In addition to their usual six games home and away against their NFC North rivals, the Vikings would also play games against each of the teams from the NFC West and the AFC North, as well as the two teams that, like the Vikings, finished in third place in their divisions in the NFC East and NFC South in 2020: the Dallas Cowboys and the Carolina Panthers. Following an agreement between the league and the National Football League Players Association to expand the regular season schedule to 17 games, the Vikings also played against the Los Angeles Chargers, one of the third-placed teams from the American Football Conference (AFC) whom they were not originally scheduled to play in 2021.[29][30] The Vikings' 2021 schedule was announced on May 12.[27]
This was head coach Mike Zimmer's first return to Cincinnati since 2013, his last season with the Bengals before departing to become the Vikings head coach. Zimmer served as defensive coordinator for the Bengals under then-head coach Marvin Lewis from 2008 to 2013.
Week 2: at Arizona Cardinals
Week 2: Minnesota Vikings at Arizona Cardinals – Game summary
^ a bGreen Bay finished ahead of Tampa Bay based on conference record (9–3 vs. 8–4).
^ a bDallas finished ahead of LA Rams based on conference record (10–2 vs. 8–4).
^ a bPhiladelphia finished ahead of New Orleans based on head-to-head victory.
^ a b cWashington finished ahead of Atlanta and Seattle based on head-to-head victories.
^ a bSeattle finished ahead of Atlanta based on win percentage in common games (4–2 vs. 3–3 against: San Francisco, New Orleans, Jacksonville, Washington, and Detroit).
^When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest-ranked remaining team from each division.
Three Vikings players were named to the 2022 Pro Bowl when the rosters were announced on December 20, 2021. On offense, Dalvin Cook led the voting among NFC running backs to reach his third straight Pro Bowl, while WR Justin Jefferson made it two in a row; on defense, Harrison Smith received the most fan votes among NFC safeties to go to his sixth Pro Bowl.[33] Those three were joined by T Brian O'Neill on January 26, 2022, after Tampa Bay Buccaneers tackle Tristan Wirfs was ruled out due to injury.[34] Quarterback Kirk Cousins was added to the NFC roster on January 31 following the withdrawal of Packers QB Aaron Rodgers due to injury.[35]
References
^"Vikings Announce General Manager & Coaching Changes". Vikings.com. Minnesota Vikings Football. January 10, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
^"Sources: Vikes ship Ngakoue to Ravens for picks". ESPN.com. October 22, 2020. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
^"NFL Announces 37 Compensatory Draft Choices to 17 Clubs" (Press release). National Football League. March 10, 2021. Archived from the original on March 10, 2021. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
^Craig, Mark (March 19, 2021). "Vikings lose seventh-round draft pick for salary-cap violation". StarTribune.com. StarTribune. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
^"Vikings Trade Down with Jets in 2021 NFL Draft's 1st Round". Vikings.com. Minnesota Vikings Football. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
^"Vikings move down to take Virginia Tech's Christian Darrisaw". USA Today. Gannett. April 29, 2021. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
^Goessling, Ben (April 30, 2021). "Get to know the Vikings' third-round draft picks". StarTribune. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
^Young, Lindsey; Peters, Craig; Smith, Eric (May 1, 2021). "Minnesota Vikings Round 4 Recap of 2021 NFL Draft". Vikings.com. Minnesota Vikings Football. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
^Young, Lindsey; Peters, Craig; Smith, Eric (May 1, 2021). "Minnesota Vikings Round 5 Recap of 2021 NFL Draft". Vikings.com. Minnesota Vikings Football. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
^Young, Lindsey; Peters, Craig; Smith, Eric (May 1, 2021). "Minnesota Vikings Round 6 Recap of 2021 NFL Draft". Vikings.com. Minnesota Vikings Football. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
^Ragatz, Will (April 29, 2021). "Minnesota Vikings Trade Down to No. 23 Pick in 2021 NFL Draft With New York Jets". Inside the Vikings. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
^Gates, Christopher (May 14, 2021). "Christian Darrisaw signs rookie contract". Daily Norseman. Vox Media. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
^"Jaguars agree to trade DE Yannick Ngakoue to Vikings". ESPN. August 30, 2020. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
^Ragatz, Will (June 15, 2021). "Vikings Quarterback Kellen Mond Signs Rookie Contract". Inside The Vikings. Maven. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
^ a b cKrammer, Andrew (July 26, 2021). "Vikings sign final three draft picks to rookie contracts before camp". StarTribune. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
^"Sources: Vikes ship Ngakoue to Ravens for picks". ESPN.com. October 22, 2020. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
^ a bRagatz, Will (May 19, 2021). "Vikings Sign Fourth-Rounders Janarius Robinson and Kene Nwangwu to Rookie Contracts". Inside The Vikings. Maven. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
^Gates, Christopher (May 15, 2021). "Camryn Bynum signs rookie contract". Daily Norseman. Vox Media. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
^Mayer, Larry (April 25, 2020). "Bears draft Gipson with pick acquired in trade". ChicagoBears.com. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
^Bergman, Jeremy (March 16, 2020). "Bills acquire WR Stefon Diggs from Vikings in trade". Retrieved March 16, 2020.
^Shaffer, Jonas (April 25, 2020). "Ravens trade with Vikings, move up to take SMU WR James Proche in sixth round". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
^Williams, Charean (May 13, 2021). "Sixth-round choice Jaylen Twyman agrees to terms with Vikings". ProFootballTalk. NBC Universal. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
^"Vikings Acquire OL Mason Cole in Trade with Cardinals". Vikings.com. March 25, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
^Craig, Mark (March 19, 2021). "Vikings lose seventh-round draft pick for salary-cap violation". StarTribune. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
^"11 Undrafted rookie free agents joining Vikings include 3 receivers". Vikings.com. Minnesota Vikings Football. May 5, 2021. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
^ a bPeters, Craig (May 12, 2021). "Minnesota Vikings Announce Full 2021 NFL Schedule". Minnesota Vikings. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
^Gates, Christopher (June 3, 2021). "Vikings finalize preseason schedule". Daily Norseman. Vox Media. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
^Florio, Mike (February 16, 2020). "17th game will give each team a fifth interconference matchup". Profootballtalk.com. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
^White, Jack (January 11, 2021). "If there's a 17th game, who will the Vikings play?". Vikings Wire. USA Today. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
^"2021 Minnesota Vikings Statistics & Players". pro-football-reference.com. January 9, 2022. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
^"2021 NFL Standings & Team Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com. January 30, 2022. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
^Smith, Eric; Young, Lindsey; Peters, Craig (December 20, 2021). "Vikings Cook & Smith Join Jefferson as 2022 Pro Bowlers". vikings.com. Minnesota Vikings Football. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
^Smith, Eric (January 26, 2022). "Vikings T Brian O'Neill Named to 2022 Pro Bowl". vikings.com. Minnesota Vikings Football. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
^Smith, Eric (January 31, 2022). "Vikings QB Kirk Cousins Named to 2022 Pro Bowl". vikings.com. Minnesota Vikings Football. Retrieved January 31, 2022.