As the Minnesota Vikings prepare to make the 22nd and 25th overall selections in the upcoming 2020 NFL Draft, who are some of the guys they’ve picked in these slots before?
The Minnesota Vikings are currently slated to make their first two picks in the 2020 NFL Draft at slot No. 22 (acquired from the Buffalo Bills in the Stefon Diggs trade) and slot No. 25.
Whether the Vikings decide to use either one to move higher or lower in the draft order still remains to be seen and will be very interesting to find out.
Minnesota has only had the No. 22 pick once before and it was used on Florida wide receiver Percy Harvin in 2009.
As for pick No. 25, the Vikings have selected from this spot in the draft six different times in the past.
Here are some of the guys Minnesota has added from this spot during previous drafts.
1970: John Ward – OT (Oklahoma State)
Ward spent his first six seasons with the Vikings before finishing his career in 1976 with the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He ended up appearing in 64 games for Minnesota, starting in 14 of them.
1974: Steve Riley – OT (USC)
Riley spent his entire 11-year NFL career with the Vikings, starting in 128 out of 138 total games. He was also on Minnesota’s roster during two of their Super Bowl appearances.
1975: Mark Mullaney – DE (Colorado State)
Mullaney spent all 13 years of his career in the league with the Vikings. He ended up starting in 97 of his 151 games in Minnesota.
1976: James White – DT (Oklahoma State)
White spent eight seasons with the Vikings, starting in 61 of his 117 career games with the team.
2000: Chris Hovan – DT (Boston College)
Hovan spent his first five NFL seasons in Minnesota. He showed promise in his first three years with the Vikings, including a very good 2002 campaign. But he struggled in his final two seasons with the team.
During his final year with the team in 2004, Hovan saw less time out on the field and was he was deactivated for Minnesota’s final three games due to his performance. He ended up being deactivated for the Vikings’ two playoff matchups that year as well.
In his time with Minnesota, Hovan was a starter in 70 of the 79 games he appeared in. He finished with 17 sacks in a Vikings uniform (13.5 in the first three seasons).
Minnesota had the hope that drafting future All-Pro Kevin Williams in 2003 would help take the pressure off of Hovan and make him an even better player. But that did not happen.
He ended up spending the final five years of his career in Tampa Bay with the Buccaneers.
2013: Xavier Rhodes – CB (Florida State)
Rhodes was just released by the Vikings last month after being with the team for the last seven years. He struggled mightily this past season. But overall, he was a very good cornerback for Minnesota.
Rhodes is a three-time Pro Bowler and he earned a First-Team All-Pro selection in 2017. With the Vikings, he started in 97 games and he accumulated a total of 10 interceptions (five of them in 2016).
Overall, Minnesota hasn’t had too much success when they have had the No. 25 pick in the draft. However, the Vikings are hoping that will change this year.
Heading into the upcoming draft, Minnesota has needs at both guard spots, wide receiver, and cornerback. They could also address the left tackle spot as a current or future replacement for Riley Reiff.
With how deep this year’s draft is expected to be at wide receiver, there’s a chance the Vikings could wait until the second round to address this need. Given the love Minnesota head coach Mike Zimmer has for cornerbacks, it certainly will not come as a shock if they take one in the first round. Former Utah cornerback Jaylon Johnson could be a possibility with one of their first two picks.
Other possibilities for the Vikings to add with their first two selections this year could include wide receivers Justin Jefferson (LSU) and Tee Higgins (Clemson) or left tackles Austin Jackson (USC) and Josh Jones (Houston).