Who are the top players that have fallen to the Minnesota Vikings in the NFL Draft since 2014?
Throughout Mike Zimmer’s tenure as the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings, he and general manager Rick Spielman have placed a heavy emphasis on building the team’s roster with prospects from the NFL Draft.
The Vikings have still spent money on a number of free agents since Zimmer was hired in 2014. But the majority of the top players who have succeeded the most under their current head coach were added to the team’s roster from the draft.
Since 2014, Minnesota has seen a number of very talented players fall into their laps during the draft. The Vikings have been able to land a few guys in the second round or later that have gone on to have careers in the NFL worthy of those who were selected in the first round.
These players are what most refer to as “draft steals”. The majority of these steals typically happen in the second round of the draft or later. But there are also plenty of instances during the back third of the first round in which teams are able to land a steal of a selection.
So since Zimmer became the team’s head coach in 2014, which players should be regarded as the Vikings’ top draft steals?
6 – Brian O’Neill – OT
Drafted: Second Round (2018)
During the pre-draft process in 2018, the scouting report on Brian O’Neill had him pegged as a bit of a project of an offensive lineman. Several draft analysts believed O’Neill had potential, but they also felt he was going to need a bunch of coaching before he hit the field on a full-time basis.
Well, he was thrown into the starting lineup during the middle of his rookie season with the Vikings in 2018 and he hasn’t looked back since. As Minnesota’s starting right tackle for the last two seasons, O’Neill has emerged as the top offensive lineman on the team.
5. Justin Jefferson – WR
Drafted: First Round (2020)
Yes, players who are selected in the first round of the NFL Draft can be regarded as steals too (just ask the Vikings in 1998).
With Justin Jefferson having a monster rookie season in 2020, him being the fifth wide receiver selected in last year’s draft should be regarded as a huge steal for Minnesota. There’s a good chance that Jefferson could go down as one of the best receivers to ever play in the NFL and the Vikings were able to wait until the bottom third of the draft to pick him off the board.
4. Dalvin Cook – RB
Drafted: Second Round (2017)
With no first-round pick in 2017 after making a trade in 2016 with the Philadelphia Eagles to acquire quarterback Sam Bradford, the Vikings were still hopeful that they could add someone from the second round who could make a significant impact.
With their selection of Dalvin Cook, that’s certainly what they got. Cook’s rookie season got off to a blazing fast start before an unfortunate knee injury cut it short. After dealing with some additional injuries in his second year with Minnesota, the talented running back has emerged as one of the best rushers in the NFL during the last two seasons.
Since 2019, Derrick Henry of the Tennessee Titans is the only running back in the league to score more touchdowns than Cook and he is the first Vikings rusher not named Adrian Peterson to accumulate at least 1,600 yards from scrimmage in back-to-back seasons since Chuck Foreman did it in 1976.
3. Eric Kendricks – LB
Drafted: Second Round (2015)
Plenty of teams around the NFL have been able to get talent in the second round of the draft over the years. But most don’t expect there to be any All-Pro-caliber players left to pick once the first round of the draft is completed.
When the Vikings decided to use their 2015 second-round selection on former UCLA linebacker Eric Kendricks, they were likely hoping that he would just turn out to be someone who could be a starter for multiple seasons. Instead, Kendricks has developed into one of the best linebackers to ever play in a Minnesota uniform.
The talented Vikings linebacker has led the team in tackles in five of his six years with the franchise and in 2019, he was rewarded for his excellence on the field with a First-Team All-Pro selection.
2. Danielle Hunter – DE
Drafted: Third Round (2015)
Considering he had a grand total of 4.5 sacks during his college career at LSU, it was a little difficult to figure out what Danielle Hunter’s expectations were going to be after the Vikings used a third-round pick on him in the 2015 NFL Draft.
Anyone with working eyes saw it was obvious that Hunter was an athletic specimen. But his lack of production in college caused some to question how well he could perform at the pro level.
Well, it didn’t take very long for people to realize Hunter was going to be just fine in the NFL. After accumulating 18.5 sacks in his first two seasons as a situational pass rusher, Minnesota made him one of their starting defensive ends in 2017.
Hunter started all 16 games from 2017 to 2019 and during this time, he emerged as one of the premier pass rushers in the league. To understand how much of an impact he’s made for the Vikings over the last few years, just look up how terrible the team’s pass-rushing numbers were last season when Hunter had to miss the entire year due to injury.
1. Stefon Diggs – WR
Drafted: Fifth Round (2015)
Before he began his college career at the University of Maryland, Stefon Diggs was one of the highest recruited high-school wide receivers in the entire country. Diggs had offers from Florida, Ohio State, and Auburn, but he ended up staying close to home and attending Maryland.
Unfortunately, some injuries didn’t allow his college career to be as productive as he would’ve liked. It resulted in him slipping to Day 3 of the 2015 NFL Draft where the Vikings ended up picking him in the fifth round.
With no one selecting him until the final day of the 2015 draft, Diggs used his doubters as motivation once he entered the league. It resulted in Minnesota landing one of their best receivers in team history.
Even though he is no longer a member of the Vikings after a trade sent him to the Buffalo Bills last year, Diggs’ production during his five seasons is some of the best the franchise has seen from a wide receiver this century.
Since 2000, Diggs accumulated the third-most receiving yards, the fourth-most catches, and the fourth-most receiving touchdowns of any player that suited up for Minnesota during this time period.
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The Vikings probably thought they were using a fifth-round pick in 2015 on someone who could potentially develop into a talented third or fourth receiver. Instead, Diggs decided to greatly exceed his expectations and help Minnesota reach the playoffs in three of his five seasons with the team.