5 biggest surprises by the Minnesota Vikings in the 2021 NFL Draft

Not trading down in the later rounds

Before the draft started, it was assumed the Vikings would be active movers, as they usually are. Rick Spielman has been known to wheel and deal, and he stuck true to that in the first round Minnesota moved down from pick No. 14 to No. 23 and acquired a couple of third-round picks in the process from the New York Jets, while also giving up a fourth of their own.

Many figured that would be the first of many trades by Spielman in this year’s draft, especially in the mid-rounds. He had traded down multiple times in the last few drafts, appearing to value quantity over quality. With the team not having a seventh-round pick this year due to a salary cap violation, a trade back seemed like a given.

Then something crazy happened. The Vikings stayed pat in the third round and made all of their picks at their normal spots. They did the same thing in the fourth round, and when it was all said and done, Minnesota made their final choice in the sixth round, and that was it for this year.

Spielman changed course from recent years and he actually kept his picks. He said after the draft that a big reason why was that they didn’t see a lot of value in the seventh round this time around.

While staying home and taking the best players on their board was the right move by Spielman and his staff, it was still very shocking to see it happen.