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]
^
abcdeThe 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
^
abGreen Bay finished ahead of Tampa Bay based on conference record (9–3 vs. 8–4).
^
abDallas finished ahead of LA Rams based on conference record (10–2 vs. 8–4).
^
abPhiladelphia finished ahead of New Orleans based on head-to-head victory.
^
abcWashington finished ahead of Atlanta and Seattle based on head-to-head victories.
^
abSeattle 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]
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]
^
abcdeThe 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
^
abGreen Bay finished ahead of Tampa Bay based on conference record (9–3 vs. 8–4).
^
abDallas finished ahead of LA Rams based on conference record (10–2 vs. 8–4).
^
abPhiladelphia finished ahead of New Orleans based on head-to-head victory.
^
abcWashington finished ahead of Atlanta and Seattle based on head-to-head victories.
^
abSeattle 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]