The Best Vikings Draft Picks of the Past Five Years
Josh Frey
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The 2024 NFL Draft is right around the corner.
Many Vikings fans are hoping that Minnesota decides to trade up the draft board in order to select a quarterback. Over the past few years, the Vikings have had a number of very successful draft selections. Here is a ranking of the best Vikings draft picks over the past five years from 2019-2023.
Ranking the Best Vikings Draft Picks of the Past Five Years
7. RB Ty Chandler
Sample size could be an argument used against Ty Chandler in this spot as opposed to, say, players like Ezra Cleveland, Akayleb Evans, or D.J. Wonnum. However, what we have seen out of Chandler has been good, particularly down the stretch of the 2023 season.
Seeing as the Vikings landed Chandler in the latter half of the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft, as long as his trajectory continues to point up, he projects to be one of the better picks for the Vikings in recent years.
6. WR K.J. Osborn
For three years, K.J. Osborn was one of the best WR3s in the NFL, totaling 158 receptions, 1845 yards, and 15 touchdowns from 2021-2023. Considering Osborn was a fifth-round pick by the Vikings in 2020, this was just about the best-case scenario for the wide receiver’s tenure in Minnesota. Now, he has a chance to show he can do even more with the New England Patriots.
5. S Josh Metellus
Another depth selection of the 2020 NFL Draft, Josh Metellus was a sixth-round pick that spring. After spending his first few seasons mainly as a special teams piece, Metellus emerged as one of the better defenders for the Vikings last season, serving as a Swiss army knife for Brian Flores.
Assuming that trend continues in 2024, Metellus belongs on this list for his play as well as the value that Minnesota got in the pick, selecting him 205th overall.
4. WR Jordan Addison
The assumption should be that Jordan Addison will climb up this list as time goes on. He delivered one of the most impressive rookie season that we’ve ever seen from a Vikings rookie wide receiver, totaling 70 receptions for 911 yards and 10 touchdowns.
For now, though, we might need to see a bit more from him to move up the list. He was, after all, selected with the 23rd overall pick in the draft. The expectation going in was that he’d be an immediate contributor.
3. S Camryn Bynum
Camryn Bynum showed flashes of what he was capable of back in 2021, and since then, the safety has played nearly every snap for the Vikings defense over the past two seasons. 2022 saw some growing pains for Bynum, but he graded out as one of the best safeties in the league last year, per PFF.
For a player who was selected in the fourth round of the 2021 Draft, this has been a tremendous start for Bynum that should only get even better this season.
2. LT Christian Darrisaw
The Vikings entered the 2021 NFL Draft desperately needing to find a solution at left tackle. They did exactly that by selecting Christian Darrisaw, who has progressively turned into one of the best players at the position in the entire NFL.
Taking into account that the Vikings actually traded down to pick Darrisaw, this was a home run for Minnesota.
1. WR Justin Jefferson
There has not been a better Vikings draft selection than Justin Jefferson over the past five years. The LSU product has put together an outstanding start to his career, shattering NFL records along the way. Considering that he was the direct replacement for Stefon Diggs after Minnesota traded him to the Buffalo Bills, this pick couldn’t have worked out any better for the Vikings.
Editor’s Note: Statistics for this article were found via Pro Football Reference.
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Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.