2024 NFL draft: Where will Minnesota Vikings pick in the first round?
MINNEAPOLIS — With the Minnesota Vikings' season wrapped up, the team will now be looking ahead to the 2024 NFL draft.
Since the Vikings didn't make the playoffs, their first-round draft position is already set. They'll be picking 11th overall. It's the highest they've picked in several years, and puts them in good position to land one of the draft's top prospects.
Why are the Vikings picking 11th?
The Vikings finished 7-10, the same record as three teams pickings just ahead of them — the New York Jets, Chicago Bears and Atlanta Falcons. Because of various tiebreakers, the Vikings ended up with the lowest pick of the bunch.
READ MORE: Vikings' Danielle Hunter, Andrew DePaola to start 2024 NFL Pro Bowl Games
Have the Vikings ever picked 11th overall before?
The 11th slot is the highest the Vikings have picked since 2015, when they took cornerback Trae Waynes in that exact slot. Waynes had seven interceptions across five seasons for the Vikings before signing with the Cincinnati Bengals. He spent most of his time in Cincinnati on injured reserve before being released.
The Vikings have picked 11th two other times in team history, taking defensive end Derrick Alexander in 1995 and quarterback Daunte Culpepper in 1999. Alexander lasted just five seasons in the NFL, never topping more than 7.5 sacks in a season. Culpepper looked like a true franchise QB and displayed MVP-level talent before injuries derailed his career.
Full list of 2024 Vikings draft picks
The full draft order hasn't been set in stone yet, but these are the picks the Vikings own:
- First round, 11th overall
- Second round, 42nd overall
- Two fourth-round picks
- Two fifth-round picks
- Two sixth-round picks
- Seventh round
That's nine picks total. The Vikings could use that ammo — as well as future picks — to trade up, or trade down and acquire more draft capital.
READ MORE: Vikings' Jared Allen back as finalist for Pro Football Hall of Fame for 2024
When is the 2024 NFL draft?
The 2024 NFL draft takes place April 25-27 in Detroit. The first round will happen on day one, rounds two and three on day two and rounds four through seven on the final day.
