Minnesota Vikings 2021 NFL Draft First Round Live Blog: Tracker, Updates, Rumors, Analysis

Follow along here as the first round of the draft unfolds from Cleveland tonight.

Will Ragatz | Apr 29, 2021

Minnesota Vikings 2021 NFL Draft First Round Live Blog: Tracker, Updates, Rumors, Analysis /

The first round of the 2021 NFL Draft is about to get underway from Cleveland, with the Jacksonville Jaguars kicking things off with the first selection.

Right here, you'll find updates throughout the night on picks, trades, rumors, and more as the Minnesota Vikings' selection approaches at No. 14 overall.

Live Updates

11:03 p.m. — The first round concludes with two more edge rushers coming off the board: Jayson Oweh to the Ravens and Joe Tryon to the Buccaneers. That position is drying up quickly, although there's still some intriguing depth. Thanks for following along here. Let's do it again tomorrow night.

10:53 p.m. — Gregory Rousseau, once considered a consensus pick for the Vikings at 14, goes to the Bills at 30.

10:45 p.m. — Getting caught up on some picks: Najee Harris to the Steelers at 24, Travis Etienne to the Jaguars at 25, Greg Newsome II to the Browns at 26, Rashod Bateman to the Ravens at 27, Payton Turner to the Saints at 28, and Eric Stokes to the Packers at 29. Three picks left tonight.

10:07 p.m. — Christian Darrisaw was the pick for the Vikings at 23. Read about it here.

9:52 p.m. — Kwity Paye goes to the Colts at 21. Unless the Titans take Darrisaw, he'll be there for the Vikings.

9:45 p.m. — The Giants went wide receiver, taking Kadarius Toney. More good news for Minnesota.

9:37 p.m. — Another linebacker off the board, which is good news for the Vikings. Washington takes Jamin Davis at 19. Three more picks until Minnesota is on the clock. Will Christian Darrisaw or Kwity Paye make it to 23?

9:31 p.m. — The Raiders gonna Raider. They took Alex Leatherwood, who was 45th on Arif Hasan's consensus board, at 17. Then the Dolphins made Jaelan Phillips the first edge rusher off the board at 18.

9:20 p.m. — The Patriots took Mac Jones at 15 and the Cardinals took Zaven Collins at 16. The Vikings will be back on the clock before too long and could go in a bunch of different directions.

9:05 p.m. — A TRADE BACK. Rick Spielman lives up to his Trader Rick name. The Vikings are moving back to 23 in a trade with the Jets, who selected Alijah Vera-Tucker.

8:57 p.m. — The Chargers take Rashawn Slater. The Vikings are on the clock. Will it be Alijah Vera-Tucker, Christian Darrisaw, or an edge rusher?

8:50 p.m. — The Cowboys take Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons at No. 12.

8:42 p.m. — Oh my goodness. The Bears just traded up nine spots with the Giants and took Ohio State QB Justin Fields, who some ranked as the second-best QB in this class. That's not an ideal outcome for the Vikings.

8:36 p.m. — The Eagles take DeVonta Smith, getting ahead of the Giants for the Heisman-winning wide receiver.

8:30 p.m. — Wow! The Eagles move up to 10 in a trade with the Cowboys, giving up a third-rounder to get ahead of the Giants. Who will they take?

8:27 p.m. — Another cornerback. George Paton and the Broncos draft Patrick Surtain II. Fields, Slater, and DeVonta Smith still out there. Four more picks until the Vikings are on the clock.

8:17 p.m. — The Panthers take the first defensive player of the draft, South Carolina cornerback Jaycee Horn. Justin Fields is still on the board.

8:08 p.m. — Penei Sewell's slide ends at 7. He's headed to the Detroit Lions. That's great value for them.

8:02 p.m. — The Dolphins go with Alabama receiver Jaylen Waddle. No Sewell, Slater, or Justin Fields yet. Will Rick Spielman trade up?

7:57 p.m. — The Bengals take LSU WR Ja'Marr Chase, reuniting him with college teammate Joe Burrow. That's good news for the Vikings, who want tackles Penei Sewell and Rashawn Slater to fall.

7:48 p.m. — Tight end Kyle Pitts goes to the 49ers, becoming the first non-QB drafted tonight. He's a monster who joins an offense that already has Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley. New head coach Arthur Smith is going to have some fun with those weapons.

7:42 p.m. — The 49ers take NDSU QB Trey Lance, not Mac Jones or Justin Fields. Kyle Shanahan has his quarterback of the future. How far will Fields and Jones fall?

7:32 p.m. — The Jets take Zach Wilson with the second pick, which was another one we'd known about for a while. Now the draft really gets going with 49ers at 3.

7:25 p.m. — The Jaguars, as was inevitable, have selected Trevor Lawrence with the first overall pick. We're underway.

Here's everything you need to get ready.

Vikings selections

First round, No. 14
Third round, No. 78
Third round, No. 90 (from Ravens, Yannick Ngakoue trade)
Fourth round, No. 119
Fourth round, No. 125 (from Bears, 2020 draft day trade)
Fourth round, No. 134 (from Bills, Stefon Diggs trade)
Fourth round, No. 143 (compensatory, Trae Waynes)
Fifth round, No. 157
Fifth round, No. 168 (from Ravens, 2020 draft day trade)
Sixth round, No. 199 overall
Sixth round, No. 223 overall (compensatory, Mackensie Alexander)

Minnesota's second-round selection went to Jacksonville when they acquired Ngakoue.

Pre-draft reading material

Today's news

— The Vikings are a potential trade destination for Broncos quarterback Drew Lock, per Albert Breer.

— Aaron Rodgers is unhappy with the Packers and may not want to return, per Adam Schefter and others. That's good news for the Vikings. Also, there are rumors building about Rodgers potentially being traded to the Broncos.

Thanks for reading. Make sure to bookmark this site and check back daily for the latest Vikings news and analysis all offseason long. Also, follow me on Twitter and feel free to ask me any questions on there.

Published Apr 29, 2021

WILL RAGATZ