The Vikings entered the 2023 NFL draft with just five picks and ended up making six — three for the defense and three on offense.
JORDAN ADDISON
WR, Southern California (Round 1, No. 23)
Just 5 feet 11 and 173 pounds, Addison, 21, was named the nation's best receiver in 2021, catching 100 passes for 1,593 yards and 17 touchdowns to win the Biletnikoff Award. He transferred to USC before his junior year and led the Trojans with 875 yards and eight touchdowns despite missing three games to injury. He gives the Vikings a receiver who has played multiple spots and has experience as a return man. Read more on Addison.
MEKHI BLACKMON
CB, Southern California (Round 3, No. 102)
The 10th corner drafted on Friday, Blackmon, 24, was a USC teammate of Addison. The 5-11, 178-pounder spent four seasons at Colorado before leaving for USC, where he had team-leading 12 deflections and was a first-team All-Pac-12 selection. The native Californian was categorized as an aggressive man-to-man cornerback by draft analysts, which would be a good fit in defensive coordinator Brian Flores' system. Read more on Blackmon.
JAY WARD
DB, Louisiana State (Round 4, No. 134)
The 22-year-old from Georgia is an aggressive safety who also played cornerback and nickel in college and could end up doing so for the Vikings. At LSU, Ward played for Vikings defensive backs coach Daronte Jones, who was the Tigers' defensive coordinator in 2021. The 6-1, 188-pound Ward intercepted six passes during his final three seasons at LSU and excelled in run support. Read more on Ward.
JAQUELIN ROY
DT, Louisiana State (Round 5, No. 141)
The Vikings traded up to select Ward's teammate, a Baton Rouge native. Listed at 6-3 and 305 pounds, Roy (whose first name is pronounced juh-KWAY-lin) is known for having powerful upper-body strength and raw footwork with quickness and relentless drive. He started 13 of his 35 games at LSU, with 3½ tackles for loss in 2022. NFL.com's predraft analysis compared him to Dalvin Tomlinson, who left the Vikings for Cleveland this offseason. Read more on Roy.
JAREN HALL
QB, BYU (Round 5, No. 164)
One of the oldest players in the draft, at 25 (Addison, 21, was one of the youngest). The 6-foot, 207-pound Hall comes with a laundry list of past injuries: concussions in 2019, when he started two of seven games; a hip injury that forced him to miss 2020; a rib injury that hobbled him in 2021. He was a full-time starter last year, completing 66% of his passes for 3,171 yards, 31 touchdowns and six interceptions. Read more on Hall.
DeWAYNE McBRIDE
RB, Alabama-Birmingham (Round 7, No. 222)
McBride, 21, ranked second in D-I college football last season with 1,713 rushing yards, and his 19 rushing touchdowns that trailed only two players — Minnesota's Mohamed Ibrahim and Pittsburgh's Israel Abanikanda. The 5-10, 209-pound Florida native led the country with 7.35 yards per carry on his way to being Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year. Read more on McBride.
Undrafted Free Agents
After drafting six players, the Vikings agreed to sign another 15 undrafted free agents: Georgia Southern cornerback NaJee Thompson, Indiana cornerback Jaylin Williams and Oklahoma cornerback C.J. Coldon, N.C. State receiver Thayer Thomas, Southeastern Louisiana receiver Cephus Johnson, Kansas St. receiver Malik Knowles, Illinois defensive tackle Calvin Avery, Cincinnati linebackers Wilson Huber and Ivan Pace Jr., Marshall linebacker Abraham Beauplan, TCU offensive lineman Alan Ali, Pace offensive lineman Jacky Chen, Army outside linebacker Andre Carter II, Georgia kicker Jack Podlesny and Baylor tight end Ben Sims.
