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On Friday, the National Football League announced the 32 compensatory picks that they were doling out to bring the 2017 NFL Draft to 256 253 overall selections (three teams have lost picks for various infractions). As usual, the Minnesota Vikings received no compensatory picks, but they did get a little bit of clarity as to where their picks are going to lie.
We now know that the Miami Dolphins, who the Vikings acquired picks from in the 2016 NFL Draft, did not receive a compensatory pick in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft (though they did receive a third round pick and two in the fifth round). Because of that, the pick that they will send to the Vikings will be #129 overall in the fourth round. Had the Dolphins gotten a fourth-round compensatory pick, they would have sent that to Minnesota instead.
The NFL also gave out a whopping eleven compensatory picks in the third round, which pushes all of Minnesota’s third-day selections down the board significantly.
While the Dolphins did get a compensatory pick in the third round, it was only the fourth-round selection in the trade that was subject to those conditions. So, the Dolphins will be sending their original third round pick, #86 overall, to Minnesota.
Minnesota’s own picks still have some wiggle room to them, as they’re dependent on the coin toss that will take place at the NFL Combine between the Vikings and the Indianapolis Colts. Whoever wins the coin toss will have the 14th overall pick, while the loser will pick at #15. The Colts and Vikings will then rotate with the Baltimore Ravens in subsequent rounds of the draft.
With that, here’s the most up-to-date look at where the Minnesota Vikings’ picks in the 2017 NFL Draft lie. The “either/or” selections are dependent on the coin toss, with the pick in bold being the selection if the Vikings win their coin toss with the Colts at the Combine. An explanation of the selection rotation process (or, more accurately, my current understanding of it) follows the picks.
Second Round
- #46 or #48 overall
Third Round
- #79 or #80 overall
- #86 overall (from Miami)
Fourth Round
- #121 or #122 overall
- #129 overall (from Miami)
Fifth Round
- #158 or #160 overall
Sixth Round
- #199 or #200 overall
Seventh Round
- #232 or #233 overall
My understanding is that if the Vikings win the toss to put themselves (or, rather, the Eagles) at #14 overall, they would drop behind both the Colts (who would select at #15) and the Ravens (who would select at #16) in Round 2, putting their second-round selection at #48 overall. If they lost the toss and wound up at #15 overall in Round 1, they would pick at #46 in Round 2, with the Ravens picking at #47 and the Colts picking at #48 (after picking at #14 in Round 1).
If someone that’s more knowledgeable on the subject can provide more guidance or a correction as to how the rotation of those picks works, I will do a correction to the post and clarify things. That’s what I believe we have for now, however.