Vikings to induct Kevin Williams into the Ring of Honor

After missing the opportunity to do so in 2020, the Minnesota Vikings will be adding a new member to their Ring of Honor in 2021, and they’ve chosen a very deserving candidate.

The team has announced that defensive tackle Kevin Williams will be the team’s newest Ring of Honor inductee. The date that Williams will be honored on has not yet been announced.

Most non-Vikings fans, or those that simply have no grasp of history, will point out that Kevin Williams was selected by the Vikings in the draft where the team “missed their pick” (due to the team having agreed to a trade with the Baltimore Ravens and then having the Ravens not bother to call in their end of the deal). The Jacksonville Jaguars and Carolina Panthers managed to leap over the Vikings in order to select Byron Leftwich and Jordan Gross, respectively.

It would be nice if the Vikings could screw up all of their picks as badly as they “screwed up” their selection of Kevin Williams. After he was drafted by the Vikings, all Williams did was get selected as a five-time First-Team All-Pro, a six-time Pro Bowler, a member of the NFL’s All-2000s team, and was named as one of the 50 greatest Vikings of all time.

I don’t think Byron Leftwich or Jordan Gross ever reached those heights.

Unfortunately, Williams did not play his whole career for the Vikings, as he spent one season in Seattle and one season in New Orleans before finally retiring after the 2015 season. He should be a borderline Hall of Fame candidate, but I have a funny feeling that he’s not going to get the respect that he deserves on that front. At least not for quite a while, anyway.

Congratulations to Kevin Williams on being named as the 26th member of the team’s Ring of Honor. Once we know more about when he will be honored, we will pass the news along to you.