The NFL draft is known as a crap shoot. You can find a hall of fame player just about anywhere but being able to identify them is the biggest challenge. Some teams can find great talent anywhere while others struggle to find good players in round one where it’s the easiest to identify those talents.
The Minnesota Vikings are no strangers to inconsistencies in the NFL draft and you can look at their history at pick 42 for just that. In their history, they have selected three times at the 42nd overall pick with the first happening in 1966 and the last in 2022.
Who have the Vikings selected at 42nd overall? Lets take a look.
1966: LB Don Hansen
Hansen was a third-round pick of the Vikings in 1966 and ended up playing until 1977. He only played two seasons for the Vikings before moving on to the Atlanta Falcons. Hep landed for them for seven years before finishing off his final two seasons with the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks.
1995: S Orlando Thomas
The Vikings landed a gem in Thomas who was a really good safety for seven seasons. Thomas nearly won the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year award in 1995 with nine interceptions, four fumble recoveries and two touchdowns to pair with 51 total tackles. He finished second. He retired after the 2001 season and unfortunately passed away from ALS in 2014.
2022: CB Andrew Booth Jr.
When the Vikings took Booth in the second round in 2022, it felt like a steal. Prior to the combine, Booth had been thought of as a potential top-15 selection. Unfortunately, Booth had core muscle surgery and didn’t test at the combine and that dropped him to the second round. He suffered his second knee injury since beginning high school football with a torn meniscus in his rookie year and his performance has been spotty. There is still hope for him to take the next step but he has a long way to go.
