What happened with the Vikings’ missed Draft pick in 2003? More on Minnesota's first-round NFL Draft mishap

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What happened with the Vikings missed Draft pick in 2003? More on Minnesota
What happened with the Vikings missed Draft pick in 2003? More on Minnesota's first-round NFL Draft mishap

The Minnesota Vikings had a rather unusual mishap during the 2003 NFL draft, which still lives fresh in the minds of football fans. The first-round chaos left the NFC North franchise executives redfaced at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York.

The Vikings entered the draft holding the seventh overall pick. However, they were forced to make a rare pass on their first-round selection after they could not complete a proposed trade with the Baltimore Ravens during the 15-minute time window.

Per reports from the Vikings personnel, they submitted their plans to NFL officials with about 30 seconds remaining on the clock, in which they said that a trade had been worked out and the Baltimore-based team.

The deal involved sending their seventh overall pick for the 10th pick, a fourth-round selection and a sixth-round selection. However, Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome argued that the deal was not finalized, which led to some confusion, and the league didn't execute the trade.

Amid the chaos, the Vikings' time on the clock expired, and the Jacksonville Jaguars were given the seventh pick in the draft. The Carolina Panthers then followed up by making the eighth overall selection as Minnesota was left puzzled.

While speaking to reporters after the draft, Vikings' executive vice president Rob Brzezinski said:

"We had called in the trade, and we thought it was done. We're all sitting there in the draft room, just watching on TV, and all hell broke loose."

However, Newsome clarified later why the deal didn't go through.

"The deal was not consummated,” Newsome said “A deal is not a deal until I talk to Joel Bussert, and I never talked to Joel Bussert.”

The Vikings eventually composed themselves and made their pick with the ninth overall selection, dropping two places from their original pick.

The NFL rules allowed them to make their pick at any time after their initial slot, provided they identified the player they wanted to draft. Fortunately, Minnesota picked the player it originally set its sights on, Kevin Williams.

However, the incident left the Vikings executives with egg on their faces.


A look at all the Minnesota Vikings NFL draft picks in 2003

Here's a look at the seven selections (two in Round 6) the Minnesota Vikings made in the 2003 NFL draft:

  • Round 1 - Kevin Williams, DT
  • Round 2 - E.J. Henderson, LB
  • Round 3 - Nate Burleson, WR
  • Round 4 - Onetrrio Smith, RB
  • Round 6 - Eddie Johnson, P
  • Round 6 - Mike Nattiel, LB
  • Round 7 - Keenan Howry, WR

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