Lunchbreak: A Ranking of Vikings Rookies by 'Most Likely to Stand Out'

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CBS Sports calls 2007 NFL Draft Vikings 'Best' of past 20 years


Since 2000, the Vikings have drafted 182 players. Which class can be deemed the best?


CBS Sports' Bryan DeArdo took a stab at highlighting each NFL team's "best" draft class of the past two decades. He wrote:


With this year's draft now in the rearview mirror, we decided to take a look back at each team's best draft since 2000. We're excluding the 2020 draft, as those players have yet to take an NFL snap. And while older draft classes will clearly have an advantage, the potential already shown in some recent draft classes did result in some from the last few years cracking this list.


For the Vikings, DeArdo pointed to the 2007 NFL Draft, in which Minnesota made eight selections.


Adrian Peterson, the team's first-round pick in the '07 draft, won league MVP honors in 2012 and is currently fifth all-time on the NFL's career rushing list. Second-round pick Sidney Rice earned Pro Bowl honors in 2009, catching 83 passes for 1,312 yards and eight touchdowns that season while helping the Vikings advance to the NFC Championship Game. Defensive end Brian Robison recorded 60 sacks over his 11-year career with the Vikings. And while he spent more of his career as a backup, quarterback Tyler Thigpen managed to carve out an eight-year career, a considerably impressive feat for a seventh-round pick.


Here's a look at Minnesota's full lineup of draft picks that year:


RB Adrian Peterson (Round 1, No. 7 overall)


WR Sidney Rice (Round 2, No. 44 overall)


DB Marcus McCauley (Round 3, No. 72 overall)


DE Brian Robison (Round 4, No. 102 overall)


WR Aundrae Allison (Round 5, No. 146 overall)


LB Rufus Alexander (Round 6, No. 176 overall)


QB Tyler Thigpen (Round 7, No. 217 overall)


WR Chandler Williams (Round 7, No. 233 overall)