| Team: | Minnesota Vikings |
| Year: | 2021 |
| Record: | 8–9 |
| Division Place: | 2nd NFC North |
| Coach: | Mike Zimmer |
| General Manager: | Rick Spielman |
| Owner: | Zygi Wilf |
| Stadium: | U.S. Bank Stadium |
| Playoffs: | Did not qualify |
| Ap All-Pros: | WR Justin Jefferson (2nd team) |
| Uniform: | File:Vikings 2017-2022 (cropped).png |
| Shortnavlink: | Vikings seasons |
The 2021 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 61st in the National Football League (NFL), their sixth playing home games at U.S. Bank Stadium and their eighth and final under head coach Mike Zimmer. They were eliminated from playoff contention for the second straight season following a Week 17 loss to the Green Bay Packers. The day after the team's last game of the season, the Vikings fired Zimmer and general manager Rick Spielman.[1]
See main article: 2021 NFL draft. The Vikings entered the 2021 NFL draft with no second-round pick, having traded it to the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for DE Yannick Ngakoue during the 2020 season; however, they picked up an extra third-round selection when they traded Ngakoue to the Baltimore Ravens a few weeks later.[2] They also received an additional fifth-round selection from the Ravens as part of a multi-pick trade during the 2020 draft, as well as additional fourth-round selections from the Chicago Bears (as part of a multi-pick trade) and the Buffalo Bills (as part of the trade that sent Stefon Diggs to the Bills ahead of the 2020 season). The Vikings were also awarded two compensatory selections at the NFL's annual spring owners' meetings; they received one additional pick in the fourth round and one in the sixth round, compensating for the losses of Mackensie Alexander, Jayron Kearse, Andrew Sendejo, Trae Waynes and Stephen Weatherly.[3] On March 19, 2021, the Vikings were forced to forfeit a seventh-round selection due to a salary cap violation relating to a practice squad player during the 2019 season.[4]
On the first day of the draft, the Vikings traded their first-round pick and a fourth-round pick to the New York Jets in exchange for the first-round pick the Jets had received from the Seattle Seahawks (23rd overall) and two additional third-round picks.[5] With their new first-round pick, the Vikings selected offensive tackle Christian Darrisaw, the first player at the position to be taken in the first round by the Vikings since Matt Kalil with the fourth overall pick in 2012.[6] With no second-round pick, the Vikings' draft resumed in the third round with the picks they received from the Jets the previous day and the one they received from Baltimore in exchange for Yannick Ngakoue, in addition to their original third-round pick. With these, they picked quarterback Kellen Mond, linebacker Chazz Surratt, guard Wyatt Davis and defensive end Patrick Jones II.[7] In the fourth round, the Vikings took running back Kene Nwangwu, cornerback Camryn Bynum and defensive end Janarius Robinson,[8] followed by wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette and tight end/punter Zach Davidson in the fifth.[9] The Vikings' final pick of the draft came in the sixth round, when they selected defensive tackle Jaylen Twyman with the 199th overall pick.[10]
| Round | Selection | Player name | Position | College | Contract | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | Traded to the New York Jets | ||||||
| 23 | 4 years, $13.35 million[11] | From Seahawks via Jets | |||||
| 2 | 45 | Traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars | |||||
| 3 | 66 | 4 years, $5.22 million[12] | From Jets | ||||
| 78 | 4 years, $5 million[13] | ||||||
| 86 | 4 years, $4.9 million | From Jets | |||||
| 90 | 4 years, $4.87 million | From Ravens | |||||
| 4 | 119 | 4 years, $4.23 million[14] | |||||
| 125 | 4 years, $4.2 million[15] | From Bears | |||||
| 134 | 4 years, $4.15 million | From Bills | |||||
| 143 | Traded to the New York Jets | Compensatory selection | |||||
| 5 | 157 | 4 years, $3.8 million[16] | |||||
| 168 | 4 years, $3.78 million | From Steelers via Ravens | |||||
| 6 | 199 | DT | 4 years, $3.65 million[17] | ||||
| 223 | Traded to the Arizona Cardinals | Compensatory selection | |||||
| 7 | — | Selection forfeited | |||||
Draft trades
| Name | Position | College | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turner Bernard | LS | San Diego State | [18] |
| Tuf Borland | LB | Ohio State | |
| Christian Elliss | LB | Idaho | |
| Zeandae Johnson | DT | California | |
| Myron Mitchell | WR | UAB | |
| Riley Patterson | K | Memphis | |
| Whop Philyor | WR | Indiana | |
| Blake Proehl | WR | East Carolina | |
| A. J. Rose | RB | Kentucky | |
| Jordon Scott | NT | Oregon | |
| Zach Von Rosenberg | P | LSU |
The Vikings' preliminary preseason schedule was announced on May 12.[19] The exact dates and times were finalized on June 3.[20]
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denver Broncos | L 6–33 | 0–1 | U.S. Bank Stadium | 66,028 | Recap | ||
| 2 | Indianapolis Colts | L 10–12 | 0–2 | U.S. Bank Stadium | 66,022 | Recap | ||
| 3 | at Kansas City Chiefs | L 25–28 | 0–3 | Arrowhead Stadium | 72,680 | Recap |
In addition to their usual six games home and away against their NFC North rivals, the Vikings would also play games against each of the teams from the NFC West and the AFC North, as well as the two teams that, like the Vikings, finished in third place in their divisions in the NFC East and NFC South in 2020: the Dallas Cowboys and the Carolina Panthers. Following an agreement between the league and the National Football League Players Association to expand the regular season schedule to 17 games, the Vikings also played against the Los Angeles Chargers, one of the third-placed teams from the American Football Conference (AFC) whom they were not originally scheduled to play in 2021.[21] [22] The Vikings' 2021 schedule was announced on May 12.[19]
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 12 | at Cincinnati Bengals | L 24−27 ( | 0−1 | Paul Brown Stadium | 56,525 | Recap | |
| 2 | September 19 | at Arizona Cardinals | L 33−34 | 0–2 | State Farm Stadium | 60,115 | Recap | |
| 3 | September 26 | Seattle Seahawks | W 30–17 | 1–2 | U.S. Bank Stadium | 66,729 | Recap | |
| 4 | October 3 | Cleveland Browns | L 7–14 | 1–3 | U.S. Bank Stadium | 66,703 | Recap | |
| 5 | October 10 | Detroit Lions | W 19–17 | 2–3 | U.S. Bank Stadium | 66,538 | Recap | |
| 6 | October 17 | at Carolina Panthers | W 34–28 | 3–3 | Bank of America Stadium | 72,104 | Recap | |
| 7 | Bye | |||||||
| 8 | October 31 | Dallas Cowboys | L 16–20 | 3–4 | U.S. Bank Stadium | 66,633 | Recap | |
| 9 | November 7 | at Baltimore Ravens | L 31–34 | 3–5 | M&T Bank Stadium | 70,599 | Recap | |
| 10 | November 14 | at Los Angeles Chargers | W 27–20 | 4–5 | SoFi Stadium | 70,240 | Recap | |
| 11 | November 21 | Green Bay Packers | W 34–31 | 5–5 | U.S. Bank Stadium | 66,959 | Recap | |
| 12 | November 28 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 26–34 | 5–6 | Levi's Stadium | 71,493 | Recap | |
| 13 | December 5 | at Detroit Lions | L 27–29 | 5–7 | Ford Field | 45,691 | Recap | |
| 14 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 36–28 | 6–7 | U.S. Bank Stadium | 66,718 | Recap | ||
| 15 | at Chicago Bears | W 17–9 | 7–7 | Soldier Field | 60,082 | Recap | ||
| 16 | December 26 | Los Angeles Rams | L 23–30 | 7–8 | U.S. Bank Stadium | 66,708 | Recap | |
| 17 | January 2 | at Green Bay Packers | L 10–37 | 7–9 | Lambeau Field | 77,832 | Recap | |
| 18 | January 9 | Chicago Bears | W 31–17 | 8–9 | U.S. Bank Stadium | 66,625 | Recap | |
This was head coach Mike Zimmer's first return to Cincinnati since 2013, his last season with the Bengals before departing to become the Vikings head coach. Zimmer served as defensive coordinator for the Bengals under then-head coach Marvin Lewis from 2008 to 2013.
| Category | Player(s) | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passing yards | 4,221 | ||
| Passing touchdowns | 33 | ||
| Rushing yards | 1,159 | ||
| Rushing touchdowns | 6 | ||
| Receptions | 108 | ||
| Receiving yards | 1,616 | ||
| Receiving touchdowns | 10 | ||
| Points | 135 | ||
| Kickoff return yards | 579 | ||
| Punt return yards | 183 | ||
| Tackles | 143 | ||
| Sacks | 8.0 | ||
| Interceptions | 3 | ||
| Forced fumbles | 2 |
| Category | Total yards | Yards per game | NFL rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passing offense | 4,238 | 249.3 | 11th | |
| Rushing offense | 1,930 | 113.5 | 17th | |
| Total offense | 6,168 | 362.8 | 12th | |
| Passing defense | 4,300 | 252.9 | 28th | |
| Rushing defense | 2,222 | 130.7 | 26th | |
| Total defense | 6,522 | 383.6 | 30th |
Three Vikings players were named to the 2022 Pro Bowl when the rosters were announced on December 20, 2021. On offense, Dalvin Cook led the voting among NFC running backs to reach his third straight Pro Bowl, while WR Justin Jefferson made it two in a row; on defense, Harrison Smith received the most fan votes among NFC safeties to go to his sixth Pro Bowl.[25] Those three were joined by T Brian O'Neill on January 26, 2022, after Tampa Bay Buccaneers tackle Tristan Wirfs was ruled out due to injury.[26] Quarterback Kirk Cousins was added to the NFC roster on January 31 following the withdrawal of Packers QB Aaron Rodgers due to injury.[27]