Tag: Kevin Williams

93 days until Vikings season opener: Every player to wear No. 93

The No. 93 holds a lot of history, including Hall of Famer John Randle, but who else has worn the number for the Vikings?

It’s the final countdown…

Well, sort of.

The Minnesota Vikings will kick off their 2023 regular season in 93 days at home against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sept. 10.

From now until then, we will take a trip down memory lane and count each day by revisiting the players that have worn that specific jersey number.

Jonathan Bullard currently holds the number for the Vikings and has worn it since last season. Edge rusher Patrick Jones II also wore the number briefly before switching to No. 91. However, the number is headlined by John Randle, a Hall of Famer who wore the number for 11 seasons.

With 93 days until kickoff, here’s a look at every player to wear No. 93 with the Vikings (via Pro Football Reference):

5 former Vikings nominated for the Hall of Fame

5 former Vikings are eligible for the Hall of Fame

The Minnesota Vikings have a storied history. Having been founded in 1961, they have sent 22 players to the Hall of Fame during their history.

From Carl Eller and Alan Page to Randy Moss and Cris Carter, the lineage that these players have woven into history is incredibly impressive on both sides of the football.

On Monday, the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced the 129 modern-era candidates for Hall of Fame class of 2023 and five former Vikings were included on that list.

  • Quarterback Randall Cunningham
  • Center Matt Birk
  • Defensive End Jared Allen
  • Defensive Tackle Kevin Williams
  • Kicker Gary Anderson

While none of these players spent their entire careers with the Vikings, all but Cunningham made their names as a Viking.

The list of 129 candidates will be narrowed down to 25 in November and 15 in early January before announcing the 2023 class at the NFL awards ceremony the weekend of the Super Bowl.

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New Orleans Pelicans land variety of 3&D players in post-lottery mock drafts

The New Orleans Pelicans’ need for 3&D players in the upcoming draft led to a host of players being projected to them in mock drafts.

The New Orleans Pelicans did not move up in Thursday’s NBA Draft Lottery, staying put with the No. 13 pick. While still having a lottery pick, the Pelicans will be at the back end of the lottery.

Following Thursday’s draft lottery, mock drafts were in abundance from multiple sites and had a common theme for the Pelicans in wing players.

Stadium’s Jeff Goodman had the Pelicans landing Aaron Nesmith, a small forward out of Vanderbilt. Yahoo Sports had the Pelicans drafting a different forward in Precious Achiuwa out of Memphis.

DraftExpress had New Orleans drafting Patrick Williams, a wing player out of Florida State that has been linked in other mock drafts to the Pelicans.

“Williams has tremendous physical tools in terms of size, length and strength, and he is the second-youngest player in this draft class. His shooting indicators are promising, even if he is still a fairly raw player overall on both ends of the floor. Williams’ defensive versatility could be appealing to a New Orleans team that needs to improve on that end, and adding another combo forward could allow Zion Williamson to play more minutes at center.”

The Athletic also had the Pelicans drafting a familiar name in Saddiq Bey out of Villanova.

“The Pelicans don’t really have a ton of needs, so they should just be taking the best player available who can help them on the defensive end and grow with their young core. Bey, for me, is that guy, even though they have Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram across the frontline. You can say that they have guys everywhere, to be honest. Getting another good player is the best thing they can do. Bey’s shooting and defense is a perfect fit.”

The Pelicans’ need for 3&D players is their most obvious one. The team lacked shooters on the wing aside from JJ Redick this season and certainly lacked defenders of any form. Landing a 3&D player in the draft could be a huge boost for the team moving forward.

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Vikings take DT Kevin Williams in B/R’s 2003 redraft

I guess time didn’t run out for the Vikings in a Bleacher Report 2003 redraft. B/R had Minnesota picking Kevin Williams, but as the seventh overall pick.

Bleacher Report did a redraft of the 2003 class, and the Vikings wound up with the same player they took originally: Kevin Williams.

Though Minnesota took Williams in 2003, the sequence of events involved in making that pick were bizarre.

The Vikings ran out of time at pick No. 7, which gave teams behind them the opportunity to take a player before Minnesota could draft.

The Vikings argued that they submitted their draft card with a trade with the Ravens, but the league said they never heard confirmation from Baltimore.

Then, the Panthers and Jaguars both picked before Minnesota had a chance to draft. Despite having the No. 7 overall choice, the Vikings took Williams at No. 9.

In Bleacher Report’s redraft of 2003, Williams is the No. 7 pick. Here’s what the outlet said about the choice:

“Re-drafting the same player wouldn’t all of a sudden give the Vikings their first Super Bowl title, but Minnesota won the division twice and won a pair of playoff games during Williams’ tenure. They’d at least replicate that success with Williams, while the same can’t be said with certainty of anyone else still on the board.”

Overall, Williams ended up being a great defensive lineman for the Vikings, and he was a big contributor on defense for many years. I’d be happy with the team keeping it that way in a hypothetical situation.

Ranking the 3 best Vikings’ 1st-round picks since 2000

Our Kyle Ratke ranked the top-3 first-round picks by the Vikings since 2000.

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With the NFL Draft right around the corner and with the Vikings having two first-round picks, our Kyle Ratke ranked the top-3 first-round picks by the Vikings since 2000.

3. S, Harrison Smith, 2012

This spot was between Smith and linebacker Chad Greenway, who was the team’s first-round pick in 2006.

Smith has been a leader for the team since being drafted 29th overall in the 2012 draft out of Notre Dame. Since, he’s made five Pro Bowls and was named to an All-Pro team in 2017.

A lot of what Minnesota’s defense does revolves around Smith’s ability to be exactly where he needs to be.

2. DT, Kevin Williams, 2003

I think Williams is probably one of the more underrated players in NFL history. After being drafted ninth overall in the 2003 draft out of Oklahoma State, Williams proceeded to make six Pro Bowl teams and five All-Pro teams.

The Williams Wall of Kevin and Pat Williams was an absolute nightmare for offenses.

It’s pretty wild that Williams isn’t getting more of a push to be in the Hall of Fame. He’s certainly deserving. Maybe it’s because he was a defensive tackle and it’s not a particular sexy position? I’m not sure.

1. RB, Adrian Peterson, 2007

And to think, I wanted the Vikings to draft Brady Quinn with this pick. Oh boy.

The seventh pick out of Oklahoma became one of the best running backs in the NFL immediately, rushing for 1,000 yards in each of his first four seasons. During his 10-year stretch with the Vikings, Peterson led the league in rushing yards three times, including his 2,097-yard season in 2012 which netted him the NFL’s MVP award.

Peterson made seven Pro Bowls with the Vikings and was named to four All-Pro teams.

He’s still doing his thing in Washington. Over the last two seasons with the Redskins, Peterson has combined for 1,940 yards.

His 14,216 rushing yards rank fifth in league history, 1,053 behind Barry Sanders.