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I like the Vikings new uniforms for the most part. I really like the look of their new Fortress of Solitude, er… I mean, stadium. I think they did a bang-up job in the draft. And I think they are making a wise move with Joe Webb.

The first round of the NFL Draft was a whirlwind on Thursday night. The Vikings got a gift when Florida defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd fell to them at No. 23, and they got a replacement for Antoine Winfield in Florida State cornerback Xavier Rhodes at No. 25.

But the biggest story of the night was yet to come. The Vikings pulled off a deal with New England, sending four picks (Nos. 52, 83, 102 and 229) to the Patriots for the 29th pick, which they used to select Tennessee wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson.

(One quick aside: The Purple needed a quality receiver for a couple of important reasons – to make up for the loss of Percy Harvin, and to give themselves the best chance possible to truly evaluate Christian Ponder this year. At the end of the 2013 season, they absolutely have to know whether Ponder is capable of being their franchise quarterback. Thus far, his rookie year was a wash due to the NFL lockout that robbed him of his first offseason, the presence of Donovan McNabb and late-season injury problems. Last year, it wasn't entirely clear whether Ponder's struggles were self-inflicted or caused by an anemic crop of receivers that became downright putrid when Harvin missed the last two months with an ankle injury. The additions of Greg Jennings and Patterson should remove any excuse for Ponder and allow the coaching staff to assess exactly what they've got in their third-year starter.)

The reaction to the Patterson trade was predictable. Fans gathered at Mall of America Field were beyond thrilled to see the Vikings maneuver back into the first round and grab a big-name player they could instantly envision slicing through opposing defenses in that slick new uniform. The national take was not as kind, in part because "four for one" always sets off alarms, and in part because the national media always swoons in the presence of Bill Belichick.

But what did the Vikings actually give up in that trade? The oft-cited Draft Trade Value Chart popularized by former Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson in the early 90s has somewhat fallen out of favor among football insiders, but given that the talking heads on TV are usually about a decade late to the dance, you'll probably see the following breakdown at some point in the discussion:

So, pretty much a push, right? Factor in the Vikings' desperate need at wide receiver, and it makes even more sense to spend that draft capital on a potential impact player at that key position in a critical juncture for the franchise, with a likely make-or-break year for Ponder looming.

As for history, what kind of return can the Patriots expect on those picks? Or to put it another way, let's slap some names on those draft picks and see who was taken there in the last five years. Players in bold are considered likely starters heading into this year.

Of course, the Patriots (like any organization) will argue that they'll do a better job of player evaluation and come up with a few diamonds in the rough, but the tables show that in the last five years, just 35 percent (7 of 20) of the players drafted in with the four picks the Vikings gave up for Patterson went on to become starters. That's not to say the Vikings robbed New England or vise-versa. We just wanted to lay out the facts and let you decide, rather than have one of the TV talking heads tell you who got the better end of the deal.

Patrick Donnelly is a Senior Editor at SportsData, a contributor to the 2012 Vikings Yearbook, and has covered the Vikings for FOXSportsNorth.com, Viking Update and the Associated Press. Follow him on Twitter at @donnelly612.

The Minnesota Vikings unveiled their sparkly new uniforms at their Draft Party Thursday night. Yeah, I know the uniform images were surreptitiously leaked all over the Internet earlier this week, but this was our first chance to get an up-close and personal look at the new outfits. If nothing else it was a good pre-draft diversion for those in attendance at Mall of America Field.

 

As you can see, the new uniforms have something of a throwback look. 

The overall feel is somewhat reminiscent of their old uniforms from the 1970s and 1980s, especially the pants stripe, which I tried to capture in the final photo below.

Speaking of the purple pants, there is a version of the uniform not pictured here that includes the pairing of purple pants and purple jersey – the full Barney look. I imagine this look will be saved for special occasions, but I do not have that confirmed.

The Vikings have made 51 first-round draft picks dating back to their NFL debut in 1961. We're not going to rank all 51 of those picks because we don't have a death wish, but would you be interested in seeing the best and worst of those picks? If so, read on.

1. (tie) Carl Eller – 6th overall pick, 1964
1. (tie) Alan Page – 15, 1967
1. (tie) Ron Yary – 1, 1968
1. (tie) Chris Doleman – 4, 1985
1. (tie) Randall McDaniel – 19, 1988

Maybe that's a cop-out, but how do you rate one Pro Football Hall of Famer over another? You might look at value and say McDaniel was the best pick, or say that Page was the man because he won the NFL's MVP award, but honestly, you could make the case for ranking these five in any order and you'd get no argument here.

6. Adrian Peterson – 7, 2007
He's a sure-fire future Hall of Famer who only solidified those credentials with his super-human effort returning from a torn ACL to post the second-most rushing yards in a season in NFL history. He'll be up there within that top class the day his bust is unveiled in Canton.

7. Randy Moss – 21, 1998
Just like Peterson, you'll see Moss in a garish yellow blazer within the next decade. He gets a few demerits for not fully living up to his potential in Minnesota – seriously, he could have been the greatest receiver who ever lived had he cared enough to try on every play – but he changed the fortunes of the entire franchise the first day he took the field in Mankato.

8. Chuck Foreman – 12, 1973
Here's another player who revolutionized his position. Foreman never truly got the accolades he deserved nationally, perhaps because he was part of those Vikings teams that couldn't win the big one, but Jerry Burns' precursor to the West Coast offense wouldn't have been nearly as effective without Forman's unique rushing and pass-catching abilities.

9. Korey Stringer – 24, 1995
His career was tragically cut short after just six seasons, but he made a huge impact on the franchise in his too-brief time in Minnesota. Stringer had just made his first Pro Bowl and was emerging as a possible heir to McDaniel as the leader on the offensive line and in the locker room when he succumbed to heat stroke during training camp in 2001. His death not only sent the Vikings into a spiral – they missed the playoffs in six of the next seven seasons, after they'd made the postseason in eight of the previous nine years – but also triggered policy changes regarding practicing and playing in oppressive heat and humidity from youth football up to the NFL that has likely prevented numerous other fatalities.

10. Joey Browner – 19, 1983
A nine-year starter and six-time Pro Bowler, Browner was named to the NFL 1980s All-Decade Team. Plus, he had the strongest hands in the NFL – as Vikings fans were reminded every week by network announcers who thought they were breaking news – which he used to yank down opposing carriers and pick off 37 passes, fourth-most in team history.

11 through 46 – all kinds of great, good, mediocre and bad players, not to mention a few guys who remain works in progress (Matt Kalil, for one, has a great shot at cracking the top 10). But we're running out of pixels here, so let's dive into the five worst first-round picks in Vikings history.

47. D.J. Dozier – 14, 1987
His best season was his rookie year, when he rushed for 257 yards and five touchdowns. He wound up retiring from the NFL to play pro baseball. But his failure did arguably more damage to any franchise than any player in history, because if he'd delivered what the Vikings thought they were getting, they never would have made the Herschel Walker trade.

48. Derrick Alexander – 11, 1995
The Vikings needed a defensive lineman. They took Alexander, who finished his five-year NFL career with 164 tackles and 20 sacks. They passed on Warren Sapp, who finished his 13-year NFL career with 438 tackles, 96.5 sacks, and a bust in Canton. Oops.

49. Leo Hayden – 24, 1971
Who? That's right, the Vikings took a guy named Leo Hayden in the first round of the 1971 draft. He appeared in seven games as a rookie, never touched the ball, and washed out of the league two years later after an unremarkable stint with the Cardinals. Who did they pass up that year? Jack Ham, Dan Dierdorf and Ken Anderson, just to name a few better options.

50. Dimitrius Underwood – 29, 1999
Dennis Green infamously referred to Underwood as an "extra pick" acquired from Washington in exchange for Brad Johnson. Green obviously thought Underwood was worth the gamble, despite numerous red flags and unenthusiastic reports from his own coaches at Michigan State. Underwood showed up for training camp in battle fatigues, suggesting he was ready for combat, then walked out on the team after his first practice in Mankato, never to return.

51. Troy Williamson – 7, 2005
Underwood hurt the Vikings by not playing. Williamson hurt the Vikings by playing. His selection was a textbook overreaction on so many levels. The No. 7 pick came from the Raiders in the Moss trade, and they clearly felt pressure to use that pick to replace Moss. They reached for a receiver who looked great in shorts and a T-shirt at the NFL Combine but had one little problem that plagued him in his three years in Minnesota – he couldn't catch the ball. In 39 games here he caught 79 balls – and dropped at least half that many – despite numerous creative efforts to improve his vision, his hands and his route-running. They all failed, earning him the coveted title of the worst first-round pick in Vikings history.

Who'd we miss, good or bad? Let's hear about it in the comments.

Patrick Donnelly is a Senior Editor at SportsData, a contributor to the 2012 Vikings Yearbook, and has covered the Vikings for FOXSportsNorth.com, Viking Update and the Associated Press. Follow him on Twitter at @donnelly612.

The countdown to the Thursday night start of the NFL Draft is officially on. No, we don't have an actual clock ticking down the seconds on the wall here at the SportsData offices, but I wouldn't be opposed to the idea. Then again, I'm sure NFL Network and ESPN will have one gracing the corner of their screen soon enough.

Anyone who has purchased a mutual fund has probably come across the warning, “Past performance is no guarantee of future results.”

The phrase – which cautions buyers against picking a fund simply because a successful recent track record – has been playing over in my mind as we approach this week’s NFL draft, for two reasons:

One, Rick Spielman’s crew nailed the 2012 draft. Two, the Vikings have a history of success when picking in the 20-29 range of the NFL draft. I'll elaborate more on that second point.

Over the last 20 years, the Vikings have made 10 selections in the 20’s. Prior to 1993, we need to travel way back to 1978 to find another pick in the 20-29 range so this article will focus in on the more recent past of 1993-2012. Before I further discuss the overall success of those picks, I need to add some context.

Judging the “success” of past NFL draft picks is a subjective process, as the observer must apply his or her opinion on if a player succeeded or not. But after reading a handful of review articles looking at the entire first round, a general breakdown would suggest around a 55% success rate, 30% misses, and 15% complete busts.

One would assume that a more focused analysis of only the bottom one-third of the first round (roughly pick #20 and on) would yield worse results. Thus, for the sake of ease and brevity, I would suggest that the Vikings should be considered league average if around 50% of their recent picks in the 20-29 range were successful. Let’s get to the selections…

2012 (29) – Harrison Smith, S: Early results suggest Smith has the makeup and skills to be a long-time starter with Pro Bowl upside.

2009 (22) – Percy Harvin, WR: Home run despite the red flags and forced trade.

2004 (20) – Kenechi Udeze, DE: Marked down as an unfortunate “miss.” Udeze looked promising in his rookie season, but then ruined his knee in year two and had his career cut short by leukemia.

2001 (27) – Michael Bennett, RB: Made one Pro Bowl and showed why he was a top pick, but injuries, inconsistency and fumbles led the Vikings to let him go after five seasons. Finished with only 3,703 rushing yards over his career.

2000 (26) – Chris Hovan, DT: 77 games and 70 starts over five seasons with the Vikings; 156 games and 149 starts over his 10 years. He was probably overrated during his time here, but he had a solid career.

1999 (29) – Dimitrius Underwood, DE: Let’s not relive this one.

1998 (21) – Randy Moss, WR: Grand slam.

1997 (20) – Dwayne Rudd, LB: Rudd had a few good moments over his four years with the Vikings, but with the 20^th overall pick, you always hope to get much more. His career fizzled out at 27.

1995 (24) – Korey Stringer, OT: The big left tackle made 91 starts and one Pro Bowl over the six years before his untimely death from complications related to heat stroke.

1993 (21) – Robert Smith, RB: Two-time Pro Bowler finished his career as the franchise’s all-time leading rusher.

Out of those 10, we have clear-cut, no-brainer “hits” in Robert Smith, Stringer, Moss, and Harvin. Hovan is also in the positive column. He arguably wasn't as dynamic as one would hope out of a first-round pick, but his full career of work makes it an overall win. It’s too early to truly make a call on Harrison Smith, but he is a success thus far.

Underwood and Udeze didn’t pan out, nor did Bennett and Rudd despite each having a full season or two where they played well. The positive spin is that Underwood was the only complete “bomb” of the bunch.

In total, I’d say the Vikings have been well above average with their 10 picks in the 20's over the last 20 seasons. Their past performance won’t guarantee future success with the No. 23 and 25 selections this Thursday, but we should be very happy if they come out of this draft with the equivalents of Harvin and Hovan.