Vikings announce uniform numbers for 2023 draft class

Which digits will the new kids be wearing?

Over the course of the past three days, the Minnesota Vikings fulfilled the dreams of half a dozen young men by calling their names from the podium at the 2023 NFL Draft. Today, the team announced which numbers each of those new players will be wearing for the team, at least as they head into the team’s rookie mini-camp.

Here are the numbers for all six members of the Vikings’ 2023 Draft Class:

• Jordan Addison – #3
• Mekhi Blackmon – #11
• Jay Ward – #20
• Jaquelin Roy – #78
• Jaren Hall – #16
• DeWayne McBride – #37

Addison will be wearing the same number that he wore in college for USC this past season. He will be just the second non-quarterback and non-kicker/punter to wear the number in Vikings’ history, as Cameron Dantzler wore the number last season. Granted, the NFL just recently relaxed the rules for different positions wearing different numbers, but I have a feeling nobody else is going to get the opportunity to wear #3 for quite a while unless Addison decides he wants to change.

Speaking of quarterbacks, Jaren Hall also wore #3 in college, but has switched to #16 because. . .well, as we just outlined, he can’t have #3. He’ll be the first Vikings QB to have that number since the Matt Cassel era came to an end in 2014.

In fact, Addison is the only member of the Vikings’ draft class that will be wearing the same number he wore in college. Blackmon wore #6, which is currently being worn by Lewis Cine. Jay Ward wore #5 (Jalen Reagor), Jaquelin Roy wore #99 (Danielle Hunter), and DeWayne McBride wore #22 (Harrison Smith).

Also, we’re now also cheering hard for McBride to make the team and keep his current number so that we can make the appropriate reference to the movie Clerks. You know the one.

But, if you really, really want to be the first in line to get your Jordan Addison jersey (or any of the other members of the Vikings’ draft class), now you know which number to include with your order.