EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — The 82nd NFL Draft will commence at 7 p.m. (CT) Thursday and conclude Saturday evening.

This will be the 57th draft in which the Vikings have participated, a run that started in 1961 when the draft was most recently held in Philadelphia.

Minnesota selected running back Tommy Mason with the first overall pick that year and followed by drafting linebacker Rip Hawkins to start the second round. The Vikings tabbed eventual Hall of Fame quarterback Fran Tarkenton to open the third round at the 29th overall spot on their way to making a selection in each of the draft's then-20 rounds.

The draft had 20 rounds from 1961-66, 17 rounds from 1967-76, 12 rounds from 1977-92, eight rounds in 1993 and shifted to seven rounds in 1994.

This time around, the Vikings enter the draft with eight total selections across seven rounds: second round (48th overall), third round (79th and 86th), fourth round (120th and 128th), fifth round (160th), sixth round (199th) and seventh round (232nd).

The "City of Brotherly Love" is hosting the annual player selection meeting for the 15th time.

Here are 10 draft-related numbers of note regarding the Vikings and NFL.

642 — number of selections the Vikings have made since 1961, including 10 apiece in four of the past six drafts (2011, 2012, 2013 and 2015)

219 — first-round selections swapped hands between 2000 and 2016; the Vikings sent this year's first-round pick to Philadelphia last fall to acquire quarterback Kyle Rudolph

102 —defensive backs have been selected in Minnesota history, which is the most of any position group; the Vikings have selected 10 defensive backs in the past five drafts and at least one cornerback in 10 of the past 11 drafts; running backs and offensive linemen (98 times each) have the next most frequently drafted positions over the years

38 — of the 69 players currently on the Vikings roster were selected by Minnesota in a draft or signed as a rookie

31 — of the 57 players ever selected in a second round by Minnesota have played defense, including 13 defensive backs, 11 linebackers and seven defensive linemen; the Vikings have used their past two second-round picks to select Eric Kendricks and Mackensie Alexander

25 —number of times that players selected with consecutive picks in the top 10 have hailed from the same school; this has happened in three of the past four drafts: Alabama's Dee Milliner and Chance Warmack (ninth and 10th in 2013), Texas A&M's Jake Matthews and Mike Evans (sixth and seventh in 2014), Ohio State's Joey Bosa and Ezekiel Elliott (third and fourth in 2016); the only Viking who qualifies in this list is Clinton Jones (second overall in 1967 after Michigan State teammate Bubba Smith)

22 — prospects have committed to attending festivities in Philadelphia this year; there also will be 14 college head coaches in attendance, including Gophers Head Coach P.J. Fleck

17 — of the No. 1 overall picks since 1990 have been underclassmen:

Jeff George – 1990, Steve Emtman – 1992, Drew Bledsoe – 1993, Dan Wilkinson – 1994, Ki-Jana Carter – 1995, Orlando Pace – 1997, Tim Couch – 1999, Michael Vick – 2001, Mario Williams – 2006, JaMarcus Russell – 2007, Matthew Stafford – 2009, Sam Bradford – 2010, Cam Newton – 2011, Andrew Luck – 2012, Jadeveon Clowney – 2014, Jameis Winston – 2015, Jared Goff – 2016

8 — number of years in a row in which at least one player from Alabama has been selected in the first round; at least one more this year would tie Florida (from 1983-91) for the second-longest streak in draft history; Miami (1995-2008) set the record (since the first common draft between the NFL and AFL in 1967) at 14 straight years with a first-round selection

7 —pairs of brothers have been drafted in the first rounds of their respective NFL drafts since 1990:

Vontae (2009) and Vernon (2006) Davis; Kyle (2013) and Chris (2008) Long; Eli (2004) and Peyton (1998) Manning; Jerome (2003) and Stockar (2000) McDougle; Mike (2011) and Maurkice (2010) Pouncey; Robert (2002) and Stan (1991) Thomas; Desmond (2013) and Marcus (2003) Trufant

Celebrate the draft with the Vikings

Stefon Diggs and Everson Griffen will join Kentrell Brothers, Adam Thielen and David Morgan at U.S. Bank Stadium for Vikings DraftFest on Day 3 of the draft. The event runs from 10:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. * Tickets are still available for purchase by clicking here.*