Early 2025 Draft Need for Vikings Is Apparent

Minnesota Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell and General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah addressed the media from the TCO Performance Center ahead of 2024 Training Camp. July 22, 2024. The duo talked about Khyree Jackson, Jordan Addison, T.J. Hockenson, and the QB1 job, among other topics.

The Minnesota Vikings are 5-2 through eight weeks and have an approximate 70% chance of reaching the postseason.

Early 2025 Draft Need for Vikings Is Apparent

The club started the season with a 5-0 record, and the playoff math climbed into the 90% percentile. Two recent losses, however, have hurt the Vikings’ playoff hopes.

And while the 2025 NFL Draft is six months away, Minnesota’s clear need is evident. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will likely select a defensive player with this 1st-Round pick — probably a defensive tackle or cornerback.

Defensive Tackle

The Round 1 Contenders:

  • Mason Graham (Michigan)
  • Kenneth Grant (Michigan)
  • Walter Nolen (Ole Miss)
  • Tyleik Williams (Ohio State)
  • Deone Walker (Kentucky)
  • L.T. Overton (Alabama)
  • Derrick Harmon (Oregon)
Draft Need
Kentucky defensive tackle Deone Walker greets fans at the team’s Catwalk before the Vanderbilt game on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in Lexington, Ky. © Matt Stone/Courier Journal/USA Today Network / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images.

And the Vikings are scheduled to have these DTs under contract in 2025:

  • Harrison Phillips
  • Levi Drake Rodriguez
  • Taki Taimani
Minnesota Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores addressed the media from the TCO Performance Center on October 16th, 2024. Flores was hired in February 2023 to take over for Ed Donatell after Minnesota finished 30th in points allowed.

The Draft Network‘s Justin Melo recently linked Walker of Kentucky to the Vikings in a mock draft: “Deone Walker is extremely light on his feet for a 6-foot-6, 345-pound interior defender. Vikings DC Brian Flores is overseeing an outstanding defense this season, but it would be even better with a quick-footed gap penetrator up the middle.”

Cornerback

The Round 1 Contenders:

  • Travis Hunter (Colorado)
  • Will Johnson (Michigan)
  • Benjamin Morrison (Notre Dame)
  • Shavon Revel Jr. (East Carolina)
  • Denzel Burke (Ohio State)
  • Tacario Davis (Arizona)
Notre Dame cornerback B. Morrison addresses media after a Notre Dame football practice at Irish Athletic Center on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024, in South Bend. © MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK.

And the Vikings are scheduled to have these CBs under contract in 2025:

  • Mekhi Blackmon
  • Akayleb Evans
  • Dwight McGlothern
  • NaJee Thompson
qb prospects
Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports.

Pro Football Focus mock drafted Morrison from Notre Dame to Minnesota this week, and Trevor Sikkiema explained: “Benjamin Morrison is going to miss the rest of 2024 but was playing excellent football over the past year and a half prior to his injury. The 6-foot, 190-pound inside-out cornerback projects as a late-first to early second-round pick.”

It’s also worth noting that Adofo-Mensah will be a prime candidate to trade down the board in April; it’s the best and fastest way to recoup lost draft capital.

The 2025 NFL Draft is 178 days away.


Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His MIN obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL. 

All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.