5 Losers from the Vikings Draft
The Minnesota Vikings, as an organization, emerged from the 2025 NFL Draft as a “winner,” fortifying its offensive trenches with the 1st-Round selection of Donovan Jackson from Ohio State.
5 Losers from the Vikings Draft
The club added four more rookies from the event and signed 19 undrafted free agents soon after. But there were also “losers,” as is the case following every draft.
So, these are the Vikings’ losers from the 2025 NFL Draft, ranked in ascending order (No. 1 = biggest “loser”).
5. Jalen Nailor (WR)
The Vikings somewhat unexpectedly drafted Maryland wide receiver Tai Felton on Friday night.
Minnesota’s coaching staff has showered praise on Nailor all offseason, so for the most part, his job is safe in 2025.
Still, Nailor’s contract expires at the end of 2025, and there’s nowhere near clear-cut consensus that he’ll be back in 2026. Too, the freshly-drafted Felton, a 3rd-Rounder, could morph into a total baller, in theory, snatching Nailor’s job before you know it.
That’s a lot of “ifs,” but they’re not terribly far-fetched. Had Kwesi Adofo-Mensah not drafted a wide receiver in the early or mid-rounds, Nailor would have nothing to worry about. He wouldn’t be on this list.
But that wasn’t the case.
4. Brian Asamoah (LB)
A man named Kobe King turned purple on Saturday, a huge off-ball linebacker from Penn State, a school with rich linebacking history.
King will be attached to Minnesota’s enterprise for the next four seasons, with Brian Asamoah’s contract expiration about 10 months away. Asamoah doesn’t play much on defense in the first place, and a man like King is virtually assured to soar past him on the depth chart this summer.
Janik Eckardt of PurplePTSD.com, a partner website to VikingsTerritory, wrote about Asamoah’s hot seat earlier this month: “Brian Asamoah, another player from the 2022 class, was a significant loser of Brian Flores’ becoming the new defensive coordinator in 2023. The linebacker was picked with Ed Donatell coordinating the defense and showed promise in his debut season.”
“Flores, however, hasn’t played the speedy defender on defense, demoting him to the LB4 position. Asamoah has been exclusively a special teamer for two seasons, and a change is not in sight with Ivan Pace, Blake Cashman, and Eric Wilson ahead of him.”
Asamoah is an alumnus of Minnesota’s mostly failed 2022 draft class.
Eckardt added, “Joshua Metellus has also played some linebacker in the past, and keeping only three linebackers is just as possible as another (possibly rookie) linebacker usurping Asamoah.”
The rookie mentioned by Eckardt has arrived. His name is Kobe King.
3. Rondale Moore (WR)
Moore just signed with the Vikings in March. The Arizona Cardinals had big plans for Moore during his rookie contract, but he never fully took off and encountered a season-ending injury last summer.
In theory, Minnesota offered a venue for a WR3 or WR4 assignment when Moore signed on the dotted line.
That became markedly more complicated for Moore when Adofo-Mensah picked Felton on Friday night. Moore might be closer to a WR5 in 2025.
2. Gabriel Murphy (OLB)
Adofo-Mensah drafted Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins in Round 5 on Saturday, instantly making him more important than last year’s undrafted free agent pass rusher, Gabriel Murphy.
Murphy can still make the September roster, but Ingram-Dawkins is nearly guaranteed a roster spot. That does not help Murphy’s cause.
Bo Richter also lives ahead of Murphy on the roster, most believe, so Murphy must ball out at training camp.
1. Blake Brandel (G)
Now for the almighty 2025 draft “loser” — Blake Brandel.
Donovan Jackson became a Viking in the draft’s 1st Round. Unless disaster strikes, he’ll take Brandel’s LG job with no questions asked.
Minnesota could’ve selected cornerback Will Johnson, linebacker Jihaad Campbell, or safety Malaki Starks instead of Jackson, but it did not, which demoted Brandel with the snap of two fingers.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell talked with the local media after Minnesota landed Jackson. He said in that press conference: “Envisioning Jackson being on a front with potentially Ryan Kelly and Christian Darrisaw, Will Fries and Brian O’Neill. That’s a pretty formidable group on paper. We’ve got to make it come to life on the grass.”
That sounds like borrowed time for Brandel, who can be a damn fine backup guard, but that’s probably his ceiling in Minnesota henceforth.
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