Our Official 1st-Round Predictions for the 2025 Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings fan community can’t quite reach a widespread consensus on how the purple team will draft in Round 1 this Thursday, which is understandable because general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has no dire roster needs.
Our Official 1st-Round Predictions for the 2025 Vikings
There are certainly theories, however, and our writers have prognostications ready.
We asked our contributors to predict the Vikings’ first draft pick of the event — whether staying at No. 24 on the board or trading back — and the following players are their responses.
Note: Some writers anticipated a trade back, so these selections, in theory, could occur sometime in Round 2.
1. Donovan Jackson (OG)
Ohio State
The Predictor: Jack Day
Vikings find a willing dance partner and trade back, maybe even out of the first round. They select offensive lineman Donovan Jackson from Ohio State, bolstering the offensive line with a versatile All-American. The pick instantly makes the offensive line the best we’ve seen in over a decade and gives Adofo-Mensah and his staff more draft ammunition to attack the sweet spot of the draft.
2. Benjamin Morrison (CB)
Notre Dame
The Predictor: Janik Eckardt
Morrison just turned 21 years old and had an excellent career at Notre Dame until a hip injury cost him the second half of his final season. Adofo-Mensah will ignore the injury, take advantage of other teams that didn’t, and fix the CB position for years by adding the defensive playmaker.
3. Trey Amos (CB)
Mississippi
The Predictor: Adam New
After trading back a few spots, the Vikings will select Trey Amos to add immediate depth at cornerback, hoping he develops into a genuine CB1.
4. Jihaad Campbell (LB)
Alabama
The Predictor: Kyle Joudry
I’ll stick with the outside-the-box prediction: linebacker Jihaad Campbell, Alabama. Long, fast, and versatile, Campbell can ideally be a chess piece for the front seven who can give Brian Flores maximum aggression and unpredictability. The LB spot is a sneaky need.
5. Kelvin Banks (OT)
Texas
The Predictor: Cole Smith
I predict the Vikings explore trade options, but will land Kelvin Banks if he falls to 24 due to his position flexibility and ability to play left guard immediately. The Vikings will give J.J. McCarthy every opportunity to succeed and aren’t willing to leave his development to chance after yielding nine sacks in their Wildcard loss to the Rams.
6. Shavon Revel Jr. (CB)
East Carolina
The Predictor: Josh Frey
The Vikings still need another lockdown cornerback, opposite Byron Murphy, and Revel Jr. is capable of becoming that and helping vault this team into Super Bowl contention.
t7. Walter Nolen (DT)
Mississippi
The Predictor: Wes Johnson
The NFL is a copycat league, and Nolen is likely to fall due to some off-field character concerns. The Vikings are amply suited to follow the Howie Roseman model by bolstering the trenches and selecting a prolific talent in Nolen, who usually would not be available this late in the draft.
The more I see is that the Vikings might not find a trade-back partner. So, if that’s the case, it’s gotta be BPA, and with the current DTs essentially all in their 30s, it makes the most sense.
t7. Walter Nolen (DT)
Mississippi
The Predictor: Dustin Baker
A trade back later into Round 1 — so about seven or eight spots — makes the most sense for Minnesota, enabling general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah to grab an extra 3rd- and 4th-Round pick.
Then, with Kenneth Grant and perhaps Derrick Harmon off the board, Nolen is the last man standing among defensive tackles in Round 1. Adofo-Mensah locks him in, fully acknowledging that Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave won’t play forever.
The Vikings will showcase Allen, Hargrave, Nolen, Harrison Phillips, Jalen Redmond, Taki Taimani, and Levi Drake Rodriguez this season, leaps and bounds more DT depth than they’ve had in years, if not decades.
If this prediction is wrong, it will be Derrick Harmon, not Walter Nolen.
t8. Grey Zabel (iOL)
North Dakota State
The Predictor: Tony Schultz
The surprise of the draft will be that Shedeur Sanders will fall, and more quarterbacks will go in the first round than expected. This pushes targets down the board, and the Vikings trade back minimally and still draft Grey Zabel due to their defensive targets being picked ahead of them.
t8. Grey Zabel (iOL)
North Dakota State
The Predictor: Ali Siddiqui
He could potentially be the starting LG or, at the very least, push Blake Brandel. The guy has climbed quite a bit since the offseason draft process began in January.
t9. Derrick Harmon (DT)
Oregon
The Predictor: Ted Schwerzler
With the most important goal being to trade back and acquire additional picks, the Vikings land Derrick Harmon early in the second round. He gives Brian Flores another interior line option on defense and provides youth with a unit that could use some of it.
t9. Derrick Harmon (DT)
Oregon
The Predictor: Brevan Brighlights Bane
It still hasn’t been made apparent that Adofo-Mensah sees the CB position as “premium” enough to turn his nose at a potential chaos-creator like Harmon. This gives the Vikings a very high short-term and long-term ceiling at defensive interior.
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