Rookie Speedster Sharpens Appetite for Vikings
Southern Methodist University’s Brashard Smith might be the most popular player overall in Minnesota Vikings-themed mock drafts.
Rookie Speedster Sharpens Appetite for Vikings
He’ll be available sometime after Round 3 later this week, and because the club spent a Top 30 visit on Smith, many fans and analysts believe he’s on his way to the Vikings.
And it just happens that he wants to be there.
Brashard Hill Says ‘Yes’ to Vikings
Smith spoke with Kay Adams on Monday, and she asked him about meeting with the Vikings. He replied, “I loved it. It was probably my top 2 that I really liked for sure.”
Adams pressed him on what he enjoyed about the Vikings, and he mentioned, “Just the people around. I could just kinda see how they’re trying to turn the program around. It’s definitely gonna turn around, and the coaching staff they have, I feel like it’s big time. They’re building something for sure.”
Hill’s Scouting Report
Smith turned 22 a week and a half ago, and he’s 5’10 + 200 pounds. He’s one of the top pass-catching running back talents in the upcoming draft — he used to play wide receiver — possessing the ability to play special teams, too.
The 33rd Team‘s Kyle Crabbs on Smith’s scouting report: “Smith is understandably raw as a running back prospect, thanks to spending the majority of his college career playing wide receiver. But the instincts with the ball in his hands are a good bet to place on Day 3 of the 2025 NFL Draft. Smith is a speedy talent with the kind of juice that powerful offensive lines could make life easier for if they can pop open point-of-attack gaps as designed in a gap scheme.”
“Given Smith’s new exposure to working out of the backfield and processing front-seven leverage and gap development, putting him in a gap scheme may align best with taking some of the margin of error out of his runs.”
Minnesota has struggled to showcase an elite running back since Dalvin Cook tailed off a few years ago, so fans are fixated on this draft, hoping the team can finally nail the position.
Crabbs added, “Smith can be late to commit to gaps and, at other times, second-guess, hitting an available alley, which creates added time in the backfield that is unadvisable for playing at the NFL level. Smith isn’t a big bruiser of a back and is built more like a wide receiver in general — so getting him through creases and into the second level should be a focus.”
“Smith is light on his feet and can quickly gear up or bounce off track when he’s confident with his trajectory. He offers plenty of speed to capture the edge, and as he masters his cadence, he’ll have more ability to create steep cuts and take advantage of overplay from opposing fronts.”
ESPN’s Jordan Reid recently said about the possibility of Smith to the Vikings: “If I was in a draft room with Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, and I was able to give a speech on one guy that I would pound the table for in this year’s draft, regardless of position, it would be Brashard Smith.”
A Deep, Deep, RB Class
The 2025 running back class is legendary per rookie promise. Some have forecasted 30 running backs to be drafted this week, which is basically a full round afforded to one position.
General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has just four picks, so it’s unlikely he’ll use his 1st-Rounder on a running back like Omarion Hampton, TreVeyon Henderson, or Quinshon Judkins. A later round, however, could be a hotspot.
RB3 Behind Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason
The Vikings re-signed Aaron Jones this offseason to a handsome deal — two years and $20 million. He’ll be the unabashed RB1 this September, even if Adofo-Mensah shocked the world and drafted Hampton, for example, in Round 1.
He also pulled off a trade for San Francisco 49ers tailback Jordan Mason, sending a 6th-Rounder to his former employer for Mason’s services. Mason will perform RB2 duties in 2025 and be on deck for RB1 if something happens injury-wise to Jones.
Smith would snuggle in nicely as RB3.
The non-Smith Alternatives
If Minnesota pursues a running back in the same Round 4, 5, or 6 range as Smith but doesn’t draft him, these men could be available:
- Jaydon Blue (Texas)
- Trevor Etienne (Georgia)
- Jarquez Hunter (Auburn)
- Jordan James (Oregon)
- Jo’Quavious Marks (USC)
- Kyle Monanagi (Rutgers)
- Kalel Mullings (Michigan)
- Raheim Sanders (South Carolina)
Minnesota could also pursue undrafted free agency for a new runner, and that unnamed player would likely be signed on Saturday night soon after the draft.
Irv Smith Jr. Rides Again
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