Should the Vikings Consider the “Forbidden” Path in This Year’s Draft?

The Minnesota Vikings have set a course to draft the best player available in April’s draft, which is just 30 days away.

Should the Vikings Consider the “Forbidden” Path in This Year’s Draft?

General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah addressed all long-term roster needs in free agency, including trench fortification, adding some cornerbacks, and swinging a sweet trade for running back Jordan Mason.

Thanks to the thoughtful and advantageous roster construction, Minnesota can use the 24th overall pick on the best player available.

Which begs the question: What if the Vikings explore a “forbidden” option, drafting a wide receiver in Round 1 and becoming abundantly rich at a roster spot that needs no help?

WR in Round 1 for Vikings

At the top of the ticket, Minnesota employs Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, a fearsome one-two duo and one of the NFL’s best. Perhaps only Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins outpace Jefferson and Addison.

But no team would rival the Vikings’ would-be receiving corps if Adofo-Mensah selected Emeka Egbuka (Ohio State), Luther Burden III (Missouri), or Matthew Golden (Texas) in Round 1. Nobody. That’s the allure of the forbidden option, upgrading the 2025 WR room from Top 5 to indisputably Top 1.

Minnesota employs Kevin O’Connell as head coach, and his enterprise will always teeter on “offense first.” The man is a former quarterback and offensive coordinator. Swerving to draft a wide receiver when contemplating best player available stakes would be an O’Connellian thing, rest assured.

There’s also Minnesota’s rich history at wide receiver. Jefferson, Randy Moss, Cris Carter, Anthony Carter, Jake Reed, Stefon Diggs, Adam Thielen, Percy Harvin, and even Addison can tell lengthy tales about how the Vikings’ werewithal to find rookie receiver talent exceeds all.

A True Luxury Item

Listen, Minnesota does not need a wide receiver from the draft. They just don’t.

Jefferson and Addison, along with Rondale Moore and Jalen Nailor, will do the trick in 2025, in addition to tight end T.J. Hockenson, who commands a WR2-WR3 workload when healthy. Choosing Egbuka, Burden III, or Golden would be about outlandishness and the rich getting richer — a genuine luxury item. It’s trading in a Cadillac for a Bentley.

This was not an option three weeks ago when folks hadn’t seen the Vikings’ free-agent class. The masses didn’t know that Adofo-Mensah would sign Will Fries. And center Ryan Kelly, a four-time Pro Bowler. And Jonathan Allen. And Javon Hargrave.

New impactful trenchmen kept leaping onto the depth chart, so much so that Adofo-Mensah can do whatever he wants on draft night.

Yes, that includes extreme affluence at wide receiver if he’s in the mood.

Few Mock Drafts Explore It

Scour the internet for Minnesota mock drafts with wideout at No. 24, and hardly any activate Google’s algorithm. They mostly don’t exist.

However, Tyler Forness of A to Z Sports recently connected Burden III to Minnesota in Round 1, one example of the forbidden route. He wrote, “The NFL Draft is about acquiring talent and there is a real chance Burden is the best player on the board. He is an explosive player who has garnered many comparisons to Deebo Samuel with his elite ability to create explosive plays with the ball in his hands.”

“That element is important, as the Vikings don’t really have a YAC guy on the roster. Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison can do it, but their forte is getting open with route running.”

That’s at least one documented example.

“Speaking of Addison, the Vikings are going to be bracing for a potential suspension for Addison. A projected three-game suspension isn’t why you take a guy in the first round, but it does help the position on a short and long-term level,” Forness added.

The Would-Be 2025 WR Room

Peek at this:

Would you press the button on the forbidden route? One of Egubka, Burden III, and Golden will probably be there for Minnesota. This isn’t the ultimate Hail Mary. The Vikings will have the choice.

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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.