Vikings Draft | Part 1 — The Strategy
We’re just over a month away from the NFL Draft, and the speculation will slowly ramp up to levels of insanity by the time April 24th rolls around.
When it comes to the draft, I view it as Dr. Strange would in Avengers: Infinity War, with only one in over 14 million possibilities being the one where they win. I used the Pro Football Network‘s simulator to do several mock drafts. It works well, allows trades, and you don’t have to pay for a subscription.
Vikings Draft | Part 1 — The Strategy
I did over eleven drafts using different scenarios and strategies to see how the Vikings draft might fall into place. I always used the Vikings and let the rest be automated to see what would play out.
Sometimes, the computer would trade with the teams I didn’t control, and it was random enough that it helped to play out many possibilities, keeping it interesting. The one thing that many get hung up on is the “that would never happen” mindset that doesn’t allow them to see there is no such thing as 0% or 100%. In other words, keep an open mind.
So, how do I view the Vikings’ strategy? The Vikings only have four 2025 picks at the moment. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was aggressive in free agency and filled many holes — or at least solidified them so that the draft doesn’t become the only decision in whether or not he keeps his job.
Some players are “old in football years,” though, and may only be here for a few years. Depth and the future still need to be considered. I will list the four strategies they could use, from worst to first.
4. Trade Up from 24
This would be the worst idea, in my opinion. As I said, the Vikings are not rich in draft picks this year or next. For next year, they have their top three round picks with 4th through 7th-Rounders tied up in conditional status due to previous trades. Will they get some compensatory picks next year? Yes, but until those are locked in, you really can’t count on them.
This means that any trades up will use next year’s 1st and maybe more future 1st-Rounders or 2nd- and 3rd-Rounders. If J.J. McCarthy was promised to absolutely go off, and you feel the trade up puts the final piece in place, then it’s worth it. But we have no real idea how good McCarthy will be. It also puts the team depth in a dangerous position and mortgages the future if it fails. This gamble gets people fired if it goes awry.
3. Stay Put
This means to make zero moves up or down.
The team just sits at their draft spots and sees what happens — the most common method. At 24, the Vikings will get a good player, and it will most likely be an immediate impact player. However, that huge gap between 24 and 97 lets a bunch of other possible valuable players slip on by.
The four positions they need to focus on and still get the best player available won’t be satiated by waiting around with their fingers crossed.
2. Trade Out of the Round 1
They can pick up a few more later picks that let the Vikings still get an impact player in the early 2nd Round and add some depth later. It also adds an opportunity to maybe move back up for a player they favor. I think this is definitely something the team should try to do. With a deep defensive tackle, cornerback, and running back draft, they could hit on enough players to strengthen the squad for today and the future.
Just remember, they have to have someone willing to trade with them. You can’t be mad at the leadership if another team isn’t interested.
1. Trade Down Multiple Times from 24
That’s very realistic, as every team gets calls when they’re on the clock to feel things out. One mock in particular was interesting as I traded down twice, went to pick 34, and acquired picks that filled the gap until pick 97. Granted, the board had to fall perfectly for teams fighting over a few players that dropped.
I reviewed the draft, and all previous picks were not outlandishly out of character, and I missed out on the player I really wanted. However, it would ultimately make any Vikings fan happy if it fell the way it did. The depth of this draft may be the best way to get impact players and fill gaps for this year and down the road. They can’t drop dramatically, though, and must know when to stop.
No matter what happens in a month from Thursday, we’ve all got our fingers crossed for the best outcome. In Part 2, I will give my opinion on what positions they should focus on and who the Vikings should be looking at.
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