Vikings Land Brutal Draft Ranking from National Outlet
Ideally, NFL teams’ draft classes cannot be responsibly graded until a few years down the road, but that never stops media outlets from weighing in prematurely. And when CBS Sports did so this week, it claimed the Minnesota Vikings’ 2025 draft class was the third-worst in the NFL, retrieving a D+ grade.
CBS Sports tagged the Vikings with a rough draft ranking, all but confirming one of the reasons why the club cut ties with Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.
No stranger to horrid draft marks, it’s here we go again for Vikings fans.
CBS Sports Hands the Vikings a Nasty Draft Ranking
Only two teams fetched a worse grade than Minnesota, says CBS Sports.
CBS Sports: Vikings’ 2025 Draft Class = D+
This is an annual ordeal for the Vikings: poor reviews of draft classes. The pattern has persisted since the start of 2022.
Josh Edwards slapped the D+ on Minnesota and explained, “Year 1 hits: None. Minnesota’s rookie class was essentially offensive guard Donovan Jackson and little more. TruMedia credited him with 2 sacks and 26 pressures allowed in 2025.”
“Those numbers are a little misleading, but the organization has a lot of confidence in the young lineman. Defensive tackle Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins did spell an active defense.”
The only team worse than Minnesota? The Jacksonville Jaguars at No. 31 and the Miami Dolphins at No. 32.
Missing Picks from the Dallas Turner Trade
In 2024, former Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah dealt a miniature king’s ransom to the Jacksonville Jaguars for the draft pick that landed outside linebacker Dallas Turner. It took Turner about 400-500 defensive snaps to find his groove — not uncommon for a 21-year-old rookie — but the pass rusher turned the corner in 2025, logging 8 sacks and ranking second in the NFL among EDGE rushers in forced fumbles.
The problem for the 2025 draft? Well, Adofo-Mensah had no 2nd-Rounder or 4th-Rounder due to the Turner trade. Everyone knew the 2025 draft class would be skimpy — and here we are 10 months later, reading about the Vikings’ slim returns on lists like CBS Sports‘. The outcome was predictable.
On a similar list to Edwards’s, NFL.com’s Gennaro Filice recently gave Minnesota a ‘C’ grade for the 2025 draft haul. He noted, “The Vikings made just five selections — tied for the fewest in the 2025 draft, with only one coming in the top 100 — so it wasn’t shocking to see limited returns from the class.”
“And the one guy who significantly contributed — first-round pick Donovan Jackson, a 14-game starter at left guard — experienced ups and downs.”
Perhaps a 2nd-Rounder and 4th-Rounder could’ve dragged Minnesota out of the basement.
Filice added, “That said, there’s additional context to keep in mind. Jackson enjoyed a squeaky-clean debut performance, but he hurt his wrist in Week 2. With Minnesota already shorthanded on the offensive line, Jackson played through the injury in Week 3 — earning strong praise from head coach Kevin O’Connell for gutting it out — before undergoing a surgical procedure that cost him a couple games.”
“He returned to the lineup following the team’s Week 6 bye, though an ankle injury did force him to miss one more game in late November. All in all, the rookie appeared to leave a strikingly positive impression on everyone in the building, including one of the longest-tenured Vikings.”
Tai Felton Nowhere to Be Found
And then there’s Felton.
The Vikings used the compensatory draft pick left behind by Kirk Cousins’s free agent exit to onboard the Maryland Terrapin WR in Round 3 last year. The result? He barely played on offense. Third-round wide receivers are supposed to get somewhat meaningful action as rookies in NFL offenses, but that was not the case for Felton, outside of garbage time.
Felton contributed efficiently on special teams. If that’s what the Vikings wanted, special teamers can be found rather easily in undrafted free agency.
Later this summer, Vikings fans will be forecasting a breakout season for Felton, if only out of mere hope.
Jackson Might Make It Worth It
While Pro Football Focus graded Jackson at just 59.4 last season, suggesting room for improvement, his sack statistics tell a slightly different story. He allowed only two sacks in his rookie year, a low number for a first-year lineman learning on the fly.
Even more impressive was his toughness. Jackson battled through multiple injuries, including wrist surgery in September that required a trip to Los Angeles. He returned to the starting lineup within weeks, never complaining.
For many fans, the resilience defined his season. In a year threatening to fall apart for draft evaluations, Jackson provided much-needed stability, helping prevent 2025 from becoming another draft disaster.
No Vikings fan considers Jackson a bad pick.
You must be logged in to post a comment.