The Vikings’ Draft Pick War Chest: A 3-Year Outlook

K. Joudry   |  

May 25, 2023

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Another week, another resource to (hopefully) provide further clarity about where this organization finds itself. The Vikings’ draft pick war chest is our focus.

Initially, the focus was on Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and his trading ways. The complete Kwesi Trade Tracker was prompted by the Za’Darius Smith move. Letting the young GM to continue cooking without starting to keep track of trades would have quickly led to a situation that would be far too unruly. A couple more years of Kwesi’s prolific trading habits would have created a truly gargantuan task for the writer looking to parse through all the details.

Our task today is considerably less ambitious. Less tiny details and circuitous information for someone to get their foot snagged. In a perfect world, all the details below are correct – I’ve made an effort! – but my human frailty remains. If you see an error, feel free to send along a note to me on Twitter (@VikingsGazette).

The Vikings’ draft pick war chest is a 3-year look at Minnesota’s upcoming draft picks. These are assets that can be used to either acquire a player in the draft or via trade. Anyone looking for further clarity about how Minnesota arrived at where they are for their overall pick allotment can gain insight from the aforementioned trade tracker (found on PurplePTSD).

The Vikings’ Draft Pick War Chest

2025:

• 1^st
• 3rd (Possible Compensatory Pick)
• 5^th & 5^th (Cleveland)

Subtractions: The team’s 2^nd-round selection (Houston trade), 3^rd– and 4^th-round selections (Dallas Turner trade up), and then the 6^th– & 7^th-round selections (Za’Darius Smith trade).

Commentary: Lately, there has been a lot of talk about the outgoing draft picks. The 2025 pick allotment isn’t abundant. The good news is simply that adding J.J. McCarthy didn’t come at the expense of the ’25 1st and then there looks to be a compensatory pick coming over to Minnesota (there has been some debate on this topic). The Vikings’ GM even seemed to suggest there could be multiple.

The main takeaway is that the team is currently working with a shortage of picks. Tossing a 3^rd into the mix would obviously make things look more promising, especially since it could arrive at the end of Day 2. There was potential for an extra 7^th due to the Jesse Davis trade, but that doesn’t seem to be coming over to Minnesota (Andrew Krammer’s brief thought).

We’ll see if Adofo-Mensah has any tricks up his sleeve when it comes to adding more draft choices before the 2025 NFL Draft arrives.

2026:

• 1^st
• 2^nd
• 3^rd
• 4^th
• 5^th
• 7^th

Subtractions: The team’s 6^th-round selection (Cam Akers trade).

Commentary: No longer untouched, the draft capital allotment for 2026 still looks boring and bland. Some will insist that’s a good thing. Owning plenty of draft capital means the team is well-positioned to either re-stock the roster with their own selections and/or be more aggressive by shopping for trade acquisitions. Options aplenty for Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. There was some potential for a 7^th to be added, but Nick Korte notes that the conditions of that trade must not have been met.

2027:

• 1^st
• 2^nd
• 3^rd
• 4^th
• 5^th
• 6^th
• 7^th

Subtractions: N/A

Commentary: Nothing to see here, folks. Or, at least, not yet. Before too long, the GM will likely start shuffling things around as he continues in his effort to improve the roster.

Latest Update: Thursday, May 23rd, 2024.

Also Read on PurplePTSD:
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah Jokes About Now Infamous Catchphrase