Where Did All the Vikings’ Picks Go? Here’s The Breakdown.
The Minnesota Vikings have never left an NFL Draft with fewer than five new players. That was the number of incoming selections in 2008 and 2009, in part because of the Jared Allen trade. This time, GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah might only choose four players.
Where Did All the Vikings’ Picks Go? Here’s The Breakdown.
At this point, Adofo-Mensah has only four picks because of his tendency to trade. Of those four, only the 24th overall is his organic pick. Where did the other six organic picks go, and how did he get the other three?
Minnesota’s 4 Picks
As mentioned, the 24th overall pick is the natural pick for Minnesota’s play a year ago.
In addition to that, the Vikings received a third-round compensatory pick, the highest this year, 97th overall, for Kirk Cousins’ departure last offseason.
A fifth-rounder, pick 139, was acquired in a trade all the way back in the 2023 offseason when Za’Darius Smith wanted out and subsequently was traded to Cleveland for a pair of fifth-rounders. One of those will be used this year.
In March, pick number 187, Minnesota’s fourth and last pick, was obtained via the Jordan Mason trade.
Where Did The Others Go?
Adofo-Mensah used three picks from his 2025 firepower to bring Dallas Turner to the Twin Cities last April.
A first trade about a month ahead of the draft sent the 56th overall pick to Houston in a move that secured the young executive a second first-round pick.
During the Draft, he made the move from the 23rd pick to the 17th to land Turner. Part of the package was the third-rounder (88th overall pick) and the fourth-rounder (126th overall pick) from this year’s class.
The fifth-rounder, the 160th overall pick, was part of the Jordan Mason trade. He sent next year’s sixth-rounder as well as 160, but got the 187th pick in return.
The sixth-rounder, pick 200th overall, will be made by the Browns. That was part of the Za’Darius Smith trade.
Also part of that deal was pick 240th overall. That selection, however, was rerouted by the Browns to Chicago.
Summary
Adofo-Mensah was a Wall Street Trader prior to entering the football world, and he continues to strike deals on a regular basis. His predecessor, Rick Spielman, had the nickname Trader Rick, but he didn’t nearly do as many swaps.
Ultimately, Adofo-Mensah and his wingmen in the draft room viewed Turner so highly that they were fine with losing valuable picks from this draft class to get him. His rookie year wasn’t ideal, primarily because of the competition at outside linebacker, but he showed some flashes, and it wasn’t alarming by any means. He’s still a player with an exciting future ahead of him.
Smith wanted out after only one season, and the Vikings allowed him to leave. They spent a sixth-rounder and a seventh-rounder from this year for a fifth-rounder in each of last year’s draft and this year’s. Last year’s was used in the trade for J.J. McCarthy.
Running back Mason will form the duo in the backfield with Aaron Jones. The powerful runner cost one pick next year as well as a drop of 27 picks this year from the fifth to the sixth.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.
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