Vikings’ Bountiful List of 2025 NFL Draft Scenarios
The Vikings have set them up with some beautiful circumstances come draft night. The way that the team was built through free agency by Kwesi and Company has provided Minnesota with a bevy of options for the moment they are put on the clock or even before. This feels like the first year in a while where the Vikings can truly do just about whatever they want, and whatever they choose is a completely justified path to follow.
So what are these optional strategies, and how could the Vikings use them?
Scenario 1: Trade Up
This is certainly the least likely road that the Vikings will choose to take, but it can’t be completely ruled out. Anything can happen on draft night (did you know that the Eagles drafted Jalen Reagor the pick before Justin Jefferson?), and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has proven time and time again that he is not afraid to reach into the buckets of future drafts to acquire an asset he admires in the present. T.J. Hockenson and Dallas Turner are just a few examples.
Minnesota would have to pretty much punt on making another Day 1 or 2 selection in the 2025 NFL Draft to perform this maneuver, and of course, it depends on how high up they’re trading. This could be a move for a name like Ashton Jeanty or Omarion Hampton or a corner that they suspect will go higher than 24, like Jahdae Barron out of Texas.
Scenario 2: Trade Down
Now, this is a good idea. The Vikings currently only hold four picks in this year’s draft, and there are ways to almost double that. A double-trade has been suggested by PFF with the Titans and Eagles, and that strategy could see the Vikings pocketing the most value possible.
They don’t even have to do anything that dramatic; they could just swap a few picks with a team like the Rams and pocket a Day 3 pick or two.
This scenario, if I had to predict, is probably what the Vikings will do when they are put on the clock in Green Bay. Kwesi may not be afraid to dig into his pockets and leverage the future to gain current-day assets, but the man is a psycho for trade value, and Minnesota could mop up value in a draft where the player picked at 20th isn’t much better than the player picked 55th.
Scenario 3: Stick And Pick
The Vikings have benefitted from this a few times in recent years, most notably calling out Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. J.J. McCarthy would be a part of that list, too, but the Vikings still technically traded up to draft him, and in all fairness, we still don’t know if he’s good yet.
This is the safest option: no trading up, no trying to win a trade battle and get a high score on the trade value charts, just good ol’ fashioned sticking and picking. Just like football God intended.
There will be plenty of players here that the Vikings would immediately find roles for early in their careers. Derrick Harmon is the most commonly-mocked prospect to the Vikings currently, and Jahdae Barron is projected to be in the range by the time Minnesota is required to make the call to New York to draft their guy.
No matter which way the Vikings roam, they will be able to find someone who can contribute quite early. As mentioned, this class isn’t too crazy in terms of talent, and they don’t need to feel forced into selecting someone they aren’t enamored with at 24th overall.
This is a perfect opportunity for the Vikings to gain draft capital for the future and build this dang thing around Jonathan James McCarthy.
