Vikings Get a Huge Trade Recommendation for the Draft
The ideas for the Vikings’ 2025 NFL Draft Day strategy are infinite, and they don’t stop coming. I’ve already detailed a proposition from CBS Sports regarding a Vikings trade with the Buffalo Bills to pick 30, but a new proposal by PFF blows that one completely out of the water.
PFF detailed some first-round draft trades they’d love to see on the opening night of the event, and the Minnesota Vikings were involved in the very first transaction of their wishlist.
They explained that “Minnesota needs to trade back and gather more assets. The team holds just two selections within the first 100 picks (Nos. 24 and 97) and carries four picks in total”. They also explained that the Vikings roster, while supplemented greatly via free agency acquisitions in the last two offseasons, lacks developmental depth.
Here’s the kicker: PFF didn’t recommend one singular trade-down; they recommended two.
Situated at the No. 24 pick, the Vikings could maneuver down twice — once into the backend of the first round with a team eyeing key defensive help and again with a team looking to take advantage of the fifth-year option awarded to first-round selections. That would be the antithesis of their active approach during the 2024 NFL Draft, in which they traded up twice.
Here are the trades PFF proposed:
- Eagles receive Pick 24, Vikings receive Picks 32, 96, and 161.
- Titans receive Pick 32, Vikings receive Picks 35 and 120
In all, the Vikings turn the singular 24th overall selection into Picks 35, 96, 120, and 161. This would be a great return and smart strategy using two teams to maximize the trade value of one pick. As said in the quote from PFF, this is the exact opposite of last year, where they traded up twice (technically three times if you include the initial trade for the 23rd overall pick from Houston) and selected J.J. McCarthy and Dallas Turner.
This would jump the Vikings’ total number of picks in the upcoming draft from four to seven (35th, 96th, 97th, 120th, 139th, 161st, and 187th) and would supplement some of the lost capital used up in last year’s Dallas Turner trade with the Jaguars where they sent a 3rd and 4th-round pick from the 2025 Draft in that deal.
So, let’s have some fun and do a little mini-mock with the PFF Mock Draft Simulator to see what the Vikings could theoretically do with these selections:
- (R2) Pick 35: Notre Dame CB Benjamin Morrison
- (R3) Pick 96: Texas S Andrew Mukuba
- (R3) Pick 97: Kentucky DI Deone Walker
- (R4) Pick 120: Alabama ED Quandarrius Robinson
- (R5) Pick 139: Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel
- (R5) Pick 161: San Jose St. WR Nick Nash
- (R6) Pick 187: Oklahoma St. RB Ollie Gordon II
I had to throw some controversy in there with Minnesota taking Heisman-Finalist Dillon Gabriel, as well as some fun with Quandarrius Robinson teaming back up with Dallas Turner at edge. All in all, it’s been said many times that the Vikings can’t really go wrong with their strategy, and this idea from PFF might be my favorite idea yet.
