The Golden Rule that the Vikings Must Follow to Succeed in the 2025 NFL Draft
Maybe the point is a bit obvious, but it can easily be forgotten.
The golden rule that the Vikings must follow is to draft the best player available. At No. 24, which player is going to have a tremendous NFL career? Go ahead and sink the pick into that person without worrying about position (with the lone exception likely being the QB spot). Yes, the point shouldn’t need explaining, but even a basic understanding of draft history offers warnings about the issue.
The Vikings Must Forget Position and Draft The Best Player
In the 2014 NFL Draft, the Minnesota Vikings could have scooped up Aaron Donald.
He played ten seasons, making the Pro Bowl every year. He was a first-team All Pro a stunning eight times. He was the Defensive Rookie of the Year and won Defensive Player of the Year three times. The Rams — the team with Kevin O’Connell as the OC — don’t win the Super Bowl without the defensive tackle.
Why didn’t Minnesota snag him? Minnesota, quite possibly, genuinely believed that someone else was better. If, however, there was a consideration of positional need, then the Vikings made a bad mistake.
As a smarter Vikings writer once suggested to me, the decision could have been influenced by drafting Sharrif Floyd in the 1st the year prior. The 3T spot was seemingly in good shape.
Minnesota ended up using the No. 9 pick in the 2014 NFL Draft on Anthony Barr. The linebacker had a solid career, proving to be an above-average player who went to the Pro Bowl four times. Mike Zimmer was often found uplifting his defender, praising Barr’s brains and versatility. Safe to say, though, that Barr’s career comes nowhere close to Donald’s.
Now consider a different scenario, one that went better for the Vikings.
Going into the 2007 NFL Draft, the Vikings were sitting in a good spot at running back due to the presence of Chester Taylor. Taylor was productive for Minnesota in 2006, turning 303 carries into 1,216 yards and 6 scores. Even better, there were 42 catches for 288 yards. So, no need to draft a runner, right?
Minnesota ended up disagreeing, leading to the selection of Adrian Peterson at No. 7. If we shrink things down to just the on-field contributions, Peterson was a tremendously successful pick. He won MVP, Offensive Player of the Year, was a first-team All Pro four times, and went to seven Pro Bowls. No runner was better in his generation.
What do these examples from recent Vikings history tell us? Put simply, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah must actually live up to the “best player available” approach.
Don’t downgrade someone simply because the position is already in a good spot. If there’s a receiver on the board whom Minnesota’s decision makers truly believe can develop into an All Pro, then make the pick. Getting deeper at a well-stocked position with someone who has an elite career is better than filling a need with someone who has a pretty good career.
Even worse, of course, is picking a bust, someone who quickly gets to the end of his Vikings career because he never pans out. A successful edge rusher, receiver, or offensive tackle (positions with high-end talent and/or depth) is better than an unsuccessful corner, guard, or tight end (positions that have a need for more high-end talent and/or depth).
Thankfully, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah understands this reality. To borrow his term, the most important thing is to step away with a player — or, perhaps, players — who will have an “impact.” In other words, the goal is to get a player who will do excellently, not someone who slots into a particular position. The ideal scenario involves marrying those two things in a single pick — filling a need with a top-tier talent — but the ultimate goal needs to be choosing someone who will become a fantastic football player.
The 2025 NFL Draft gets started tonight. Sitting at No. 24, the Vikings are a toss-up to snatch a player in that spot or trade down. Whenever that first pick arrives, Minnesota needs to opt for the best player available.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this piece.
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K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on social media (@VikingsGazette). If you feel so inclined, subscribe to his Substack, The Vikings Gazette, for more great Vikings content.