It's that time of year when Minnesota Vikings mock drafts are beginning to clog up the discussions between members of the team's large fan base. Plenty of scenarios for the Vikings in the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft have already been explored, but not many have made the prediction that probably has a higher chance of happening than most would like to admit.
With Minnesota only expected to have four picks in this year's NFL Draft (including a compensatory selection that hasn't been finalized yet), the odds of the team trading back in the first round to accumulate additional selections are likely pretty high.
So, it wasn't too much of a surprise when PFF's Dalton Wasserman shared his latest 2025 NFL mock draft, and it included the Vikings trading out of the opening round.
Wasserman has the New England Patriots making a deal to acquire Minnesota's No. 24 pick in the first round to select Josh Conerly Jr., an offensive tackle out of Oregon.
"Trade terms: Patriots receive 2025 first-round pick (No. 24); Vikings receive 2025 second-round pick (No. 38), 2025 third-round pick (No. 77)
While New England will have several interior options to choose from in free agency, there aren’t as many quick fixes for their abhorrent tackle situation. The pick-needy Vikings could look to trade down, as projected here, and the Patriots become a suitor to select Conerly. If New England feels satisfied at wide receiver and offensive tackle after this draft, they’ll have succeeded."
Trading out of the first round in Minnesota Vikings mock drafts is no fun, but it's a likely possibility in 2025
While most Vikings fans would rather the team use its first-round pick on an exciting young prospect, the scenario of Minnesota trading out of the opening round that Wasserman has predicted is one that is unfortunately believable.
The Vikings have a good amount of money to spend in free agency this offseason, but the draft is something that can help them improve their roster this year as well.
The success rate of a draft pick just turning out to be a solid starter in the NFL isn't very high, so teams typically like to accumulate as many selections as they can each year, especially within the first three rounds.
Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has made a trade with the team's first-round pick in two of the three years that he's been with the franchise.
In 2022, Adofo-Mensah traded back in the opening round and landed Lewis Cine with the No. 32 pick. Then, in 2024, he traded up twice in the first round in order to select J.J. McCarthy and Dallas Turner.
During his tenure with MInnesota, Adofo-Mensah has never been one to shy away from making a trade, especially in the NFL Draft. So, it shouldn't come as a surprise if he agrees to a deal in April that results in the Vikings trading away their first-round pick.