On Day 1 of the 2025 NFL Draft, the Minnesota Vikings were on the clock at pick No. 24 overall with a wealth of options.
There was a ton of pre-draft chatter around then-GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah exploring a trade down the board to accumulate more capital. The Vikings entered that draft with only four total selections and wound up making five picks overall, with two of them coming back-to-back in the sixth round.
By the time the clock was ticking, the Vikings had everything on the table. With some serious question marks in the defensive secondary, and all-time franchise great Harrison Smith nearing the end of his storied career, Minnesota could’ve selected the No. 1 safety on its board, either Georgia’s Malaki Starks or South Carolina’s Nick Emmanwori.
The pick, however, was guard Donovan Jackson of Ohio State, the kind of low-impact selection that wound up dooming Adofo-Mensah’s Vikings tenure after four seasons.
Jackson was a solid starter for Minnesota when healthy as a rookie and could very well lock down their left guard spot for years to come. But watching Emmanwori literally transform the Seahawks’ defense as the ultimate chess piece, the type Vikings DC Brian Flores could deploy as well as any coach in football, had to be painful for Vikings fans and leadership alike as Seattle made its run to Santa Clara and Super Bowl LX this year.
After severing ties with Adofo-Mensah, the Vikings could eye a redo in the 2026 draft. They hold the 18th overall pick, and former NFL player turned analyst Blake Brockermeyer is eyeing a potential defensive back value at that spot that would be impossible for Minnesota to ignore.
Minnesota Vikings could steal a top corner after last year’s regret
A year after passing on the opportunity to select the first safety on the draft board, could the Vikings take advantage of the No. 1 cornerback prospect this April?
It’s possible that Tennessee’s Jermond McCoy, the top CB prospect on Mel Kiper Jr.’s big board for ESPN, could slip to the middle of Day 1 after sitting out the entire 2025 collegiate season while recovering from a torn ACL.
While it’s not ideal to spend a premium draft pick on a player coming off a major injury, McCoy’s the type of playmaking defensive back the Vikings need. During the 2024 season, McCoy had nine pass breakups and four interceptions.
Kiper doesn’t see McCoy slipping past the Los Angeles Rams at pick No. 13. But in his latest mock draft for CBS Sports, Brockermeyer has Sean McVay selecting his QB of the future in Alabama’s Ty Simpson at that spot, allowing McCoy to fall all the way to Minnesota at No. 18.
“I'm not a big fan of projecting a first-round player who didn't take a snap in 2025, but this is a weak year for corners and the Vikings need help on the island.
McCoy showed good length and the ability to play man coverage and will be fully healthy in 2026. He also displayed a smooth backpedal, breaks quickly on routes and has excellent hands.”
This mock was a bit outside-the-box, with star Ohio State safety Caleb Downs dropping to Cincinnati at No. 10 overall. If something similar happens this April, Minnesota might want to package some of its eight picks in this draft to move up and land their version of Emmanwori 2.0.
Addressing the secondary feels like a safe bet, given Smith’s pending retirement and the season-long struggles of corner Jeff Okudah in 2025. McCoy comes with some obvious risk, but landing an elite cornerback prospect who went up against Alabama, Georgia, and Ohio State in 2024 feels like a risk worth taking.
The Vikings have a major need for young, cornerstone players, as the next general manager will be clearing out some aging veterans in the coming years. The chance to draft McCoy, who won’t even celebrate his 21st birthday until August, would be a great start.