Through the first three games of the 2024 season, the Minnesota Vikings have been the most impressive team in all of football in all three phases. The Vikings defense, in particular, has dominated all three teams they’ve faced, two of which are expected to have conference championship aspirations.
How will the rest of the season pan out for Minnesota? Nobody knows the answer to that question, but considering the amount of cap space the team is expected to have for 2025, we can assume the Vikings front office is ready to break open that Super Bowl window, and the 2025 NFL Draft is going to play a huge role in that.
In this mock, we have Minnesota beginning with the 22nd overall selection, and there will be no trades! So, without further ado, here is our newest version of the Vikings 2025 mock draft.
2025 Minnesota Vikings Mock Draft: All-Defense mock draft after Week 3 win
First-Round Pick (22nd Overall)
Malaki Starks - S (Georgia)
Harrison Smith is still playing at an elite level, even in year 13, but it's inevitable that the end is near. The Vikings need to be prepared for life without Smith, whenever that may be.
Malaki Starks is the clear No. 1 ranked safety in this upcoming draft class, and his versatility would be a match made in heaven for Brian Flores’ defense.
Minnesota hasn't extended starting safety Cam Bynum yet, and at this point, it's time to question whether the team will have him on their roster in 2025 or not.
Bynum has absolutely deserved a nice payday, but does Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah feel he can replace the safety's production through free agency or the draft?
Starks would be a long-term upgrade over Bynum at the free safety spot, but will the Georgia defensive back be able to make as big of an impact is going to be the big question if this scenario comes to fruition.
Third-Round Pick (102nd Overall - Compensatory)
Shavon Revel Jr. - CB (East Carolina)
If you are a draft enthusiast, you are probably calling me crazy for having Shavon Revel Jr. fall to the end of the third round. That's understandable, but Revel suffered a brutal ACL tear in practice last week. He will now miss the rest of the 2024 season and most likely the entire pre-draft process as well.
Early analysis of Revel had most pundits putting the East Carolina cornerback in the 15-21 pick range for the 2025 draft. But now the rest of his entire season and the majority of the upcoming offseason will spent rehabbing his knee injury, a lot of teams will likely be scared away from drafting him.
The Vikings can afford to wait on Revel, who, when healthy, is an elite man-to-man corner with good size and is extremely sticky in coverage.
Flores could turn Revel into a legitimate star, and with his knee injury, Minnesota can take their time with his development in hopes of creating their own version of Revis Island with “Revel Island”.
Fifth-Round Pick No. 1 (137th Overall)
Joshua Farmer - IDL (Florida State)
The Vikings have had so much success through the first three games of the season due to the play of their depth guys. Minnesota's backups have stepped up in a huge way.
The selection of Joshua Farmer out of Florida State would provide even more depth to the interior of the Vikings defensive line, which one can argue is the team's biggest weakness.
Farmer is a prototypical 3-tech, as he can be lined up outside the guard or the tackle as an edge rusher. He has good size at 6-foot-3 and just over 300 pounds, and has shown flashes of being a special, special player.
Consistency is a huge issue with the current Florida State Seminole, but one can trust that Flores would get the most out of a guy like Farmer.
Fifth-Round Pick No. 2 (150th Overall)
Jordan Burch - EDGE (Oregon)
I will continue to say it until I turn blue in the face: a team can never have too many pass rushers. That trend continues with this selection of current Oregon edge rusher Jordan Burch.
Andrew Van Ginkel and Jonathan Greenard have proven they can be every-down outside linebackers for the Vikings this season. But when a team has backups that can also be every-down outside linebackers, they can cause some serious damage in this league.
Burch is a little reminiscent of former Minnesota pass rusher D.J. Wonnum, and with the proper coaching, the Oregon edge rusher can be a big contributor to any team that takes the chance on him in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Burch has impeccable size, measuring in at 6-foot-5 and 290 pounds, but he lacks any sort of pass-rushing plan. His plan mostly consists of just running over the guy in front of him.
Burch’s bread and butter, however, is that he is one of the best run defenders in his position group coming into the 2025 draft. He has Danielle Hunter-like speed on the edge to chase down running backs cutting to the outside, something that Flores could use more of in his defense for 2025.