Vikings 2025 Mock Draft: Minnesota makes bold trades for starting RB and OL

If week one is any indication of how the Minnesota Vikings defensive line is going to hold up throughout the season then it’s going to be a long seven months before the 2025 NFL Draft. Many experts expect this Vikings team to pick in the top 10 of next year's draft, and if they are right, it may not be entirely a bad thing.

One question we all should have following the 2024 season is: How does Minnesota general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah value free agents on the offensive and defensive line? If Adofo-Mensah is still in charge heading into the 2025 offseason, we won't know for sure which positions he will favor more in free agency.

A high-end cornerback? An upgrade at the WR3? An above-average interior offensive lineman? You can argue these are just as important as the interior of the defensive line. So, without further ado, let's get into our latest 2025 mock draft.

Minnesota Vikings 2025 Mock Draft after Week 1 win over New York Giants

Predicted Trades:

- Vikings trade pick No. 10 to Pittsburgh Steelers for picks No. 14 and No. 78
- Vikings trade pick No. 14 to Atlanta Falcons for picks No. 20 and No. 52
- Vikings trade pick No. 20 to New York Jets for picks No. 25, No. 87, and No. 191

Vikings 2025 Picks after Trades:

- First Round (No. 25)
- Second Round (No. 52)
- Third Round (No. 78)
- Third Round (No. 87)
- Third Round (No. 99 - Compensatory Pick)
- Fifth Round (No. 139)
- Fifth Round (No. 145)
- Sixth Round (No. 191)

First-Round Pick (25th Overall via New York Jets)

Tyler Booker - IOL (Alabama)

The Vikings' interior offensive line is going to be a problem, more specifically at center and right guard. Although Minnesota cruised to a 28-6 win, Giants all-pro defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence dominated Ed Ingram for most of the game, and it makes you question just how important upgrading that right guard spot is going to be as the season goes on.

Insert 2023 (and probably 2024) First-Team All-SEC guard Tyler Booker. Booker is built like a Brinks truck at 6-foot-5 and 340 pounds. As the Vikings continue to move to a more power-run scheme from their zone-run scheme, they need bigger, and stronger guards to hold their own on the line.

Selecting a guard is not a sexy pick by any means, but adding a player like Booker to Kevin O’Connell’s offense could put their unit over the top in 2025. Booker is an absolute monster in the run game and is a very stout pass blocker as well. Without question, he would be an upgrade over Ingram and Dalton Risner.

Second-Round Pick (52nd Overall via Atlanta Falcons)

Ashton Jeanty - RB (Boise State)

Nobody has done more for their 2025 draft stock in the first two weeks of the 2024 college football season than Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty. Although he has a smaller stature at 5-foot-9 and 210 pounds, Jeanty makes up for it with his explosiveness and ability to cut through lanes.

Ironically, after watching Jeanty put up over 450 yards and nine touchdowns in just two games, I kept thinking about how much he looks like current Vikings running back Aaron Jones.

Like Jones, Jeanty has an innate ability to put up those additional two or three yards after contact right when you think he’s going absolutely nowhere. Both Jones and Jeanty are adequate pass catchers whose biggest weakness is their pass blocking.

Adding Jeanty to a running back room that already has Ty Chandler and potentially Jones, who has already proved to be a fan favorite, could prove to be deadly in 2025.

Third-Round Pick No. 1 (78th Overall via Pittsburgh Steelers)

Walter Nolen - DL (Mississippi)

Expect the Vikings to invest heavily in the defense following the 2024 season. Also, expect Adofo-Mensah and his staff to add plenty of depth to a defensive line unit that looks quite barren after one week.

Walter Nolen spent his first two college seasons at Texas A&M after cementing himself as a top-five recruit in the country. Following Texas A&M's dismissal of head coach Jimbo Fisher, Nolen left College Station to join Ole Miss and head coach Lane Kiffin.

Nolen is a solid pass rusher and an underrated run defender. Without question, Nolen can improve with proper coaching, but based on what has been seen so far, expect Nolen to be a high-end backup to start his career.

A high-end backup is always a good thing to have, and given the proper development, Nolen could turn himself into a full-time starter with Brian Flores running the show on defense.

Third-Round Pick No. 2 (87th Overall via New York Jets)

Keon Sabb - S (Alabama)

The Vikings need to find a replacement for Harrison Smith. Although he has not put a timeline for when he will hang up his cleats, it very well could be following 2024.

Keon Sabb spent two years with J.J. McCarthy in Ann Arbor, playing for the Michigan Wolverines following a successful high school career that saw him reach four-star recruit status.

Sabb is a versatile defender who can play both strong and free safety. You can leave Sabb as a single high safety, put him at the line of scrimmage, and even throw him in the slot if needed.

Sabb is a player that Brian Flores would love to get his hands on and eventually take over the reins from Smith.

Third-Round Pick No. 3 (99th Overall - Compensatory Pick)

Tyler Baron - EDGE (Miami)

You can never have too many pass rushers, and in the Vikings' case, they already have three really good ones. With Patrick Jones II scheduled to be a free agent in 2025, Minnesota should look to replace his production in the form of current Hurricanes edge rusher Tyler Baron.

Baron was one of the top players in the transfer portal this offseason, eventually landing with Miami, and he has already made an immediate impact, registering four sacks in two games.

Baron relies mostly on his power and bull rush to overcome opposing tackles, so it's very likely he will fall in the draft because of his light pass rush arsenal.

Baron could develop into a similar version of D.J. Wonnum in 2023 before his season-ending injury. A player who thrives in obvious passing situations that you use on stunts and overcome double teams.

Baron may never be a full-time, every-down outside linebacker, but you don’t need him to be.

Fifth-Round Pick No. 1 (139th Overall)

Caullin Lacy - WR (Louisville)

The Vikings need more weapons in the passing game. Considering that Jordan Addison has a knack for getting in trouble in the offseason and not knowing what you have in Jalen Nailor, it may be time to once again develop a mid-round draft pick into a budding star.

Louisville wideout Caullin Lacy fits the bill. Lacy, although undersized, attacks with his smooth route running and ability to create separation. Lacy is not someone who is going to go and jump over a corner in the back of the end zone, but he’s someone who plays the game very similarly to Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown.

Lacy’s bread and butter is attacking the middle of the field from the slot. With Addison and Jefferson deploying on the outside and receiving the majority of the attention, a guy like Lacy could thrive in the Minnesota offense.

Fifth-Round Pick No. 2 (145th Overall)

Duce Chestnut - CB (Syracuse)

Like with pass rushers, a team can never have too many cornerbacks. Duce Chestnut is an interesting player because he started his career at Syracuse. Following two seasons there, he transferred to LSU and many believed he was going to be the next lock-down Tigers cornerback.

Long story short, that didn’t happen, and now Chestnut finds himself back at Syracuse, where he is the leader in the cornerback room.

Chestnut has four interceptions through two years at Syracuse, along with nine pass breakups. Many experts are expecting a big year from him, but with below-average speed and routinely being bullied at the line of scrimmage by bigger, more physical receivers, he could drop all the way to the sixth or even seventh round of next year's draft.

However, one would be hard-pressed to bet against any cornerback that Brian Flores plays a hand in developing.

Sixth-Round Pick (191st Overall via New York Jets)

Noah Fafita - QB (Arizona)

With Jaren Hall gone, the Vikings need a young, developmental prospect at the quarterback position. Arizona Wildcats gun-slinger Noah Fafita would be an exciting project for Kevin O’Connell to work with.

There are no questions about who the starter in 2025 will be for Minnesota; it’s J.J. McCarthy. But O’Connell will probably want to add another young guy to that room so that he can have both his franchise quarterback and his backup developed in-house.

Don’t be surprised if Fafita goes much earlier than the sixth round. But he is currently following a similar path that Hall took in 2022 by riding the coattails of my star wide receiver

Fafita has the luxury of throwing to future top-five pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Tetairoa McMillan, who covers up most of the quarterback's shortcomings.

Fafita has an average arm that teeters on being below average. However, he is an exciting athlete who escapes the pocket with ease and seems to know when to take off and run and when to pull up and throw a strike down the middle of the field.

You could put Nathan Peterman in O’Connell’s offense and he would probably get the most out of him, so anyone else is an exciting proposition.

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