Ya ya, I know. Takes at least 3 years to grade a draft. This first one comes from Thor Nystrom. Echoes a lot of my thoughts which I’ll put together at some point.

Minnesota Vikings | Draft Grade: D

Last spring’s trades that ultimately led to EDGE Dallas Turner were largely built with equity from this draft. GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah entered with a league-low four picks and a league-low in total draft equity.

We saw this manifest early with the pick of OG Donovan Jackson. I saw Jackson as a late first-rounder, others saw him as an early second-rounder. But with the consensus top-three OTs, Tyler Booker and Grey Zabel, and the class’ consensus top-4 DTs all off the board before 1.24, the board had fallen poorly for the Vikings.

Adofo-Mensah had no choice but to stick-and-pick the last sure-thing trench option for immediate help. He appeared to be vindicated minutes later when Hosuton bailed out of its slot, presumably because Jackson was no longer available.

In my opinion, Jackson is the best pure guard in this class above Tyler Booker. He will start immediately at LG. Jackson has a premium combination of length—with the longest wingspan in the iOL class—and power in an athletic package. He’s a hammer in the run game.

Jackson deserves huge credit for sacrificing for the team and shifting from LG to LT to replace injured LT Josh Simmons in October. He was sensational in the College Football Playoff, allowing zero sacks and two pressures over four games, including a date with stud Tennessee EDGE James Pearce.

Donovan Jackson is the infinity stone to the top-3 NFL offensive line that the Vikings now boast, capping a stunning offseason transformation of an interior offensive line that had been problematic for years

After Jackson, the Vikings didn’t pick again until 3.97. They traded that pick along with No. 187 to the Houston Texans for Nos. 102 and 142. The Vikings chose Maryland WR Tai Felton at 3.102 – a nod to the team’s precarious receiver depth with a suspension for WR Jordan Addison looming.

Felton has 4.37 speed and both YAC juice and the ability to get downtown. He’s stick-thin, though, and lacks play strength – he will need to prove he can get off the line against press-cover bullies, and he needs to clean up his ball skills. Felton dropped eight balls last year, and particularly seemed to have an issue when jostled at the catch point.

There’s long-term starter ceiling in Felton’s profile, but it comes with risk. The same could be said of fourth-round EDGE Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins. Ingram-Dawkins is an eye-of-the-beholder ball of play. He’s young, he’s athletic, and he has a rangy frame. If you squint, you can see a long-term starting 3-4 defensive end. If you want to see the glass half-empty, you’ll perceive him as an unfinished product with a tweener profile – two years away from being two years away.

The Vikings traded back from their fifth-round pick, multiplying it into Nos. 201 and 202 via trade with the Rams. With the first of those picks, Minnesota took LB Kobe King, who I ranked closer to the slot they had traded down from. Quietly, the Vikings had a lack of linebacker depth, with little on the roster proven behind the starters. King should provide quality depth.

The Vikings’ depth at the TE position was also precarious, so it wasn’t a surprise that the other selection was used on a tight end. I think it was a mistake to take Pittsburgh’s Gavin Bartholomew over Nebraska’s Thomas Fidone II, who went shortly thereafter.

Adofo-Mensah told the media over the weekend that, in the circumstance that he was in, hitting it down the fairway was the best course of action. That’s what he did, adding an immediate starter at LG while fleshing out the roster’s depth.

GBN 2026 Mock Draft 

https://gbnreport.com/2026-projection-2/

With the new kickoff rules, Branch might go even higher. Penn State has two RBs worth watching. iDL will be a need. And there’s going to be a big fat gapping hole at S that needs to be addressed.

After completing literally 100s of mocks for 25, I’ve had this meme in waiting for 6 months. Lol. 50 plus years and I pulled zero picks. Oh well, maybe next year.    

EAGAN, Minn. — Following the conclusion of the 2025 NFL Draft, the Minnesota Vikings announced the team agreed to terms with the following 19 undrafted free agents (players are listed alphabetically by last name):

Tyler Batty, OLB, BYU
Silas Bolden, WR, Texas
Max Brosmer, QB, Minnesota
Logan Brown, OL, Kansas
Chaz Chambliss, OLB, Georgia
*Oscar Chapman, P, Auburn (International Player Pathway Program)
Zeke Correll, OL, N.C. State
Dontae Fleming, WR, Tulane
Keenan Garber, CB, Kansas State
Joe Huber, OL, Wisconsin
Austin Keys, LB, Auburn
Robert Lewis, WR, Auburn
Dorian Mausi, LB, Auburn
Bryson Nesbit, TE, North Carolina
Mishael Powell, S, Miami
Tre Stewart, RB, Jacksonville State
Zemaiah Vaughn, CB, Utah
Alex Williams, DL, Middle Tennessee State
Ben Yurosek, TE, Georgia

https://www.vikings.com/news/undrafted-f...-nfl-draft

Not surprising to me, although some on the board thought it was a foregone conclusion. I think someone even wanted to bet me they would draft a RB??   A fool and his money....lol.

We've got Aaron Jones, Jordan Mason, Chandler and the Hammer. We're good. Get your stud RB next year with that first or second round pick. Every year there's going to be drool worthy RBs in the Draft. I expect them to go there next year. I think some might be surprised by how effective the run game is with a much better interior line. 

p.s. I still like Maul of America best.

Silas Bolden, WR, Texas
Max Brosmer, QB, Minnesota
Dontae Fleming, WR, Tulane
Jon Huber, OL, Wisconsin

21 years old. He flashed at the senior bowl. Some thought if he returned to Georgia he might be a 1st round next year. Sounds like a stud in 2 years

What a difference from the Spielman days of piling up 10-14 draft picks!
Last pick at 172 (5/36).

Nothing in Round 6 or Round 7.  Feels strange. 

But I echo Kwesi's more recent comments about picking for sticking, quality rather than numbers.
And I believe that the Draft and Free Agency combined (in addition to trades of course) should be viewed as complementary tools to build a roster. 

Winning the draft or winning Free Agency is not the same as...winning.  I've certainly become far less engrossed in getting high grades in our draft.  FA is a far better predictor of what you're getting.

So here's what I think of where we are sitting after FA and the Draft.

1.  You cannot argue with Kwesi honoring KOCs desire to rebuild the IOL.  Draft Donovan Jackson.  Done.
2.  Hard to imagine having a better FA period than last spring...but IMO I think we did.  Combining two years worth of FA has transformed our roster.
3.  Picked up a backup QB in Sam Howell with that trade.  Not a lot of capital there.  Combined with Rypien, I think our QB room is definitely not as good as last season, but it's acceptable...as long as JJM doesn't get hurt.  That answers a pressing question.

Only two things remain to be answered:
1.  Pick 172 (I am not envisioning a trade down for more warm bodies)
2.  UDFA...is there another Ivan Pace Jr out there?

They'd already taken Dillon Gabriel at 95 so he's not big-timing anyone in that locker room.

142 and Howell for 172

Kwesi gets QB2 without losing a pick.