NFL Mock Draft: Vikings full 2025 projection after trading away most of their picks

While the Minnesota Vikings were one of the biggest surprises of the 2024 NFL regular season, going 14-3, they were also one of the biggest disappointments of the postseason.

In losing a winner-take-all matchup with the Detroit Lions in Week 18 to decide the NFC North and the No. 1 seed in the conference, the fifth-seeded Vikings were forced to go on the road to take on the NFC West champion Los Angeles Rams in the Wild Card Round.

And while the Rams didn't get a true home game, as the contest was moved from SoFi Stadium to State Farm Stadium, home of the Arizona Cardinals, due to the wildfires in the Los Angeles area, the Vikings couldn't take advantage and took an embarrassing 27-9 defeat.

Minnesota now heads into one of its most interesting offseasons in recent memory, with GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O'Connell facing a ton of tough decisions, one of which is obviously whether to bring back quarterback Sam Darnold or move ahead with J.J. McCarthy, who the Vikings took with the 10th overall pick in last year's NFL draft.

But beyond Darnold, the Vikings have several other key contributors set to hit free agency, a list that includes Aaron Jones, Cam Akers, Byron Murphy, Camryn Bynum, Harrison Smith, Stephon Gilmore, Jonathan Bullard, Shaquill Griffin, Dalton Risner, and Cam Robinson, among others.

Luckily, the Vikings currently have more than $58 million in salary-cap space with which to work, so they're in a decent position to bring some of these players back while still going after some others set to hit the open market.

And going after some of those others in free agency will undoubtedly be a priority, as Minnesota is not in a good spot as it pertains to the 2025 NFL Draft.

While the Vikings own the 24th overall pick in the opening round, they traded away their second-, third-, and fourth-round selections in multiple deals last spring and dealt their sixth- and seventh-rounders in 2023 to the Cleveland Browns as part of the Za'Darius Smith trade.

Minnesota did receive a fifth-rounder in the Smith trade, giving them two selections in Round 5 this year. But outside of the compensatory pick they're expected to receive at the end of Round 3 for Kirk Cousins leaving in free agency, the first-rounder and the pair of fifth-rounders are all the Vikings have at this point.

With all that in mind, here's our best guess at what the Vikes will do with their picks in the 2025 draft.

Round 1, Pick 24: Walter Nolen, DT, Ole Miss

It's clear that one of the Vikings' biggest needs at this point is help on the offensive line. But as we're seeing some of that help coming during free agency, we're calling for Minnesota to address the defensive line with their first-round selection, using the No. 24 overall pick on defensive tackle Walter Nolen.

The 2021 USA Today High School Defensive Player of the Year, Nolen spent the first two years of his collegiate career at Texas A&M before playing this past season for Ole Miss, with whom he earned First-Team All-SEC and consensus First-Team All-American honors after registering 48 total tackles, 14 tackles for loss, and 6.5 sacks.

At 6-foot-3 and 305 pounds, Nolen has the size the Vikings like and also has the athleticism to make an instant impact on Minnesota's pass rush.

Round 3, Pick 97: Daylen Everette, CB, Georgia

As the Vikings aren't likely to re-sign all their cornerbacks set to enter free agency, they'll undoubtedly need to address the position in the draft.

As such, we're calling for them to use their third-round compensatory pick to select Georgia's Daylen Everette, who recorded 58 total tackles, three interceptions, and a sack for the Bulldogs this past season.

Standing 6-foot-1 and weighing 190 pounds, Everette has solid length and blazing speed, boasting a 40-yard-dash time of 4.34 seconds. His footwork needs improving in press-man coverage, but he's got active hands and has shown the ability to get physical at the line of scrimmage.

That sometimes gets him in trouble, as he can get beat on double moves or play-action fakes, but his overall talent should get him some decent snaps as a rookie while he adjusts to the pro level. With his speed, he'd likely also get some time on special teams.

Round 5, Pick 138: Tyler Cooper, G, Minnesota

As mentioned, the Vikings need offensive line help, and what they don't address during free agency could be addressed with one of their two fifth-round picks.

With the pick they're getting from the Browns, we see the Vikes staying in the state to select Minnesota guard Tyler Cooper.

While Cooper was solid in pass protection, he truly excels as a blocker in the running game, earning a strong 77.4 PFF grade in that category. As the Vikings look to improve this area of their offense this offseason, this could end up being one of their most important picks.

Round 5, Pick 159: Marcus Yarns, RB, Delaware

Even if the Vikings opt to bring back Aaron Jones, who had a fantastic campaign with 1,546 total yards from scrimmage, they may still need to draft a running back, as one wouldn't think they'd re-sign Cam Akers as well. The fact that Jones recently turned 30 certainly increases the need as well.

With its second fifth-rounder, Minnesota could use the selection on Delaware running back Marcus Yarns, who racked up more than 3,000 total yards during his career with the Fightin' Blue Hens.

Like Jones, Yarns is a strong dual-threat option. In nine games for Delaware this past season, the Maryland native rushed for 844 yards and six touchdowns and added another 297 yards and five scores as a receiver, earning All-CAA First-Team honors.