2025 NFL Draft Grades: Minnesota Vikings

Best Pick: I like third-round receiver Tai Felton. He can really run. Vikings receiver coach Keenan McCardell will improve his route running and he will develop into a quality third receiver.

Worst Pick: I liked their picks, but I question why they didn't take safety early in the draft. They have age issues there and they lost Cam Bynum in free agency.

The Skinny: They only had two picks in the top 102, which limited what they could do. First-round guard Donovan Jackson is a good player who will upgrade the interior. Felton is a sleeper receiver, but the rest of the draft didn't add much. Sixth-round linebacker Kobe King has a chance to be a contributor down the road.

Top needs entering the draft: Guard, cornerback and defensive tackle

The Vikings have one of the NFL's most talented rosters around one of the biggest unknowns of the 2025 season. It appears they're going to ride with J.J. McCarthy at quarterback, the 2024 first-rounder who missed his rookie campaign because of a knee injury. They let Sam Darnold walk in free agency and have passed up a chance to bring in Aaron Rodgers to compete with him. (They also traded back in Round 5 on Saturday to acquire Sam Howell, who should be the backup.) Can McCarthy thrive? He has all the tools; I ranked him No. 15 on my final Big Board last year.

Minnesota, however, came into this draft with just four total picks, the fewest of any team (the Vikings added one more via a trade with the Rams). If general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was going to help out his young passer, he was going to have to do it with surgical precision. The first move was Donovan Jackson in Round 1. He will take Blake Brandel's spot at left guard, where he will help both as a pass protector and run blocker. Somewhat surprisingly, Jackson was the third guard off the board at No. 24.

The Vikings got some value with the next few picks. Receiver Tai Felton had 96 catches last season; Minnesota landed my No. 83 prospect at No. 102. Edge rusher Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins didn't fill the stat sheet in a deep Georgia rotation, but he has some traits that can be developed. He was No. 123 on my board, acquired at No. 139.

Adofo-Mensah did what he could with the team's limited picks, but I wanted to see the Vikings snag an impact cornerback who could thrive in Brian Flores' aggressive system. Minnesota was the last team to make a pick on defense (Ingram-Dawkins at No. 139), and it didn't do anything at corner. But the Vikings like the young corners they already have in the room.

The Vikings were light on picks in this draft after doing some wheeling and dealing last year to move up for edge rusher Dallas Turner, a move that cost them 2025 third- and fourth-round picks. As such, their haul is pretty underwhelming. The anchor of the group is Ohio State offensive lineman Donovan Jackson, a versatile, easy-moving lineman who can start right away at guard while bringing potential to play at tackle in a pinch. Maryland receiver Tai Felton brings blazing speed and some added depth to the receiver group, and Georgia edge rusher Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins could factor into the team's defensive line rotation early on.

Given the highly aggressive moves GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah made in free agency, the Minnesota's decision to stand pat and select Ohio State blocker Donovan Jackson is roughly the equivalent of walking past a litany of your favorite restaurants, only to go home and make yourself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. That said, I like Jackson ... a lot. I won't quibble too much with a playoff-caliber team investing in the blockers necessary to protect young quarterback JJ McCarthy.

However, with the Vikings' next pick coming at receiver (Tai Felton) — obviously a relative strength of their roster — I thought they made some odd selections in this draft. Things got a little more logical in the later rounds, with the addition of flashy defensive tackle Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins, hard-hitting run-stuffer Kobe King at inside linebacker and steady, all-purpose tight end Gavin Bartholomew.

Here's why: The Vikings had a nice first pick with Donovan Jackson to bolster their offensive line, but they didn't really have too much draft capital to add impact players as the draft went on. That's OK because they got Jackson at the top of it. Perhaps Kobe King or Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins can develop and provide depth to Minnesota's front seven.

Most interesting pick: Donovan Jackson, OG, Ohio State

Donovan Jackson and Will Fries is a great new guard duo for the Vikings as they begin the J.J. McCarthy era. McCarthy and the run game will benefit from the additions, and investments on the interior offensive line should make that unit a whole lot better than a season ago.

Previous deals left them with one pick in the top 100, though taking G Donovan Jackson was prudent with QB J.J. McCarthy coming back from his knee injury ... even if Jackson is a Buckeye protecting a Wolverine. Otherwise, a team that spent freely in free agency seemed largely relegated to targeting depth, including backup QB Sam Howell via a pick swap.

Clearly, the Vikings don't want J.J. McCarthy to see the kind of pressure that derailed Sam Darnold's breakout season last year. Minnesota completed its retooled offensive line after drafting the stout Jackson, who will join veteran newcomers Ryan Kelly and Will Fries. Felton could become a friendly target for McCarthy after the Maryland product racked up 96 receptions for 1,124 yards and nine touchdowns. McCarthy is now set up to succeed in his first season as the starter with all of the offseason moves the Vikings have made.

Donovan Jackson was a good pick on the offensive line, and Tai Felton could be a good slot option between Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. No sexy picks, per se, but a productive draft that featured a good value pick by getting Kobe King in round six.