How’s your final 53 looking so far? Most should be OK with maybe the unforeseen trade of Blackmon affecting many predictions. What surprises are out there?
I imagine they might have another trade or two but it could be after the final 53 are determined. It may even be after the first game.
I saw Kenny Pickett traded for a 5th? I guess that was too much considering they really like Brosmer.
Minnesota Vikings News and Links
Who do they add at wide receiver?
The question is who that will be. Adam Thielen is the obvious candidate who has been discussed plenty, but the Panthers seem hesitant to give him up and there are enough other options out there that the Vikings don’t need to give in to Carolina’s asking price. Two other former Vikings from the Kevin O’Connell era who wouldn’t cost much are K.J. Osborn and Brandon Powell. Someone like Trey Palmer (Buccaneers) would make a lot of sense as a trade target. Jakobi Meyers as a rental would be a big splash. Tyler Boyd could work as a low-cost free agent. There’s no shortage of possibilities.
How do they feel about their cornerback depth?
The Vikings’ other position group where depth is a significant concern is cornerback. Byron Murphy Jr. and Isaiah Rodgers are locked in as the top two in that room, but Jeff Okudah is a high-risk option as the current CB3, even if he does have some upside after a strong training camp.
Behind those three, who’s up next? Former third-round pick Mekhi Blackmon, coming off an ACL injury, didn’t have a great preseason. Dwight McGlothern, Ambry Thomas, and rookie Zemaiah Vaughn are the other corners on the roster as of Monday afternoon. Whereas receiver is a short-term need, there are long-term questions at corner.
Who’s RB3 and TE3?
The big question for the Vikings is simple: what is Adofo-Mensah cooking? There has to be some sort of plan. Right now, the Vikings only have one cornerback capable of playing meaningful snaps in the slot projected to make the roster, and that’s their top cornerback, Byron Murphy Jr.
On paper, Meyers would be a great fit in Kevin O’Connell’s offense. He’s much younger than Thielen, can line up on the outside and in the slot, and has been consistently good for a while. Meyers is coming off of his first 1,000-yard season, but he had at least 800 yards in each of the three years before that with the Raiders and Patriots. He’s the type of player who could help the Vikings survive Addison’s absence and provide a season-long upgrade from Nailor at WR3
The issue that makes a deal unlikely is that Meyers seems to want a new contract. He’s headed into the final year of his deal, with a cap hit of around $15 million. The Raiders and Meyers’ representation have had talks but are reportedly a ways apart.
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The scenario in which a Meyers trade might make sense is if he would be a rental for 2026 who could then net the Vikings a comp pick in the 2027 draft. But if he wants a new contract from the Raiders, why would he be content to be a rental in Minnesota? If Meyers ends up playing out the final year of his deal, he’d clearly be better suited to put up big pre-free agency numbers as the Raiders’ WR1 than as the Vikings’ WR3. Las Vegas signing 31-year-old Amari Cooper on Monday doesn’t change that outlook too much.
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and the Vikings’ front office are wheeling and dealing on the trade market. With recent trades of Sam Howell and Harrison Phillips, they’re building a pretty nice package of draft capital for a potential veteran WR deal in the coming days.
Picks acquired:
5th-round pick (2026)
6th-round pick (2026)
6th-round pick (2027)
7th-round pick (2027)
Players/picks given up:
Harrison Phillips, DT
Sam Howell, QB
6th-round pick (2026)
7th-round pick (2027)
The two most recent NFL trades involving a wide receiver include San Francisco acquiring Skyy Moore and a seventh-rounder from the Chiefs in exchange for a sixth-rounder, and New Orleans acquiring Devaughn Vele from Denver in exchange for a fourth and seventh-round pick.
Despite being 35 years old, Thielen could generate more value on the trade market than either of those players. If Carolina asks for more than a fifth and sixth-round pick, it might behoove the Vikings to just look elsewhere.
According to Over The Cap, Thielen’s base salary is $6.25 million this season and he carries a $10.1 million cap hit. Goessling speculates that the draft pick the Panthers get from Minnesota in a hypothetical trade would be downgraded if they’re asked to eat some of his salary.
“How much of that do the Vikings pick up? They could afford to pick up all of it, but if you’re saying that to the Panthers, you’re probably saying, ‘Guys, that has to affect the level of the draft pick we’re sending back to you.’ I think the negotiations are kind of ongoing and being handled on those lines, along those terms. I would expect this is probably a Day 3 draft pick if it gets done and the Vikings pick up some of the salary. I would imagine that’s where we end up based on what I’ve heard,” Goessling said.
“The fact they have another fifth now I think matters in this. I think that could be part of what helps get that trade over the line,” Goessling added. “I think there’s a lot of interest in doing it. I think Thielen is open to the idea, excited about the idea. We’ll see if it happens.”
The Vikings would need to give up draft capital from their recent Harrison Phillips trade with the New York Jets.
“The problem is Thielen’s $6.25 million base salary. The Vikings obviously would prefer the Panthers cut the 34-year-old and pick him up for free, but Carolina already paid Thielen a $1.5 million roster bonus earlier in the offseason, suggesting it expected to have him. His salary isn’t yet guaranteed, but it will become so if he’s on the roster in Week 1, leaving the Panthers until then to make a decision. If he does get released, he isn’t likely to get anything close to $6.25 million from another team, so he also is facing some uncertainty,” Barnwell wrote.
“All sides involved probably would need to give a bit to make a mutually advantageous deal work. The Panthers would eat $1.5 million of Thielen’s contract, getting two of the three picks the Vikings got from the Jets in the Harrison Phillips trade in return. Thielen would take a $1 million pay cut in return for having the remaining $3.8 million guaranteed. The Vikings cleared out almost exactly that much when they made the Phillips trade, allowing them to absorb what’s left of Thielen’s contract as part of the deal.”
When I spoke to Thielen in June, I asked him about J.J. McCarthy’s trajectory after missing the 2024 season, before any of these rumors sprouted.
“I have high expectations for him. I’ve been able to be around a little bit through some of the time last summer… back in Minnesota, and I think he has the ability to be one of the great quarterbacks this season and the face of this league at some point. You know, I think he’s got every tool and intangible that you can have,” Thielen said.
“Obviously, it’s a difficult league and it’s not gonna just be easy, but I think he has the ability to handle adversity to be able to be big in big moments, as you saw when he was in college. I think he’s got a great support staff around him, whether it be the coaches or the trainers.”
We all know the legendary draft screwups of the NFL: The Saints trading their entire class for Ricky Williams, the Chargers taking Ryan Leaf, and the Raiders making JaMarcus Russell a No. 1 pick — while what the Vikings did in 2022 isn’t close to that level of infamy, it’s still one of the most impressive draft screwups of the modern era. One that began with the team being in a spot to get an All-Pro defensive back, and winded up with Minnesota getting a handful of magic beans, making their rivals better in the process.
Kyle Hamilton was picked by the Baltimore Ravens at No. 14. He has been named an All-Pro in each of the last two seasons.
As soon as Minnesota took Lewis Cine at No. 32 it raised questions. If the Vikings wanted a safety then why not take Kyle Hamilton instead of their trade back? Did they really have a board which dictated that so many first round talents would still be available when they picked at 32 and 34?
Nobody thought Cine was remotely on the same level as Hamilton as a prospect. Nobody. This isn’t some revisionist history coming out. At every point in the process Hamilton was a Top 10 pick, Cine was a fringe 1st round player (at best). The best trait Cine had was that he hit hard, playing more like a light linebacker in the secondary than a true safety — but this also made him below-average in pass coverage. In taking him the hope would be that you could coach up his coverage ability, and lean into his ability to deliver a big hit to play him up in the box. That’s a very hopeful plan, as it requires a young defensive back to try and learn to more difficult, nuanced part of their game upon entering the NFL.
Win total predictions for 2025: Vikings
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