Minnesota Vikings ideal 2025 NFL Draft plan for Kwesi Adofo-Mensah gives Brian Flores the weapons he craves

The NFL Draft is just three days away and it can't get here soon enough. The Minnesota Vikings had a dynamite free agency period thanks to the brilliance of general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. There isn't a single dire need left on the roster, which makes his job much easier.  The defensive class is very interesting […]

Tyler Forness — NFL & College Football News Writer
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Oct 19, 2024; Starkville, Mississippi, USA;Mississippi State Bulldogs quarterback Michael Van Buren Jr. (0) drops back to pass against Texas A&M Aggies defensive lineman Shemar Stewart (4) during the third quarter at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field.
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The NFL Draft is just three days away and it can't get here soon enough.

The Minnesota Vikings had a dynamite free agency period thanks to the brilliance of general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. There isn't a single dire need left on the roster, which makes his job much easier. 

The defensive class is very interesting to parse out, especially in the trenches, as there is a lot of disagreement on who will end up being the best of the bunch after Abdul Carter. How those players stack up is different for everyone, which is why having a horizontal board is important.

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Minnesota Vikings defensive horizontal NFL Draft board

It's important to understand how a horizontal board works. It's not exactly a 1:1 transition to what a traditional big board is. It accounts for ranking, team need, and scheme fit, whereas when most analysts build their big board, it's about raw overall ability in a vacuum.

That's how I approached this exercise, as I split it into two different boards: one for offense and one for defense. My board on defense focuses a lot on the trenches, but cornerback is also strong.

Minnesota Vikings defensive horizontal board
Tyler Forness’ Defensive Horizontal Board for the Minnesota Vikings

You can see how it compares here to my top 100 big board.

Let's take a look at some of the biggest takeaways from the board. I do like players that aren't in the trenches at 24th overall, but you'll notice that edge rushers weren't pushed down at all. One of the main reasons is that edge rushers are rarer to find in the later rounds (Danielle Hunter is not normal) and you have to get them at the top of the draft.

We can take general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah's pre-draft press conference two ways: impact players and getting a player who isn't available in free agency. The latter makes a heck of a lot more sense when it comes to defense, as the top edge rushers and defensive tackles don't hit the market.

"Right now, at this point in the draft we try and make sure our board is correct in terms of how we view things. You've got to prepare yourself. You’re picking 24th you better be able to call 24 and have 24 names that you're willing to stand up and clap and feel great about. So that's the first and foremost in the foundation of how we build this thing. The trades and all those things, scenarios, they come.

"Moving over to the charts and different evaluations, it's a difficult exercise. It's something that I've been fascinated by. I built the chart myself, I've seen other different charts, and they all take different assumptions or quite frankly, this is a hard exercise. How do you value a great player in a great position, you could assign a number to it, right? When you assign that number to it, does that incorporate the scarcity of that type of player? If you don't get that player in the draft, you can't typically get that player in for agency so, how do you put a number on that aspect of it? It's in different people or different ways of doing that."

There is one player who is on the trade-up list, and that is Texas A&M edge rusher Shemar Stewart. He ranks third on my big board going into the NFL Draft, and I believe he can be a special edge rusher. Plus, he's shown the ability to kick inside and make life difficult for offensive linemen.

You can do a lot of different things with a guy like Stewart, just like you can with Alabama linebacker Jihaad Campbell. He can run the pole in Tampa-2 while playing the run with effectiveness.

Cornerback is a position where you can find a good one at 97, which is a strategy the Vikings have used a lot in recent years. Based on the comments from Adofo-Mensah, they could be out of the market for a cornerback or safety with their first pick.

Personally, I view this class in a similar way. The talent at both edge rusher and defensive tackle is deep this year and they could be huge difference makers in the future, while being impactful this year.

The Vikings need to get impactful players on the interior, and getting them early is likely the ticket.

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