Minnesota Vikings Draft: Day 2

Last year, the Minnesota Vikings had zero picks on Day 2. This year, the Vikings had one pick on Day 2. That single pick was a Compensatory Pick as a result of Kirk Cousins bolting for the Atlanta Falcons last offseason. That pick was the 97th pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. After selecting Ohio State guard Donovan Jackson with the 24th pick on Day 1, the Vikings had a long wait for their second selection. Unless they made the bold, or reckless, move of dipping into next year’s draft to move up, the Vikings were going to see 72 players selected before they had a shot at their second player. 

It was a long, long wait. It felt like more than 72 players came off the board. 

From the start of the second round, I had a trio of Day 2 favorites.

Shemar Turner, DT, Texas A&M

Nohl Williams, CB, Cal

Xavier Watts, S, Notre Dame

Going into the draft, I expected Shemar Turner and Xavier Watts to be borderline first-round picks. Nohl Williams would probably go early in the third. I wasn’t very hopeful that any of the trio would actually make it to the Vikings. The Chicago Bears grabbed Turner late in the second round. The Kansas City Chiefs made Williams wait until the 85th pick. So close. That left Watts. My goodness, the borderline first-round safety Watts was going to fall into the Vikings lap. Long-time safety legend Harrison Smith was going to mentor a youngster from his college home, Notre Dame. The symmetry was too good to believe. Watts was my guy and he kept falling to the Vikings with each selected player. Suddenly, the draft was at pick #95. The New England Patriots grabbed a center. Only the Philadelphia Eagles stood between the Vikings and Watts. The Eagles had selected Texas safety Andrew Mukuba in the second round. There was no way they would add a second safety. Xavier Watts was coming to Minnesota. Suddenly, it all changed. I’m not sure which I saw first. I think it was “MIN” drifting back to #102 on the ticker and “HOU” replacing them at #97. It may have been the damn “TRADE” popping up with the Atlanta Falcons appearing in the Eagles spot. When my thoughts focused, I realized that the Falcons had jumped ahead of the Vikings and selected Notre Dame safety Xavier Watts with the 96th pick of the 2025 NFL Draft. Whether they were interested in the Notre Dame safety or not, the Vikings dropped back five spots AFTER Watts was taken off the board. For those five spots, they received an improved Day 3 pick. The Vikings now have two picks in the fifth round rather than one in the fifth and one in the sixth. Even with a drop of only five picks, I wish that the Vikings had gained a pick rather than improving their two Day 3 picks. My guess is that Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will pick a player with one of those fifths and trade the other for a couple of later picks. 

The Vikings still had a third round pick. It was #102. The last pick of Day 2. Who’s next? With the pain of losing Xavier Watts so fresh, I couldn’t target another safety. A corner? There are a few available that I like. A defensive tackle? There are a bunch that I like. A receiver? Maybe. A running back. I feel like one of the picks today will be a running back. A tight end? The Vikings need one but I expect that addition to come among the undrafted free agents. So, a receiver or defensive tackle. Or trade out of Day 2? 

With the 102nd pick, and final pick of the third round, the Minnesota Vikings selected:

Tai Felton, WR, Maryland

At an earlier time, about a month ago, I had this dreamy vision that the Vikings on Day 3 of this draft might revisit the 2015 NFL Draft and select a Maryland receiver in Round 5. Other than the position they play, there aren’t a lot of similarities between Tai Felton and Stefon Diggs. Felton seems more fast than quick. Diggs is more quick than fast. Felton is more down the field. Diggs can wreck defenses down the field but I’ve always seen him at his best moving within 25 yards of the line of scrimmage. Felton isn’t the big receiver that I felt the Vikings needed. NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah did say that he plays taller than his 6’1” height. The Vikings have an elite receiver duo in Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. Jalen Nailor has popped as an effective #3. Rondale Moore was an intriguing addition in free agency. Felton ran a 4.37 40 at the Scouting Combine. Nailor has carried the “Speedy” nickname for a while and is considered the fastest of the Vikings receivers. Felton might challenge him for that honor. Right now, if the Vikings keep five receivers, those five receivers appear set.

Justin Jefferson

Jordan Addison

Jalen Nailor

Rondale Moore

Tai Felton

Maybe the Vikings keep six receivers. If so there’s a training camp battle amongst the following:

Thayer Thomas

Tim Jones

Jeshaun Jones

Lucky Jackson 

Because of his special teams versatility, I put free agent addition Tim Jones as the leader if six receivers are an option. If nothing else, it’s a competition. That’s the purpose of training camp. At receiver, the Vikings have two guarantees. Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. A talented #3 in Jalen Nailor playing in a contract year. I really like the free agent addition of Rondale Moore. A knee-jerk reaction to the Felton pick is that he’s the eventual replacement for Nailor. That decision is a year away. For now, I like the Vikings receiver room.

On to Day 3.