Free agency is getting closer and closer each day with the less than five weeks until the legal tampering period beginning. The Minnesota Vikings are going to see multiple changes to their roster that will make the 2025 version different than 2024
How they go about those changes will be very impactful, especially to how they approach the 2025 NFL Draft. Free agency is about filling holes on the roster while the NFL Draft is about acquiring as much talent as possible.
For some teams, they won't be lucky enough to have their holes fixed and will have to draft players to fill them. The Vikings have done a good job of mitigating that over the tenure of Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, but that could change going into this year's annual selection meeting.
Vikings take different route in NFL Mock Draft
In the latest mock draft from Destin Adams of A to Z Sports, Adams has the Vikings going in a different direction by taking Alabama OG Tyler Booker.
I honestly have no idea what the Vikings are going to do with Sam Darnold this offseason, but no matter who is under center, they need to improve upfront. Alabama's Tyler Booker is one of the best linemen in this class, and he projects as a starting guard on day one on either side.
So, it's an interesting idea to take Booker here. The Vikings have taken just one interior offensive lineman in the first round of the NFL Draft this century. They did so in 2019 when they selected Garrett Bradbury.
Booker is a very powerful guard who is a mauler in both run blocking and pass blocking. He will bury you right into the ground with ease. There is one thing that doesn't make sense with this selection: Booker isn't very quick on his feet. That's something the Vikings need to have on the interior of the offensive line. It's important because the Vikings run a lot of outside zone concepts where the offensive line needs to climb up to the second level.
Both of those things together make the selection of Booker less likely. However, the comments from head coach Kevin O'Connell after the playoff loss make a guard in round one more likely than it would have been before, especially with the collaboration that Kwesi Adofo-Mensah preaches.
