Vikings predicted to fix draft oversight by adding former 5-time Pro Bowl defender

The Minnesota Vikings entered the 2025 NFL Draft with limited capital, but what GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and his staff did with that capital is worthy of a second guess.

While the Vikings turned their original four scheduled picks into five total selections, they chose to go offense in the early rounds. After landing a new interior protector for quarterback J.J. McCarthy in star Ohio State guard Donovan Jackson, Minnesota doubled down on that side of the football, trading back for Maryland wide receiver Tai Felton at the end of Round 3.

The Vikings obviously deploy one of the best wide receiver tandems in football in Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, but with Addison potentially facing a multi-game suspension for a 2024 DUI arrest, the Felton pick makes some sense. Minnesota largely ignored two of its bigger roster needs left over from free agency, though, in boundary cornerback and safety.

The Vikings will likely dip back into the free agent pool to help address those draft oversights on defense, and Sterling Xie of Pro Football Network predicts the team will ultimately re-sign veteran cornerback Stephon Gilmore on another one-year deal this coming summer.

“Even at his age, Gilmore is still performing well,” Xie wrote. “His 7.1 yards per target allowed were a reasonable number on 84 targets, and his three missed tackles were his fewest since 2021. Even if the Vikings feel strongly about giving the former third-rounder Blackmon an extended opportunity to play, adding Gilmore wouldn’t block him and would also raise the secondary’s floor.”

Gilmore will turn 35 this September, so he’s definitely getting long in the tooth. Still, his track record with Brian Flores, dating back to their New England Patriots days, could be a key factor in his return. He’s a former five-time Pro Bowler and NFL Defensive Player of the Year (2019) and excels on the boundary, which is an area Minnesota should be looking to shore up.

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Flores reportedly loves Isaiah Rodgers, who joined the team in free agency in March, but he has an unproven track record. The same can be said for depth guys like Mekhi Blackmon and Jeff Okudah.

The Vikings will want to continue to use Byron Murphy Jr. as a chess piece, moving him around the formation to help disguise coverages and open up playmaking opportunities. They’ll need another veteran cornerback to ensure that, and as it stands, Gilmore and Shaq Griffin feel like the most likely options based on their familiarity and potential cheap price tags.

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