When the Minnesota Vikings are on the clock with the 24th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, expect the phone lines to be wide open.
GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has spent the start of free agency sewing up the edges of the roster. The Vikings will enter draft weekend (April 24-26) with no glaring weaknesses, which makes trading back to acquire sorely-needed capital for this year’s draft class more likely than not.
Draft analyst Chad Reuter of NFL.com recently proposed a best-case trade scenario for the Vikings. In his latest first-round predictions, Reuter had Minnesota sending the 24th pick to the Buffalo Bills for pick No. 30 overall and two additional selections on Day 3 of the draft. Here was his take on the move:
The Vikings could stay put and take a defensive back themselves, but they currently only have four selections in this draft, so adding two early Day 3 picks might be worth the risk of moving down the board a bit.
Buffalo currently holds 10 overall selections in the 2025 NFL Draft, including five combined picks in Rounds 4 and 5. That makes the Bills a strong potential trade partner, and in this hypothetical, they move up with Minnesota to select Florida State cornerback Azareye’h Thomas.
You could argue that boundary corner is Minnesota’s top positional need with a month to go before draft weekend. Safety should also be high on its list, with Harrison Smith likely entering his swan song season and playmaker Cam Bynum now with the Indianapolis Colts.
This is where a trade-back could end up being a home-run situation for Adofo-Mensah and the Vikings. The top safeties can slide on Day 1 of the draft, and at pick No. 30 overall, Reuter predicts Minnesota could still land a superstar talent in South Carolina safety Nick Emmanwori. “Stepping into the lineup at strong safety,” Reuter wrote, “this athletic freak also showed the quickness to play nickel while at South Carolina.”
Vikes fans who watched the NFL’s Scouting Combine should remember Emmanwori well. According to ESPN research, he’s the only safety at the combine since at least 2003 to have a sub-4.4 40-yard dash, jump at least 40 inches in the vertical, and jump at least 11 feet in the broad jump. Emmanwori flashed elite playmaking ability in 2024 with 88 total tackles, four interceptions and a pair of pick-sixes. There might not be a better defensive back on the board for defensive coordinator Brian Flores, whose safety group could look scary with Smith, Josh Metellus and Emmanwori on the field together.
Nick Emmanwori running a 4.38 at 6’3″ | 220 LBS is absurd
— PFF College (@PFF_College) February 28, 2025
It’s obviously no guarantee that Emmanwori lasts that long on Day 1 of the draft, and the Vikings could be compelled to use that No. 24 overall pick on the top guy on their draft board. But currently holding a league-low four selections, Minnesota will be moving back at some point, possibly multiple times, and if it can do so while still landing an elite prospect on Day 1, that would be a major win for Adofo-Mensah and Co.
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