The Minnesota Vikings will be in an excellent spot heading into the offseason whether their year ends on Monday night against the Los Angeles Rams or following the Super Bowl on Sunday, February 9.
That said, the one big obstacle in the team’s path in 2025 is that it doesn’t have much draft capital, just a first-round pick and two fifth-rounders to spend this April. That could change if the team extends quarterback Sam Darnold and trades rookie J.J. McCarthy. The same is true if the Vikings franchise Darnold and shop him ahead of the deadline, ultimately transitioning to McCarthy at some point next season.
Because of that potential trade flexibility and the fact that ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. speculated as recently as last week that McCarthy alone could be worth up to three draft picks — including a first-rounder in the top 10, despite never having taken a regular season snap in the NFL — the Vikings don’t have to fear an aggressive draft strategy.
In that context, Jaime Eisner of Draft Network predicted Sunday that Minnesota will flip its first-round selection this year and a 2026 second-round pick to the Seattle Seahawks for the right to jump up to 18th and select Boise State’s star running back Ashton Jeanty.
Ashton Jeanty Has Huge Upside as Best Running Back in NFL Draft
GettyRunning back Ashton Jeanty of the Boise State Broncos.
Eisner’s prediction is part of his most recent mock draft, which projects Minnesota to hold the No. 28 overall pick this April.
“Minnesota makes a surprising trade up here with the Seahawks, jumping the [Denver] Broncos, [Los Angeles] Chargers and others to land the consensus RB1, Ashton Jeanty,” Eisner wrote. “Ty Chandler is currently the only running back under contract for next season. Adding a player of Jeanty’s caliber to the Kevin O’Connell offense will only make them more dangerous next season and ease the burden on Sam Darnold’s or J.J. McCarthy’s shoulders. The Vikings are in a Super Bowl window and now’s the time to add game-breaking talent — especially with very limited draft picks in 2025.”
One could easily make the argument, as Eisner did Sunday, that Jeanty is worth the sacrifice of a second-rounder next year even if Minnesota doesn’t flip one of its two top quarterbacks for a draft haul in the next four months.
Aaron Jones May Price Vikings Out After Quality Campaign
GettyRunning back Aaron Jones of the Minnesota Vikings.
Running back Aaron Jones proved one of the best free-agent pickups of 2024 after the Vikings inked him for just $7 million. Depending on his asking price, both annual salary and years, Jones makes a ton of sense for Minnesota to bring back — but not at an overt cost.
The Vikings managed Jones’ usage due to injuries that have cause moderate problems for the now 30-year-old over the past couple of years. Jones carried the football 255 times for 1,138 yards and 5 TDs while making 51 receptions for 408 yards and 2 scores in 2024.
If Minnesota believes that type of production is sustainable for Jones over the next few seasons at a price similar to what they’re paying now, then Jeanty is a luxury the team can afford to do without — especially considering the Vikings’ top three cornerbacks will all be free agents in March.
But even if the offense hasn’t been the driving force behind Minnesota’s 14-3 record, it’s likely going to be at some point in the near future considering Darnold has been a perfect fit in O’Connell’s system and the team has three elite pass-catching talents in wide receivers Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison as well as tight end T.J. Hockenson.
Teams like the Detroit Lions (Jahmyr Gibbs) and Atlanta Falcons (Bijan Robinson) went running back early in the first-round recently and added bonafide stars who are having huge impacts. The Baltimore Ravens and Philadelphia Eagles added Derrick Henry and Saquon Barkley, respectively, last offseason to enormous success as each just won a playoff game over the weekend.
Jeanty can theoretically provide Minnesota with the same thing over the next four or five seasons, and at a cheaper annual salary than $7 million.
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Vikings Predicted to Trade 2 Picks for Elite RB as Aaron Jones’ Replacement