Colts Trade for Former Vikings Early-Round Pick, Get Help in Secondary

The Indianapolis Colts made a deal with the Minnesota Vikings to bring in defensive help ahead of their 2025 season opener.

Nov 12, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings cornerback Mekhi Blackmon (5) intercepts the ball against the New Orleans Saints in the fourth quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium. | Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

The Indianapolis Colts agreed to a deal with the Minnesota Vikings for defensive back Mekhi Blackmon on Monday evening, per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.

The Colts will send the Vikings a 2026 sixth-round pick in return for some much-needed help in the secondary after preseason injuries have taken their toll on the Indianapolis defense.

Blackmon (5'11", 178, 26 years old) was a third-round pick in 2023 and showed promising signs in his rookie season when he played over 400 snaps and recorded eight passes defended, along with one interception and one fumble recovered. A torn ACL kept him out for the entire 2024 season, but he participated in Minnesota's training camp this year.

Trade! The #Vikings are sending DB Mekhi Blackmon to the #Colts for a 2026 sixth-round pick, per sources. pic.twitter.com/eeQU6BCnBP

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) August 26, 2025

Blackmon was the lowest-graded defensive player for the Vikings this preseason by Pro Football Focus, earning a 47.4 overall grade. Blackmon becomes the second player the Colts have added to the secondary over the past week, with the team signing former All-Pro corner Xavien Howard.

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Indianapolis has dealt with rookie third-round pick Justin Walley tearing his ACL, as well as two separate hamstring injuries to JuJu Brents and Jaylon Jones. Nickel corner Kenny Moore II also suffered a knee injury in camp a couple of weeks ago.

Looking down the roster, the Colts' corner depth now includes Charvarius Ward, Howard, Moore, Brents, Jones, Samuel Womack III, Chris Lammons, and Johnathan Edwards. It's unclear how many of those names will stay on the 53-man roster, but most of them should remain.

Out of 23 Vikings defenders who played at least 30 snaps in the preseason, Mekhi Blackmon was 23rd in PFF grade at 47.4.

That's never a definitive metric, but it hasn't been a super encouraging offseason for the 2023 3rd-rounder coming off an ACL.

CB depth is a big question.

— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) August 25, 2025

Colts general manager Chris Ballard is hoping that Blackmon still has some upside after dealing with ACL recovery for a year. With two years left on Blackmon's rookie contract, Ballard clearly feels that he's worth giving up a draft pick for to shore up the secondary. It'll be interesting to see how the third-year corner is used in Lou Anarumo's creative defensive scheme.

Former Colts corner Isaiah Rodgers is set to take the CB1 snaps for Minnesota this season, so Blackmon probably wasn't going to see the field much. Considering Indy's injury history, there's always a chance for a backup corner to record some action.