Minnesota Vikings 2025 NFL draft preview: How to watch, list of picks, more

The 2025 NFL draft gets underway from Green Bay on Thursday evening. Here's what Vikings fans need to know.

Flags promoting the 2025 NFL Draft pictured on April 19, 2025, at Leicht Memorial Park in Green Bay, Wis. | Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The 2025 NFL draft gets underway in Green Bay on Thursday night and runs through Saturday. It's a crucial event for all 32 teams as they look to add young talent to their rosters and shape their futures.

Here's everything Vikings fans need to know before this year's draft begins.

How to watch

The draft will be televised, as usual, on ESPN, ABC, and NFL Network. It starts at 7 p.m. central on Thursday with the first round, which typically lasts around four hours. Rounds 2-3 begin at 6 p.m. CT on Friday, and rounds 4-7 go from 11 a.m. to around 6 p.m. on Saturday.

Vikings picks

You might've heard by now, but the Vikings have the fewest picks in the entire league this year, with just four of them. The reason for that mostly has to due with a couple trades they made last year that resulted in the selection of Dallas Turner with the 17th overall pick. Here's their arsenal:

• Round 1, Pick 24
• Round 3, Pick 97 (compensatory selection)
• Round 5, Pick 139
• Round 6, Pick 187

That comp pick comes from Kirk Cousins' departure last offseason. The interesting decision GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and the Vikings will have to make on Thursday night is whether they stay put and take a player at 24 or trade down the board and add some additional draft capital. It'll depend on who's available and what the offers look like from teams interested in trading up (if there are any). Whether a trade happens on Thursday or later in the draft, it feels like a safe bet that Adofo-Mensah will leave this draft with more than four players.

Positions of need?

The benefit to the Vikings' aggressive approach in free agency is that they don't have any super glaring positional needs heading into this draft. That should allow them to target the best player on their board early in the draft — within a range of positions that make sense.

They could still use a left guard to replace Blake Brandel. They could add a young defensive tackle to complement their veteran free agent additions. And they could definitely add another piece to their secondary, whether that's a cornerback or a potential 2026 Harrison Smith replacement at safety. Those four feel like the most likely positions the Vikings will target with their top pick, though other options (Wide receiver? Running back?) can't be totally ruled out.

Later in the draft, the Vikings will look to add depth at multiple positions — perhaps another tight end, for example. Trading down to add picks would allow them to add players at a wider range of positions. Then again, there's also an argument in favor of staying put at 24 and trying to add an impact prospect with a chance to develop into a star.

This promises to be a fascinating weekend for the Vikings.