{"id":8222,"date":"2025-04-28T23:29:10","date_gmt":"2025-04-28T23:29:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/8222\/"},"modified":"2025-04-28T23:29:10","modified_gmt":"2025-04-28T23:29:10","slug":"vikings-post-draft-hot-takes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/8222\/","title":{"rendered":"Vikings Post-Draft Hot Takes"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"Dec 22, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Minnesota Vikings safety Josh Metellus (44) poses for a photo following a Seattle Seahawks turnover during the fourth quarter at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

For our beloved Minnesota Vikings, as well as the rest of the league, the 2025 NFL Draft<\/a> and subsequent UDFA signing period has come and gone, and we are now in the longest stretch of the offseason, where the only real event that happens in the next three-ish months (barring a major trade or Aaron Rodgers signing) is the 2025 NFL Schedule<\/a> reveal, slotted for May 14th.<\/p>\n

Between then and the kick-off of training camp, we will go into a period full of radio silence from our favorite NFL teams. But did you really think that would stop the hot takes?<\/p>\n

Tai Felton Will Easily Win Vikings\u2019 WR3 Job<\/p>\n

\"vikings\"Feb 1, 2025; Mobile, AL, USA; American team wide receiver Tai Felton of Maryland (10) grabs a touchdown pass against the National team during the second half of the 2025 Senior Bowl at Hancock Whitney Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The only two things that stand between Tai Felton and the Vikings\u2019 WR3 job are an injury-prone Rondale Moore<\/a> and an okay-ish Jalen Nailor, who currently wears the WR3 label.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s Nailor\u2019s job to lose, and Moore and Felton will be gunning hard for it. Seeing as Moore can\u2019t stay healthy and Nailor is less-than-stellar, Felton has more than enough ability and potential to rip the Vikings\u2019 WR3 honors away from the fourth-year Nailor. Felton\u2019s knack for taking the top off of defenses, superb route running, and threat of verticality will force the Vikings\u2019 hand to nominate him as 2025\u2019s (and beyond) WR3.<\/p>\n

Vikings Will Have a Top 5 Offensive Line<\/p>\n

\"VikingsSep 19, 2022; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Minnesota Vikings offensive tackle Christian Darrisaw. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports.<\/p>\n

Led by Christian Darrisaw and Brian O\u2019Neill, the Vikings\u2019 offensive line will likely have an entirely new outfit on the interior. They go from Blake Brandel, Garrett Bradbury, and Dalton Risner\/Ed Ingram, to Donovan Jackson<\/a>, Ryan Kelly, and Will Fries. That might be the single biggest whole-unit upgrade in the NFL this offseason.<\/p>\n

Last season, per NFL Pro<\/a>, the Vikings\u2019 offensive line provided their QB with 3.08 seconds time-to-throw per pass, the second-best in the entire league. However, while giving the QB a lot of time to make a decision is inherently a great thing and the entire point of the offensive line, it did still lead to a high pressure rate; 39.3% to be exact, the third-highest in the NFL in 2024. <\/p>\n

\"\"Indianapolis Colts center Ryan Kelly (78) warms up on the field Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, ahead of the game against the Houston Texans at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.<\/p>\n

Vikings\u2019 ball carries also only achieved the 20th-most yards before contact on their rush attempts in 2024, an indicator that the offensive line was getting penetrated at a high rate. Their rushing play success rate was 39.2%, the 6th-worst in the NFL in 2024.<\/p>\n

Considering the absolute maulers the Vikings filled the interior offensive line with in the 2025 offseason, I predict these metrics will balance out and paint the picture of a top 5 offensive line in the whole dang NFL.<\/p>\n

Kwesi Adofo-Mensah Signs an Extension by Mid-May<\/p>\n

\"NFL:Feb 27, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Minnesota Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah speaks during a press conference at the NFL Scouting Combine at Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n

Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has come a long way from the 2022 NFL Draft, and he and 2024 NFL Coach of the Year Kevin O\u2019Connell (who has already received an extension from the Wilf family) look like they\u2019re building an absolute empire in the Twin Cities.<\/p>\n

The Wilf family has already express<\/a>ed their interest in keeping KAM long-term as well, and Adofo-Mensah has had discussions with them considering a potential renewal of vows, but stated<\/a> he\u2019d rather focus on the team\u2019s goals than his own as they prepared for the 2025 NFL Draft.<\/p>\n

Well, draft\u2019s done, and now Kwesi is probably about to get his bag.<\/p>\n

Wolves in 5, Wild in 6<\/p>\n

\"NHL:Nick Wosika-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Not a hot take; a promise.<\/p>\n

\"Vikings\u2019<\/a>\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dec 22, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Minnesota Vikings safety Josh Metellus (44) poses for a photo following a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8223,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2073],"tags":[80,1490,7,233,259,2529,6,234,5375],"class_list":{"0":"post-8222","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-minnesota-vikings","8":"tag-2025-nfl-draft","9":"tag-donovan-jackson","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-minnesota","12":"tag-minnesota-vikings","13":"tag-minnesotavikings","14":"tag-nfl","15":"tag-vikings","16":"tag-vikings-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8222"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8222\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}