The Vikings have already made five trades involving 2026 draft picks, so don’t let anyone tell you it’s too early for draft talk. One of those trades — the first time the Vikings acquired running back Cam Akers in September 2023 for a conditional late-round pick swap with the L.

Following the NFL Draft, groups are re-evaluating rosters and projecting them out as they get new looks and overhauls one last time before training camp and the preseason. The Vikings had one of the more confusing drafts, making their rise up the l atest ESPN power rankings interesting.

It was also the start of the 2025 NFL Draft. Many inside the arena were tuned into both events, but a couple of men monitored the picks for one specific name: Donovan Jackson. It wasn’t just that they wanted the Minnesota Vikings to take an interior offensive lineman.