The Senior Bowl May Have Thrown A Wrench In the Vikings Draft Plans
Credit: Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images
The 2025 Senior Bowl is officially in the books, and after watching the game in person, I can confidently say that the defensive linemen were the most impressive position group as a whole. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, considering that the 2025 Draft is a deep defensive tackle class. Guys like T.J. Sanders, Aeneas Peebles, Omarr Norman-Lott, and Darius Alexander all increased their draft stock, with all four of those players now projected to be drafted on Day 2 of the draft.
However, there was one player who cemented themselves as a top-20 pick, and that’s none other than Walter Nolen from Ole Miss. Prior to the Senior Bowl, Nolen was projected to be a late first-round pick, but that no longer appears to be the case. Some draft analysts now view Nolen as the second-best interior defensive lineman in this year’s draft, with one post-Senior Bowl mock draft having him go as early as 13th overall to the Miami Dolphins. Take mock drafts with a grain of salt, but the consensus is higher on Nolen now than last week.
Here is every one-on-one rep for Ole Miss DT Walter Nolen during Day 1 of the Senior Bowl: pic.twitter.com/h4EVLvlBtd
— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) January 28, 2025
Nolen’s ascension up draft boards may have created a problem for the Minnesota Vikings, who don’t have the necessary draft capital to move up from the 24th overall pick. Because of how well Nolen performed at the Senior Bowl, there’s now a very real possibility that Mason Graham, Kenneth Grant, Derrick Harmon, and Nolen are all top-20 selections. It wouldn’t be the end of the world if Minnesota doesn’t draft Nolen or one of the top four defensive tackles, but it may force Kwesi Adofo-Mensah to alter the Vikings’ draft strategy for their early-round picks.
Here’s the absolute worst-case scenario for the Vikings: Michigan’s pair of defensive tackles (Graham and Grant); along with another Michigan defender in cornerback Will Johnson and Colorado’s Travis Hunter are all selected in the top 10. Then the Arizona Cardinals select Oregon defensive tackle Harmon 16th overall, followed by the Cincinnati Bengals taking Nolen with the next pick. To make matters worse, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers draft Notre Dame cornerback Benjamin Morrison 19th overall, and the Green Bay Packers take the last remaining cornerback with a first-round grade at No. 23 in Ole Miss’ Trey Amos.
A worst case scenario mock draft for the #Vikings.
Mason Graham, Kenneth Grant, Derrick Harmon, Walter Nolen, Benjamin Morrison, and Trey Amos are all gone by pick 24… What would you do if you were the GM? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/JEG3Ub0adf
— 𝙩𝙮𝙡𝙚𝙧 (@TylerTalksBall) February 3, 2025
If this nightmare of a mock draft happened in real life, it wouldn’t leave Kwesi with many options. One of the best remaining defensive tackles is Ohio State’s Tyleik Williams, who is more of a run-stuffer than a true pass-rushing threat. Another option might be South Carolina’s T.J. Sanders, a smaller defensive tackle who provides the pressure the Vikings are looking for, but is much better suited in a 4-3 defense as a 3-technique rather than a 5-tech in Brian Flores’ 3-4 base defense.
My fear is that this year’s Senior Bowl put a giant spotlight on the top defensive tackles in this draft class, which may prompt several teams inside the top 20 to prioritize the position. This could create a run on defensive tackles that the Vikings can’t get ahead of due to their lack of draft capital. The logical move here would be to find someone to trade down with, but that may be easier said than done. The 2025 Draft is severely lacking in high-end talent, with only 8-10 true blue-chip players in this year’s class.
“I’m talking to teams with (only) 8, 9, 10 first-round grades right now.” — @JimNagy_SB #NFLDraft
— The Draft Network (@TheDraftNetwork) January 27, 2025
Assuming that all the blue-chip prospects are gone by the 24th pick, there may not be much value in another team trading up for a player late in the first round, especially if they feel that the talent gap between the 24th and, say, 70th overall pick is negligible. That would put the Vikings in a dilemma where they’re either forced to select a player with a second-round grade in the first round, or trade down for an insignificant return and risk missing out on even more players they had interest in.
Overdrafting a player with a second-round grade that the Vikings front office is high on feels like the lesser of two evils to me, especially if it’s someone who is ranked in the top three at their position. North Dakota State’s Grey Zabel is an example of someone who may be worth sticking and picking for. Listed as a tackle, Zabel took snaps at both center and guard during the Senior Bowl, which proved to be a walk in the park for him. Zabel was named the Senior Bowl Practice Player of the Week, and is widely considered a top-50 selection.
🚨𝑩𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑲𝑰𝑵𝑮: North Dakota State OL Grey Zabel was named @seniorbowl Overall Practice Player-of-Week today in poll of NFL executives from all 32 teams. 📈#BestoftheBest #TheDraftStartsInMOBILE™️ pic.twitter.com/giG6kRtLyp
— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) February 1, 2025
There are other players the Vikings could pursue as well, including East Carolina cornerback Shavon Revel, North Carolina running back Omarion Hampton, and Alabama guard Tyler Booker, who helped keep the pocket clean for J.J. McCarthy during their high school days at IMG Academy. Nevertheless, Adofo-Mensah should start bracing for the possibility that the top four pass-rushing defensive tackles and the top four cornerbacks in this year’s draft are all gone before Pick 24. If that happens, the Vikings may be forced to alter their draft strategy by overdrafting a good player at an undervalued position.
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