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Kevin O’Connell on 2025 Vikings offense: ‘I want to run the football’
Expect that commitment to increase in 2025. Many of the Vikings’ moves this offseason have been those of a team that wants to run the football. They brought in Ryan Kelly and Will Fries as upgrades on the interior of the offensive line, then went out and traded for Jordan Mason to complement Jones in their backfield.
If that wasn’t enough indication, O’Connell has also publicly said that he wants the run game to be a significant priority this season.
“I think the things we’ve done in free agency, from a standpoint of the interior offensive and defensive lines, couple that with Aaron Jones being back and then acquiring a player like Jordan Mason, I think a physicality that I want to play with,” he told ESPN’s Kevin Clark on This is Football when asked what will be different about this year’s Vikings.
“We’ve thrown the ball at a pretty world-class effective clip for three years with Kirk Cousins and Sam Darnold last year. I want to run the football, I want to get back to the truest nature of where the foundation of this offense was, which is running the football, marrying the run and the pass, generating explosives that way, and trying to be an effective early-down offense that can sustain for 17-plus weeks.”
It makes sense, especially when you consider that the Vikings are going to be breaking in a 22-year-old quarterback who benefited from a strong running game throughout his Michigan career. The more effective they can be in that phase, particularly on early downs, the easier life will be for J.J. McCarthy.
Lunchbreak: The Athletic Points Out ‘Sleeper’ Prospects, PFF Imagines ‘Perfect Scenario
“Sleeper” often is a term thrown around this time of draft season.
And so, it seems proper to dive into a list of 10 “sleeper” players, compiled Thursday by The Athletic’s Alec Lewis, that the Vikings could target in the later rounds. Here’s a rundown, with snippets from Lewis on a select few that piqued our curiosity for varying reasons; Lewis’ complete article can be read here.
Shemar Turner, DT, Texas A&M
Kevin Winston, Jr., S, Penn State
Trey Amos, CB, Mississippi
Kyle Williams, WR, Washington State
T.J. Sanders, DT, South Carolina
Jacob Bayer, C, Arkansas State
Jimmy Horn, Jr., WR, Colorado
Andrew Mukuba, S, Texas
Tai Felton, WR, Maryland
Jordan Polk, DB, Texas State
This is about as deep in the weeds as we can get, but Polk is a former teammate of Vikings defensive tackle Levi Drake Rodriguez at Texas A&M-Commerce. Following two seasons there, Polk transferred to Texas State, where he thrived as a safety.
Polk is slighter than Winston but not as small as Mukuba. He is in the mold of Miami Dolphins defensive back Kader Kohou (another Texas A&M-Commerce product), who went undrafted in 2022 but has stuck around in the NFL. Polk may go undrafted, but the Vikings would likely pursue him as an undrafted free agent.
Note: Only Bayer and Polk are sleepers. The rest are fairly well known and ranled in the top 200 (save for Horn) on most boards. My definition of sleeper is some player not in the top 250-300.
Five-round 2025 NFL mock draft: Five trades shake up Round 1; Jets select Jaxson Dart
Minnesota Vikings seven-round mock draft: Trading back in first round
Yore Mock
Trades
Trade Partner: Seattle Seahawks
Sent: Round 1 Pick 24
Received: Round 2 Pick 18, Round 2 Pick 20, Round 7 Pick 18
…
Trade Partner: LA Chargers
Sent: Round 2 Pick 20
Received: Round 2 Pick 23, Round 6 Pick 5
…
Trade Partner: Cleveland Browns
Sent: Round 3 Pick 33
Received: Round 4 Pick 2, Round 6 Pick 16
…
Trade Partner: Dallas Cowboys
Sent: Round 6 Pick 16
Received: Round 6 Pick 28, Round 7 Pick 23
…
50: R2 P18 S Xavier Watts – Notre Dame 5’11.6” 204
55: R2 P23 G Jonah Savaiinaea – Arizona 5’11.3” 197
104: R4 P2 DL TY Robinson – Nebraska 6’5.1” 288
139: R5 P1 CB/S Caleb Ransaw – Tulane 5’11.3” 197
Photo by Derick E. Hingle/Getty Images
181: R6 P5 DL Aeneas Peebles – Virginia Tech 6’0.04” 282
187: R6 P11 RB Brashard Smith – SMU 5’9.7” 194
Photo by Roger Wimmer/ISI Photos/Getty Images
204: R6 P28 LB Brandon George – Pittsburgh 6’3.2” 246
234: R7 P18 WR Isaac TeSlaa – Arkansas 6’3.0” 214
239: R7 P23 EDGE Ethan Downs – Oklahoma 6’3.6” 269
Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
UDFA
QB Taylor Elgersma Wilfrid Laurier
WR LaJohntay Wester Colorado
TE Thomas Fidone II Nebraska
OT Bryce Cabeldue Kansas
C Jacob Bayer Arkansas State
DL Warren Brinson Georgia
LB Jailin Walker Indiana
CB Marcus Harris California
CB Korie Black Oklahoma State
S Marques Sigle Kansas State
P Kai Kroeger South Carolina
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