EAGAN, Minn. — And just like that, the 2025 NFL Draft is a wrap.

There was quite a gap between the start of the annual three-day event Thursday and Minnesota's first selection that was used to pick offensive lineman Donovan Jackson, an even bigger span occurred before receiver Tai Felton joined the Vikings via the 102^nd and final selection Friday night.

Once Saturday got rolling with Minnesota drafting Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins at 139 before sending the No. 142 pick to Seattle for Sam Howell and No. 172 that was later involved in another trade.

Throw in back-to-back selections of linebacker Kobe King and tight end Gavin Bartholomew at 201 and 202, and it was quite a bevy of activity to wrap the draft early and turn attention to the undrafted free agent additions.

Here are our five big-picture takeaways from the Vikings efforts in the 2025 NFL Draft.

1. Continuing the offseason plan

Adofo-Mensah and O'Connell have made it clear since the Vikings playoff loss in January that the interior offensive line would be a major focus this spring.

Minnesota got off to a strong start on that project in free agency, signing former Colts starting linemen Ryan Kelly and Will Fries, and continued during draft weekend with the first-round selection of Jackson.

"Every time you go into the offseason or any planning exercises, you set a vision, and then here are the names and options you have. And it comes down to, 'Where's the relative value of different options?' " Adofo-Mensah said Thursday evening. "We knew we had a chance [for Jackson], but ultimately you can't plan the future, and there's a couple picks there where you're not sure what's about to happen.

"We were really excited that we thought Donovan would be there with this pick," he added. "We thought we'd have a good shot right at this level, and we're excited about the player we got."

Later in his media session, Adofo-Mensah acknowledged the connection between shoring up the offensive line and putting full confidence in 2024 first-round draft pick J.J. McCarthy. But it goes beyond that, as well.

"It's important. I can't say that when we go into these meetings, 'When in doubt, support the young quarterback' is not something we talk about," Adofo-Mensah said. "But also, great offensive lines are team lifters. They control the ball, they keep your defense fresh, they establish a play style — a demeanor — that we want to be about."

2. Calling on signal callers

So much energy in the Adofo-Mensah-O'Connell era has been put forth establishing an environment that benefits quarterbacks.

McCarthy and Brett Rypien were the only two QBs on Minnesota's roster after the departures of Sam Darnold, Nick Mullens and Daniel Jones during free agency.

But the Vikings quarterbacks room doubled in size Saturday with the trade for Howell and by agreeing to terms with undrafted free agent and former Gopher Max Brosmer.

Adofo-Mensah and O'Connell did plenty of study on Howell in 2022 when he was selected in the fifth round but decided it wasn't the right time to go steady.

"We didn't think in that first year together, when Kevin and I got together, that was the right time in our journey to make such an investment," Adofo-Mensah said prior to the addition of Brosmer and other undrafted free agents. "We say a lot that organizations fail quarterbacks long before quarterbacks fail organizations. And we didn't want those to be one of the reasons why somebody didn't because we weren't ready, we weren't in the right place to do that type of thing.

"We didn't think it was the right time. But on talent and all the other things we talk about, he was high up on our board, but just didn't think it was the right time and place," he added. "Sometimes it happens in life; maybe the person you're dating is not the right time and place, but later on in life it happens at a better time."

3. Navigational efficiency

The Vikings were able to display a navigational efficiency in swapping picks that would be the envy of Dwight K. Schrute in the "Garage Sale" episode of the The Office, when he went from a thumbtack to a telescope before Jim and Pam offered up miracle legumes.

Going from 97 to 102 and picking up 142 (while sending 187) was a lynchpin for the whole weekend, providing collateral to dance with a willing participant.

The Vikings then used the 172^nd pick to acquire 201 and 202 to further round out the roster (more on that below).

"I think a lot of times people think we make an action, there's a series of events that led to that action. Even if you think of our draft-day trades, it's 102, but we ended up getting 139 and 142, which was a plan to take those next steps," Adofo-Mensah said. "So all those connected things are musings that I think through, and I wake up and I tell them to Kevin and I tell them to my staff. They say, 'You're right.' Then there's new ones in there. It comes out in a vision.

"It's cool. We're almost like a band, where we come up with a song and everybody's got ideas and you guys get to see the final product," he added. "Hopefully it's a beautiful song like "Bicycle" by Queen or something like that and not something on the worst hits track."

4. Powered up

A combination of data and performance evaluation steered Minnesota in a certain direction in the 2025 Draft: to Power Four conference programs Ohio State, Maryland, Georgia, Penn State and Pittsburgh.

Whether it was a conscious decision to target players from proven programs, because of the club's limited number of picks this year, or if the board coincidentally fell in such a manner, it's notable that the Vikings newest draft class hails from a reputable slate of schools.

There's also a couple neat offensive connections.

Felton played at Maryland for several seasons alongside Vikings 2024 UDFA Jeshaun Jones and has already developed a rapport with receivers coach Keenan McCardell, who previously coached at Maryland (2014-15).

"We were drawn to his play style, his competitiveness, the ability to contribute to this culture," Adofo-Mensah said of Felton. "All the great recommendations we got from his coaches at Maryland and just all the work our scouts did on him, everything pointed to the type of player the Vikings want, just a role we were looking to fill."

Bartholomew shared the field with Jordan Addison in his freshman season at Pittsburgh and received a strong recommendation from the Vikings star receiver when Minnesota inquired about his old teammate.

"We asked [Jordan] about Gavin, and he lit up," Adofo-Mensah shared, noting it was a significant reaction because Addison isn't the loudest personality in a room. "Before he even said words, you could see in his demeanor and the smile on his face.

"He came in as a freshman there and on a really good team and played good football for them," Adofo-Mensah added of Bartholomew. "That means a lot. The ability to come in at that age, the pressure of that environment, coming from high school, [there's] just a lot of stuff he can do."

5. Blending impacts and needs

An aspect that shouldn't be lost on any draft pick is the variance in situations they're entering.

The Vikings, for instance, are fresh off a 14-win season in which they were a game away from clinching the NFC's top seed, and several uncharacteristic lapses in play away from a potentially deep playoff run.

Afterwards, Minnesota retained most of its core, and identified and signed prominent free agents, further filling out a roster that started off with fairly few holes. So, what does that mean for rookies?

It may be difficult to crack the rotation or garner consistent playing time, no matter their draft slot.

Consider sixth-rounders King and Bartholomew. They strengthen the Vikings tight ends and linebackers rooms – positions that were targeted due to departures (TE Johnny Mundt left in free agency, and LB Kamu Grugier-Hill wasn't re-signed) – but they'll be challenged to earn roles behind solid incumbents.

Adofo-Mensah noted Saturday that it's unfair to measure players in identical ways. Each pathway to the field is different, based on factors such as who's in front of who on the depth chart and so forth. That's why Vikings leadership makes a concerted effort to "look at each player kind of on their own standing."

How do they challenge themselves in practice? Are they working to improve, or coasting?

"I think that's how we evaluate players," Adofo-Mensah said. "If there's an opportunity – how do they play? – all the while knowing that players don't come in readymade. That's not how it works in the NFL.

"Year 1 isn't how their career is written. That's not how we study them. That's not how anybody's career particularly goes," he added. "We prefer Year 1 roles when they happen; it's always better to play earlier if possible, but we'll judge them kind of on a curve based on the opportunity in front of them. But, again, there's some players here that we think should see the field in Year 1 and we're excited for it."