The web is officially reaching mock draft capacity with seven days left until the Vikings are on the clock.

Industry experts and armchair general managers have tried their hand at predicting Minnesota's top selection. The most heavily mocked positions are offensive line, defensive line, cornerback and safety.

We've covered the bases for each of those groups in prospect rundowns (OL, DL, CB, S) and updated ya'll with version 6.0 of our Mock Draft Tracker series here. Version 7.0 is scheduled to conclude that series next Tuesday. While there's of course outcomes that could be shocking, there's no shortage of opinions regarding what each organization should do a week from now.

Minnesota has limited draft capital (only four picks and none in the second round) but did itself a favor by plugging roster holes in free agency to maybe lessen its need for a blue-chip player.

That's not to say the Vikings don't desire someone capable of playing right away – just that its placement in the first round lends itself to flexibility and may cause Minnesota to move off its 24^th overall pick spot.

Articles this week from NFL.com's Adam Rank and Chad Reuter offered juxtaposed takes on what the Vikings should do in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft next Thursday night in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

First, Rank signed, sealed and submitted his suggestions for every team in Round 1, and then Reuter examined five pivotal draft slots, including No. 24, that could change the direction of this year's event.

Rank's preference is for Minnesota to draft North Dakota State offensive lineman Grey Zabel.

This could not work out any better for you, having a hometown kid fall to you at No. 24. He's a stud, no doubt, and he will be a Day 1 starter. Corner is also a big need, but you must protect J.J. McCarthy.

Reading a bit between the lines, Rank is imagining Zabel would immediately slot in at left guard over incumbent Blake Brandel, giving the Vikings a reshaped starting five of (from left to right): Christian Darrisaw, Zabel, Ryan Kelly, Will Fries and Brian O'Neill. Zabel has experience at all five o-line positions.

Rank matched Zabel to the Vikings despite Georgia safety Malaki Starks and Oregon defensive tackle Derrick Harmon – two players projected to Minnesota in mocks – remaining on his board.

Pivoting to Reuter's analysis, there are four picks inside the Top 15 that he has eyes on as potentially altering the rest of the draft. He envisions the Giants (No. 3), Patriots (4), Jets (7) and Dolphins (13) as teams with a lot of power to be loud; the Giants obviously want a future franchise quarterback, but will they be sold on Shedeur Sanders or Jaxson Dart if Cam Ward goes first to Tennessee? Mike Vrabel might be inclined to draft consensus No. 1 RB Ashton Jeanty given his successful history with a game-changing back in Derrick Henry. The Jets have a host of options, and Miami is a trade-down candidate per Reuter.

And then there's Minnesota at No. 24. Reuter wrote the following:

General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is building a good roster in Minnesota; a trade down from the team's assigned draft slot could net one or two additional selections to help shore up the secondary and/or offensive line. Buffalo, Kansas City and Philadelphia — who own Pick Nos. 30-32 — are known for trading up to beat out other perennial contenders for a prospect. Barring one of Adofo-Mensah's blue-chip prospects still being available at No. 24, Minnesota should be open for business.

Suffice to say, there's different lines of thinking as to what the Vikings should do April 24.

Read Rank's and Reuter's full articles here and here.

NFL hierarchy projection model

Philadelphia, Baltimore and Detroit are ahead of their NFL counterparts.

At least, according to The Athletic's Austin Mock, who designed a projection model that ranked rosters from best to worst using various metrics and a player "value" that shows individual impact on a single game. Mock's 1-32 ranking added up the values of each roster, with the caveat that "positional value is vital in football, which means superstar running back Saquon Barkley is not going to be as valuable as elite edge rusher Myles Garrett, even though they're the best players at their respective positions."

Mock's output – his final tally – in this assessment was an expected margin of victory (xMOV), indicating the number of points a team is expected to win or lose by when it's up against an average NFL opponent.

Let's shake it out.

The Eagles, Ravens and Lions dominated the field, registering xMOVs of 6.7, 6.0 and 5.5; no one else was above 4.0, only nine more teams were net positive, and Tennessee was 32^nd, shouldering a minus-5.2.

And the Vikings?

Minnesota checked in at 13, after San Francisco, Denver and Cincinnati and directly ahead of the Chargers and Cowboys. The Vikings were assigned an xMOV of minus-0.1 in Mock's projection model.

Mock elaborated: The Vikings have one of the best rosters in football … outside of the quarterback position. They rank inside the top 10 at every offensive position except interior offensive line, which is now average after they added guard Will Fries and center Ryan Kelly in free agency. On defense, they're not quite as good, but they still rank above average up front and inside the top five at cornerback. Their linebacker and safety groups could use upgrades, too, but if QB J.J. McCarthy can provide anything close to what Sam Darnold produced last season, the Vikings will again be among the NFC's best.

In case you're wondering, Mock's model was bullish on the Lions and Packers (No. 7) and squeamish on the Bears (No. 26). For now, he said, there's too much for Caleb Williams to prove in his sophomore year.

We'll also point out that the Vikings have expressed high confidence in McCarthy, whose rookie season was limited by a knee injury.

You can read Mock's complete article here.

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