Vikings Receive Brutal Update On Draft Class

The Minnesota Vikings are looking ahead to the 2025 NFL Draft. However, they have a ghost from the past that has officially reached its final form.

Everyone in the Vikings’ fanbase is familiar with the infamous 2022 NFL Draft class. It was former GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s first class at the helm, and it wasn’t a good one.

Questionable trade downs and selections riddled the cursed class. The main blip on the class was the Vikings’ trade-down with the divisional rival Lions in the first round. They had their choice of Kyle Hamilton or Jameson Williams in their hands.

Instead, they dealt the pick to Detroit for the 32nd overall pick and a couple of Day 2 selections. With the 32nd overall pick, they took safety Lewis Cine out of Georgia. Not only is he no longer on the team, he’s no longer in the NFL.

In fact, none of the players the Vikings’ selected in 2022 are on the roster anymore.

Vikings Have Zero Players Remaining From 2022 NFL Draft Class

Their first two selections of Lewis Cine and Andrew Booth Jr. have been long gone. Yet, with a recent signing by the New Orleans Saints on Tuesday, the fate of the 2022 draft class has officially been sealed.

Runningback Ty Chandler, the 169th overall selection in 2022 to the Vikings, signed a contract with the Saints. Last week, WR Jalen Nailor, the 191st selection of that draft, signed a lucrative deal with the Raiders.

These two signings with other teams marked the official end of any 2022 draft picks being with the team that drafted them. It’s a great representation of a draft class that most remember as a disaster.

Minnesota’s Remaining Positions of Need After 2026 NFL Free Agency Frenzy

According to PFF, Minnesota is still ultra-needy at three main positions; center, safety, and defensive interior.

“The Vikings have seen an exodus of veteran defensive tackles lately, leaving them with just Jalen Redmond as a reliable starter. Redmond was also their only interior player to earn at least a 60.0 PFF run-defense grade that season, so Minnesota could opt for defenders in the draft who can improve upon that.

Ryan Kelly’s retirement also brings ambiguity to the Vikings’ center position if they choose to lean away from incumbents Blake Brandel and Michael Jurgens. Lastly, Harrison Smith’s potential retirement would leave a leadership void at safety, though the team could feasibly survive with Josh Metellus and Theo Jackson still in the fold.”

The Vikings do await a decision on the going-forward of Harrison Smith. Smith is technically not currently a Minnesota Viking, although there is a chance he returns to the team instead of opting for retirement.

Blake Brandel would be a fine fill-in at center, but it is also likely that the Vikings value him more in a “sixth-man” type of role, filling in when needed on the offensive line.

Brevan Bane Brevan Bane is a sports scribe covering the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Minnesota Vikings and Cincinnati Bengals. Brevan began his writing career by making a platform on Twitter and leveraging his presence into writing and content creation opportunities for outlets like PurplePTSD, Vikings Territory, The Noise, Hockey Wilderness, and the VikesNow YouTube channel. You can follow him on X @brevmanbane. More about Brevan Bane