Over the past few years, the Minnesota Vikings’ draft classes have not been highly lauded. That’s largely what led to the firing of GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah in late January and the odd situation that the Vikings went through during the 2026 offseason prior to Nolan Teasley’s hiring last month.
Given that, you would think that the Vikings would rank fairly low in terms of younger talent on the roster, but according to the folks from ESPN, that’s not the case. They’ve racked and stacked all 32 NFL teams in terms of under-25 talent, and the Vikings find themselves in the top half of the league. Not only that, but they’re actually ahead of some of their more highly praised NFC North brethren.
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The Vikings come in at #13 on ESPN’s list of under-25 talent around the league, which is a nice step up from the #21 spot they occupied on this same list last season. Here’s what they had to say about the purple.
Last year’s rank: 21
Blue chips: G Donovan Jackson, Edge Dallas Turner
Notable graduated players: K Will Reichard
Left guard Jackson, age 23, is one of many top Vikings players, and Turner, also 23, moves into the starting lineup full time this season. First-round rookie defensive tackle Caleb Banks and second-round rookie linebacker Jake Golday also join the 23 club. I wouldn’t really call quarterback J.J. McCarthy a top Vikings player, as he is in a battle with Kyler Murray for the starting spot, but McCarthy is also 23. Jordan Addison, one of the best No. 2 receivers in the NFL, is 24.
If Banks hits the way he can hopefully hit, the Vikings will likely move up this list significantly next year. Of course, he’s going to have to be able to stay on the field in order to make that happen, so we’ll have to see how that goes. Jackson and Turner getting recognition is nice to see, too. Addison is going to age off the list next season.
As far as the NFC North goes, the Chicago Bears are going to be a problem for a little bit, as they’re way up at #3 on this list. If you want to find the other two NFC North teams, you need to scroll for a bit. The Detroit Lions are down at #23 after being up at #6 on last year’s list, while the Green Bay Packers are ranked at #30.
I guess Adofo-Mensah didn’t leave the cupboard completely bare when he left, although he obviously didn’t leave it as full as we would have liked. Hopefully the Nolan Teasley Era will bring about a significant change as far as bringing young talent onto the roster for the foreseeable future.
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