Vikings predicted to cut ties with $3.8M starter after welcoming 2025 rookie class

Ryan OLeary

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Vikings predicted to cut ties with $3.8M starter after welcoming 2025 rookie class image

The need for another playmaker was on most analysts’ list for the Minnesota Vikings entering the 2025 NFL Draft last weekend.

A defensive playmaker, that is.

Minnesota surprisingly passed on adding to the back end of Brian Flores’ defense, which was left a bit thin in free agency following the departure of starting safety Cam Bynum. Holding just four total selections entering Day 1, the Vikings clearly wanted to spend what limited draft capital they had on supporting first-year starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy.

While the top safeties, like Georgia’s Malaki Starks (now with the Baltimore Ravens), projected to be on Minnesota’s radar, the team pivoted to standout guard Donovan Jackson of Ohio State at pick No. 24 overall, before making a somewhat surprising luxury pick at the end of Round 3 in Maryland wide receiver Tai Felton. That pick added to a loaded WR depth chart that also features Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, Jalen Nailor and new addition Rondale Moore.

The Vikings could end up needing all of their receivers, as Addison could be facing discipline from the NFL stemming from a 2024 offseason DUI arrest. But Felton could be more than just an insurance policy in coach Kevin O’Connell’s game plan, per Sterling Xie of Pro Football Network.

Xie named Nailor the Vikings' top trade or surprise cut candidate with Felton offering the team a better prospect and potential upgrade at WR3. “The former sixth-round pick is in the final season of his rookie contract and has played roughly 60% of his career snaps out wide, with Jefferson largely playing the slot in three-receiver sets,” Zie wrote of Nailor. “Felton is also primarily a perimeter receiver, meaning the Vikings could see him as Nailor’s successor in 11 personnel. If Minnesota doesn’t intend to extend Nailor and Felton has a strong preseason, he might not have a ton of roster value given his limited special-teams value (56 special-teams snaps in the last two seasons combined).”

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Felton posted an impressive athletic score at the NFL Scouting Combine, and is coming off a monster 2024 season with 96 catches, 1,119 yards and nine touchdowns. While some questioned the move to pass on adding an impact defender with that pick, analyst Chris Trapasso of CBS Sports loved the move, calling Felton a “dynamic addition to take the lid off the defense in Minnesota.”

Nailor had a solid season in his role last year, considering he was typically the fourth or fifth option in the passing game. He only caught 28 passes, but six of them went for touchdowns.

Did Nailor show enough on film for the Vikings to fetch a high Day 3 pick via trade? If Nailor moves on this summer, it’s most likely due to him not making the 53-man roster, and it’s hard to see that happening for a low-cost receiver who’s developed into one of the better overall draft selections in GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s tenure. If Nailor leaves, the better bet is on that happening in 2026 free agency.

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Ryan OLeary

Ryan O'Leary has spent his entire professional career in sports multimedia, working as journalist, editor, podcaster, and in live events as a content manager and show emcee. His career highlights include working as a podcast host and audio editor for USA TODAY Sports Media Group, where he led a series of NFL podcasts for the company’s top-performing NFL sites. A born and raised New Englander, Ryan’s career kicked-off in newspapers after graduating from the University of New Hampshire with a degree in journalism. He developed an affinity for small-town youth, high school and college sports, while also realizing his childhood dream of covering the Patriots in multiple AFC Championship Games. Ryan enjoys kicking it with family and friends, beating his dad and brother in chess, and arguing with anyone crazy enough to insist that Tom Brady isn’t the GOAT.