The biggest reason the Vikings enter the 2025 NFL Draft with a limited number of picks at their disposal is because general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah traded most of them away while navigating the 2024 NFL Draft.

Not that he regrets what he did.

Asked about the pair of trades he executed last year that ultimately cost the Vikings a pick in the second round, third round, and fourth round this year, he replied, “I know exactly why we did those things at the time.”

The trade with the the Houston Texans, which cost the Vikings a pick in the second round this year, allowed them to move up from No. 42 to No. 23, and provided them with some optionality before they ultimately selected Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy.

The trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars, which cost the Vikings a pick in the third round and fourth round this year, allowed them to move up from No. 23 to the No. 17, and put them in position to select Alabama edge rusher Dallas Turner.

Both players are extremely talented and expected to be foundational pieces for the Vikings.

“Those are all things that went into the calculus,” Adofo-Mensah said. “We feel good about that exact approach and that thought process.”

How will it impact strategy heading into the 2025 NFL Draft? That remain to be seen.

Unless the Vikings make a trade of some sort, they will only have a pick in the first round (No. 24), third round (No. 97 pick), fifth round (No. 139), and sixth round (No. 187). That lack of ammo seemed to impact the intentionality with which they approached free agency, unafraid to pay a premium to make sure they addressed their weaknesses.

“We were able to do a lot of different things that really sets us up for the draft,” Adofo-Mensah said. “We want to be in a place where we’re proactive instead of reactive.”

Though many are suggesting that the Vikings make a trade that allows them to move back from No. 24 while acquiring more picks in the process, they could also decide to stay put and take the best player available.

“You have to earn the right to be the type of team that drafts for impact and not need,” Adofo-Mensah said. “We’re able to do that with what we did in free agency and some of the things we’ve done the past couple of years here.”

In the meantime, the Vikings are simply making sure they have things in order so they’re ready to go whenever they’re on the clock.

“We try to make sure our board is correct in terms of how we view things,” Adofo-Mensah said. “If we’re picking No. 24, we’d better have 24 names that we’re willing to stand up and clap (for) and feel great about. That’s first and foremost. The foundation of how we build this thing.”