Vikings Given a “Very High” Chance of Gaining More Draft Picks

As things stand, the Vikings are going to see a lot of talent depart (consider ten players who look likely to be wearing a different jersey next season).

One upside of losing all of those players, though, is the potential to recoup some draft capital. Last offseason, Kirk Cousins signed a major deal to become a Falcon — four years and $180 million — leading to the Vikings almost certainly landing a 3rd-Round compensatory selection for the 2025 NFL Draft. Will something similar occur in the upcoming free agency period?

The Vikings & The Comp Pick Potential

The word comes courtesy of Over the Cap’s Nick Korte, who is perhaps the foremost expert in this area.

Consider the intro to breakdown how things work in his piece: “The 2025 league year in the NFL officially starts on Wednesday, March 12. The two day negotiating period of free agency commences on Monday, March 10, and it is then when we would typically get first knowledge of the largest contracts to be signed. With those contracts signed come the assignment of some players as compensatory free agents (CFAs), and thus the generation of compensatory picks for the 2025 NFL Draft.”

Note: I believe Korte intends to say the 2026 Draft. After all, the title of the article is “2026 Compensatory Picks Potential.”

Fast forward a bit through the piece and consider the determination for Minnesota.

Korte’s assessment: “By not tagging Sam Darnold, the Vikings are poised to once again get the top 3rd round comp pick should they decide to let him walk and roll with JJ McCarthy instead. Cam Bynum, Byron Murphy, Cam Robinson, and Aaron Jones also provide much more beyond Darnold.”

He continues: “Then add onto that the shrewd move of signing Daniel Jones to the practice squad, and activating him during the playoffs just in time for him to be eligible to become a CFA. The Vikings do have a high number of snaps from 2024 entering free agency, and like last season they may add CFAs of their own. But the presence of Darnold hitting the market alone makes them a big player for comp picks in 2026″

After offering the assessment, Korte comes to a strong conclusion about maybe gaining another pick or two for the 2026 NFL Draft: “Potential: Very High” (bold in original).

Previously, PurplePTSD considered some of the players who could be signed to deals large enough to generate a compensatory selection. Consider the list offered in that piece:

• Sam Darnold, QB
• Daniel Jones, QB
• Cam Robinson, LT
• Byron Murphy Jr., CB
• Shaq Griffin, CB
• Stephon Gilmore, CB
• Aaron Jones, RB
• Dalton Risner, OG
• Patrick Jones II, EDGE
• Camryn Bynum, S

Within the above list, the likeliest players to come back are Daniel Jones, Aaron Jones, and Byron Murphy. Of course, nothing is certain until it’s certain, so there’s an element of mystery at this stage of the offseason.

Furthermore, the Vikings are sitting on roughly $63 million in cap space, meaning that potential compensatory selections could get cancelled out by incoming talent (as the OTC analyst suggests). Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will probably be looking to thread the needle, bringing in meaningful reinforcements while nevertheless putting his team in a spot to get a bit more draft capital for 2026.

We’ll all gain a bit more clarity next week. Legal tampering begins on Monday, March 10th and players can officially sign new deals on Wednesday, March 12th.

Editor’s Note: Information from Over the Cap helped with this piece.

K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on social media (Bluesky & Twitter). If you feel so inclined, subscribe to his Substack, The Vikings Gazette, for more great Vikings content.