Vikings Trade Leaves Former 1st-Round Draft Pick in Rare Company

The Minnesota Vikings will not have wide receiver Jordan Addison on the field for their first three games of the regular season, but the third-year playmaker gained more notoriety for another dubious reason on Monday with the trade of 2023 second-round pick Mekhi Blackmon.

The Vikings announced they agreed to a trade, sending the second-year cornerback to the Indianapolis Colts.

That leaves Addison as one of two players still on the roster from his six-man draft class.

“New Colts CB Mekhi Blackmon spent the 2024 season on the Vikings’ Injured Reserve list,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter posted on X on August 25, quoting his report on the trade. “As a rookie in 2023, Blackmon played 15 games, started three and registered 41 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, eight passes defensed, one interception and one fumble recovery.”

Safety Jay Ward is the only other player left from the Vikings’ 2022 draft class.

The Vikings selected Blackmon with the No. 102 overall selection of the 2023 draft. He started three of his 15 appearances as a rookie. But Blackmon’s second season was wiped out by a torn ACL suffered in the first practice of training camp.

Mekhi Blackmon Trade Another Flashpoint for Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah

Trading Blackmon is a complex development for the Vikings, especially for general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. His draft record has faced scrutiny amid the lack of second contracts for players selected under his watch.

Jalen Nailor and Ty Chandler are all that remain from their 10-man draft class in 2022.

Blackmon is the third corner and fourth defensive back drafted by the Vikings to get cut, traded, or waived.

On the other hand, Adofo-Mensah has now gotten back valuable draft capital for two players that were unlikely to contribute for them in a meaningful way in 2025. The Vikings faced a dearth of picks in 2026 to open training camp before trading Sam Howell to the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Vikings acquired Howell in a trade with the Seattle Seahawks, swapping fifth-round selections with their NFC West rivals.

They received fifth and seventh-rounders in exchange for Howell and a sixth-round selection.

Blackmon was essentially a sunk cost, given that he is recovering from a significant injury and was already light on experience, but Adofo-Mensah was still able to extract value from him rather than lose him for nothing like the Vikings did by waiving Akayleb Evans last season.

Vikings Deliver Big Vote of Confidence to CB Room

Moving on from Blackmon is an undeniable vote of confidence in the Vikings’ other cornerbacks. They retooled the room this offseason.

After Blackmon’s injury, the Vikings trotted former Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore and fellow veteran Shaquill Griffin out alongside Byron Murphy Jr. in their secondary. Murphy returns, but he is joined by newcomers Isaiah Rodgers and Jeff Okudah.

Rodgers was a member of the reigning Super Bowl champion Eagles in 2025.

Okudah was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2020 draft by the Detroit Lions. Both Okudah and Rodgers have made multiple stops in their respective careers.

After moving on from Gilmore, Griffin, and, now, Blackmon, the Vikings need Okudah and Rodgers to deliver. Otherwise, they could find themselves using the draft capital they acquired this offseason to address a need they helped create with another trade.