The Minnesota Vikings have announced Stephon Gilmore’s replacement with a 6’3, ‘uber-physical’ cornerback

General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and the Minnesota Vikings were proactive in their newest draft class, trading up twice in the first round to acquire quarterback J.J. McCarthy and EDGE Dallas Turner.

That tactic is set to alter in 2025, as the Vikings are expected to have four overall picks in this April’s draft. They’ll have a late first-round pick, two fifth-round picks, and a projected third-round compensatory pick if Kirk Cousins leaves for Atlanta in free agency. With minimal future draft money — the Vikings have already tapped into 2026 via midseason trades for Cam Akers and Cam Robinson — they will most likely sit out Day 1 or try to regain another Day 2 pick by trading back.

With that in mind, Minnesota might be a landing location for a great prospect who falls to the end of the first round in April’s NFL Draft. According to Vinnie Iyer of The Sporting News, that player will be Shavon Revel Jr., a cornerback who just sustained a season-ending knee injury during a September practice at East Carolina.

Here is Iyer’s perspective on Revel’s potential fit with the Vikings. It remains to be seen how far Revel will fall in April’s first round following his ACL surgery in October. According to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com, Revel expects to be medically cleared before the April selection. Prior to the injury, he was predicted to be one of the top cornerbacks taken, as well as one of the top defensive

Players, era.Kyle Crabbs of the 33rd Team compared Revel’s athletic profile to Richard Sherman’s: “This is an uber-physical cornerback who dictates terms in every phase of the position — be that as a run support player on the edge, a tackler at the catch point in rally opportunities to the football, or playing press coverage or at the catch point,” Crabbs said. “Revel Jr. has the length, transitional quickness, and long-speed blend to be an alpha cornerback at the NFL level.”

Flores prefers long, powerful corners, and the 6-foot-3 Revel definitely fits the bill. He would also fill a significant future need, as the Vikings have yet to make judgments on prospective free agents Byron Murphy Jr., Shaq Griffin, and Stephon Gilmore. Gilmore, who will turn 35 in September, could be the odd man out. Given Adofo-Mensah’s terrible draft history since taking over in 2022, replacing him with a potential franchise boundary corner could be the winning formula.