It’s almost here. In seven days, the Minnesota Vikings will begin to reveal their 2026 draft class , hoping to pick more productive players than in the last four drafts, which have been disappointing, on the whole. And to get you ready for the event, we have seven things to know.
Minnesota enters draft week with fewer picks, several roster needs, and a few clues about what could happen early.
For starters, the Vikings have nine picks this time, four more than last year on the menu at this time.
Interim general manager Rob Brzezinsk i takes his first swing at a draft as the boss.
Do you remember Ed Ingram ? The guard drafted by former general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah , who didn’t pan out with the Vikings but is apparently a stud in Houston with the Texans ? Yeah — that guy. He was the last man drafted by Minnesota in Round 2 of the draft.
That was four years ago.
Since the Ingram pick, the Vikings have traded every 2nd-Rounder. For now, such deals are over. Minnesota will pick a rookie in Round 2 for the first time since 2022, barring another trade. The options are limitless. The Vikings could reasonably draft a cornerback, defensive tackle, safety, running back, wide receiver, or center in Round 2.
Friday night will be fun again for Vikings fans.
If you’ve been a Vikings fan long enough to remember Trae Waynes and Mackensie Alexander , know that was the last time Minnesota connected on a rookie cornerback of any kind.
Since 2017, the team has swung and missed on these CBs for various (and sad) reasons:
Andrew Booth
It’s unclear if Minnesota will draft a cornerback in Round 1, such as Jermod McCoy ( Tennessee ) or Avieon Terrell (Clemson), but it’s a safe bet that the Brzezinski will pick one sometime between Thursday and Saturday. By the numbers, that guy is due to be good. It defies the odds that the Vikings could be that bad at this.
Minnesota has plenty of playmakers on the existing roster, but they’ve done pre-draft homework — as in, visits — with Jonah Coleman (RB, Washington), Emmett Johnson (Nebraska), Demond Claiborne (Wake Forest), Ted Hurst (Georgia State), Antonio Williams (Clemson), and De’Zhaun Stribling (Ole Miss), to name a few.
The Vikings have no young running backs in the pipeline, and the prospective WR3 is Tai Felton . Expect Brzezinski to leave the draft with a new halfback and wideout.
No Vikings general manager has ever drafted a tight end in Round 1. Sixty-five years, zero 1st-Round tight end.
This go-round, Oregon’s Kenyon Sadiq gives the Vikings a chance to end the streak. If he slips past the Baltimore Ravens , Los Angeles Rams , and Tampa Bay Buccaneers , Minnesota will get an opportunity to select Sadiq and get off the schneid for Round 1 tight ends.
Meanwhile, T.J. Hockenson is scheduled to test free agency in 2027. Picking Sadiq makes sense.
Rick Spielman and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah haven’t drafted a defensive tackle in Round 1, 2, or 3 of the draft since 2014, when Spielman made Sharrif Floyd his 1st-Round selection.
Next week, Brzezinski will ponder Clemson’s Peter Woods or perhaps a trade down the board, leading to the eventual selection of Ohio State’s Kayden McDonald. And this all after cutting Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave last month.
Sooner or later, Minnesota will spend Round 1 through 3 draft capital on an interior defensive lineman.
Ryan Kelly retired, and Blake Brandel , a jack-of-all-trades lineman, is on deck to start at center. That might work just fine in 2026, but Brandel isn’t young; he’s also not a center by trade.
Therefore, the draft has a “Big Four” at center — Sam Hecht, Logan Jones, Connor Lew, and Jake Slaughter — and the Vikings will likely leave Pittsburgh with one of those men. Lew makes a lot of sense because he’s 20 years old and could watch and learn from Brandel for a year.
Whether the Vikings sign the best undrafted free agents and heavily invest in the process remains up in the air. Every year under Adofo-Mensah, fans could trust him to leave draft weekend with the most coveted UDFAs , usually meeting with them before the draft and later dangling more money in front of them than other suitors.
The UDFA process didn’t operate that way prior to Adofo-Mensah’s tenure. If he personally were the special sauce, the Vikings could be back to the old days of “boring” undrafted free agents.
