What will the Vikings do once they’re on the clock Thursday night?

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s the multimillion-dollar question, one that’s been estimated in what feels like millions of mock drafts since the 2025 season ended and intense focus transitioned to the 2026 event.

During our several months of Mock Draft Trackers, we’ve kept tabs on the primary positions the Vikings may address at No. 18: safety (80), cornerback (34) and interior defensive lineman (20) have garnered the most mentions. We’ve also monitored the players most frequently paired with Minnesota: Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman, Tennessee corner Jermod McCoy and Ohio State defensive tackle Kayden McDonald are a few of the many touted by 79 unique draftniks who have accounted for 152 total first-round predictions since Jan. 27.

Thieneman stayed the overwhelming favorite among external predictors in our final roundup before the mocks go silent and the real deal unfolds. He was nominated 13 times (52 percent) in the mocks we saw; Toledo S Emmanuel McNeil-Warren was second, appearing thrice, and Oregon TE Kenyon Sadiq was third with two entries.

The Thieneman-Vikings connection has dominated mocks dating to the conclusion of the NFL Scouting Combine; in the four trackers we’ve published since March 10, the All-American at Purdue and Oregon has matched with Minnesota in 56 percent of the submissions (59 out of 105) that we read.

For what it’s worth, the Vikings have spent their top pick on an offensive player in each of the past three drafts (guard Donovan Jackson at 24th in 2025; quarterback J.J. McCarthy at 10th in 2024; and receiver Jordan Addison at 23rd in 2023), but they also utilized a second first-rounder on outside linebacker Dallas Turner in ’24 (the team moved up from 23 to select him at 17).

Head Coach Kevin O’Connell and Executive Vice President of Football Operations Rob Brzezinski, who was tasked with building consensus between the Vikings personnel department and coaching staff in late January, met with local media members during separate press conferences Monday and described the collaborative process that is grounded by an objectively stacked board. Brzezinski noted the importance of finding the best fits for the Vikings without passing on unique talents.

Enough from us, here’s how 25 experts picture Minnesota’s first pick (and sometimes later) playing out: