The Minnesota Vikings’ recent draft history doesn’t need a complete rehashing. It has been a struggle, to put it lightly.
Since 2022, Minnesota has selected 28 players. Half of them remain, and that number could decrease further depending on what happens in this upcoming free agency period. The Vikings have supplemented their roster with veterans. It has worked to varying degrees. It’s also not a sustainable model.
Team officials know this. It’s why they planned to stockpile picks for the 2026 NFL Draft.
The Vikings will likely have nine selections, once compensatory picks are handed out. How will they use them? Which positions will they target?
The next few weeks — and free agency, in particular — play a major role in answering these questions. One way to offer a preview is to compile a big board. Here is the first iteration, with 10 prospects to keep an eye on each day:
Day 1 Prospects
Player
Team
Position
Jeremiyah Love
RB
Mansoor DeLane
CB
Keldric Faulk
DE
Jermod McCoy
CB
Avieon Terrell
CB
Dillon Thieneman
S
Emmanuel McNeil-Warren
S
Peter Woods
DT
Christen Miller
DT
D’Angelo Ponds
CB
You’ll notice that defense dominates this list. The reason is two-fold. Not only do the Vikings need to add youth on that side of the football, but also the most intriguing prospects expected to be available at No. 18 are defenders.
In recent years, Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores hasn’t pushed for early secondary selections. That could change this time around. At cornerback, DeLane and McCoy fit Flores’ system in that they have the patience to play man coverage and the instincts to read out pass concepts in zone. Terrell may be the most explosive of the bunch. Ponds is undersized, but his play style and willingness to tackle leave little projection.
All of these cornerbacks could move around and provide Minnesota with more coverage variety. The more man coverage Flores becomes willing to play, the harder it will become for offenses to game plan for it. Of course, this is also why defensive linemen make sense with a premium pick. Finding an interior pocket pusher to play alongside defensive tackle Jalen Redmond allows the Vikings to clog passing windows with more bodies.
Here is a statistic: Since Flores arrived in 2023, the Vikings have used a four-man rush on 43.8 percent of snaps, the lowest mark in the NFL by a wide margin. Creative blitzes have forced quarterbacks to get rid of the ball. As a result, the abundance of space has not come back to bite Minnesota.
But what if the Vikings could cover more space on the backend? That’s why Faulk, Woods and Miller feel in play. The Philadelphia Eagles have not hidden their preference for drafting and developing an excess of defensive linemen. Even with Dallas Turner’s progression and Levi Drake Rodriguez’s viability, it would be hard to argue with stocking the cupboard up front even further.
Then, there are the safeties. Thienemen is not as rangy as McNeil-Warren, a lightning bolt on the backend. The Vikings could seek a more veteran safety option to man the controls of Flores’ system, but pairing a player of McNeil-Warren’s explosiveness with another young option, such as Jay Ward, could be transformative.
Day 2 Prospects
Player
Team
Position
Chris Johnson
CB
Blake Miller
T
Eli Stowers
TE
Jadarian Price
RB
Zakee Wheatley
S
Kyle Louis
S/CB
Devin Moore
CB
Keionte Scott
S/CB
Jake Slaughter
C
Emmett Johnson
RB
Perhaps the most interesting pick here would be a running back. The Vikings have a decision to make this offseason on beloved veteran Aaron Jones, whose $14 million cap number hasn’t matched his production.
Failing to come to a consensus on a pay cut, Minnesota could be in the market for a new running back.
The free-agent market is plentiful. Dynamic options include Breece Hall, Travis Etienne and Javonte Williams. The Vikings, though, could look to add more youth at the position, bringing players such as Price and Johnson into the mix. From a skill player standpoint, Stowers would be a better bet on a pass-first tight end. However, the most important offensive positional need may be center. Minnesota could fill this void with a free agent, but more youth alongside left guard Donovan Jackson and right guard Will Fries cannot be ruled out.
Given the team’s recent drafting history, the Vikings must add talent in these middle rounds. A secondary surplus fits the Vikings’ needs. Scott and Louis are versatile weapons who align with Flores’ style. Johnson and Moore are big-bodied cornerbacks. And Wheatley moves around the field like a pogo stick — slight but with springy explosiveness.
Targeting a starting-caliber tackle isn’t out of the question here, either.
The Vikings would benefit from reliable depth behind left tackle Christian Darrisaw and right tackle Brian O’Neill. They are an elite tandem when they play together at their best.
Injuries in recent seasons have prevented that from being a common occurrence.
Day 3 Prospects
Player
Team
Position
Sam Hecht
C
Gracen Halton
DT
Zane Durant
DT
Oscar Delp
TE
Bud Clark
S
James Brockermeyer
C
Kevin Coleman Jr.
WR
Skyler Gill-Howard
DE
Noah Whittington
RB
Josh Moten
CB
The theme among these 10? They’re all players with one elite trait.
Hecht, who starred at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., may be undersized. His technique stands out. Clark possesses exceptional ball skills in the secondary. Gill-Howard has major juice as a pass rusher on the interior of the defensive line. And Whittington, though small like another former Oregon Ducks running back in Tampa Bay’s Bucky Irving, slashes through tacklers with ease.
O’Connell and Flores prefer many of the skills these players have. Coleman, for example, separates and has spatial awareness in zones. Halton and Durant fly off the line of scrimmage. Delp explodes after the catch. Moten will stick his face in the fan near the line of scrimmage.
How the Vikings attempt to manage their five Day 3 picks will be telling. Improved special teams contributors won’t hurt. Starters, though, would be a major plus for a roster that will soon need to be turned over.