EAGAN, Minn. — After three days and nine Vikings draft picks, here are seven takeaways from Minnesota's activity during the 2026 NFL Draft.

Vikings Executive Vice President of Football Operations Rob Brzezinski was tasked in late January with guiding the personnel department, Head Coach Kevin O'Connell and the coaching staff through the draft. He appreciated the opportunity to collaborate on building out the draft board.

Vikings Director of College Scouting Mike Sholiton said "this is probably the most fun I've had" in an interview with Twin Cities media members. He credited the work between Brzezinski, O'Connell and others.

"What was really awesome to see is Rob and K.O. and the combined leadership, steering the ship and putting people in positions to be the best versions of themselves, so every one of us needed to take on just a little more," Sholiton said. "It was really fun to see Rob, who has always been in those meetings, kind of captain the ship."

Vikings 2026 NFL Draft Picks

Round 1, 18^th overall: Caleb Banks, DL, Florida

Round 2, 51^st overall: Jake Golday, LB, Cincinnati

Round 3, 82^nd overall: Domonique Orange, DL, Iowa State

Round 3, 97^th overall: Caleb Tiernan, T, Northwestern

Round 3, 98th overall: Jakobe Thomas, S, Miami

Round 5, 159^th overall: Max Bredeson, FB, Michigan

Round 5, 163^rd overall: Charles "Chuck" Demmings, CB, Stephen F. Austin

Round 6, 198^th overall: Demond Claiborne, RB, Wake Forest

Round 7, 235^th overall: Gavin Gerhardt, C, Cincinnati

Takeaways

1. Trusting the board | By Rob Kleifield

Brzezinski and O'Connell were true to their word in objectively stacking the board and following it.

That meant selecting zero offensive players in the Top 75 for the first time since 2015, when CB Trae Waynes, LB Eric Kendricks and OLB Danielle Hunter went 1-2-3 off Minnesota's board at picks 11, 45 and 88. That meant selecting zero skill players (non-lineman) on offense in the Top 150 since 2002, when the team drafted T Bryant McKinnie (7^th), LB Raonall Smith (38^th), DB Willie Offord (70^th), DB Brian Williams (105^th) and G Edward Ta'amu (132^nd). And that meant selecting four defenders in the Top 100, which is three more than the three prior drafts that Flores was part of in Minnesota (Dallas Turner, 17^th in 2024).

It's just how the cookie crumbled this weekend, and Vikings brass embraced the process fervently.

"It's tough sometimes when you are just kind of watching that clock in those picks and hoping you have that full array of possibilities to discuss when you're on the clock or possibly have a chance to move back if multiple players are there. But it was how the board fell tonight," O'Connell shared.

"Rob did a great job in real time with dialogue amongst personnel, our coordinators, our position coaches, and to come out of the first three rounds with five top 100 picks that we really felt like we got value where we got those players," O'Connell added. "And now the fun part starts; now you get to add these players to your roster, you get to get them into your program here in another couple weeks or so, and away we go. And it's on us as coaches, it's on me as the head coach to make sure that my coaches are thinking first and foremost about being teachers, developers, motivators of these players we're hunting them, getting to that ceiling grade that got them to where they were on our draft board all while knowing that we also have to establish Year 1 roles for these players and provide them competitive situations to go seek those roles, and that's only going to make our team better with our existing roster."

2. Sizing up, up front | By Rob Kleifield

One common denominator of the past five Super Bowl winners is investment in the trenches. The old adage "defense wins championships" exists for a purpose. That can be amended to powerful front lines.

"Brian Flores has talked about it, I've talked about it," O'Connell said. "This is a big man's game."

By doubling down on the defensive line at 18 and 82, the Vikings got heftier in the absolute best way. Last season, their Top 5 DL by snaps played (Jonathan Allen, Jalen Redmond, Javon Hargrave, Levi Drake Rodriguez and Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins) had an average age and weight of 27 years old and 302 pounds. Replacing Allen and Hargrave with Banks and Orange positively changes those numbers to 24 and 310.

Banks (327 pounds) was the fourth-heaviest DL participant at this year's combine (tied with Alabama product Tim Keenan), and Orange (322) the eighth. The former also was the second tallest (6-foot-6 1/4).

In a physically taxing sport with a grinding season that could stretch from July-February, each big body and every pound of difference could help with imposing will on opponents.

Minnesota's defense is better positioned to do that in 2026 — and beyond — thanks to its double-dip.

3. Adding athletic 'freaks' to the roster | By Lindsey Young

The Vikings have drafted some unicorn-esque players when it comes to athleticism and trait sets.

Three of their selections this year were included in The Athletic's "2025 College Football Freaks" list put out annually by Bruce Feldman: LB Jake Golday, whom the Vikings took 51^st overall, DL Domonique Orange, nabbed at the 82^nd spot, and RB Demond Claiborne, selected at 198^th.

Orange landed at No. 25 on Feldman's list after being No. 15 in the previous year's rankings. Among the numbers highlighted were his 34-inch vertical jump, 450-pound bench and 650-pound squat.

Feldman ranked Golday 48^th. He noted his 4.24-second shuttle time, "which would have been faster than any other linebacker at this year's combine." His long jump of 10 feet, 7 inches would have ranked second among the position group.

Claiborne landed at 63^rd on the list thanks to his 500-pound squad, 300-pound power clean and reaching 22.3 mph via GPS measurement.

Minnesota's first-round pick Caleb Banks didn't make Feldman's list, but as Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores pointed out, it's not often you come across a 6-foot-6, 327-pound defensive lineman with the quickness and athleticism Banks possesses. And don't forget about his 7 foot, 1.75-inch wingspan, the longest recorded at the NFL Scouting Combine since 1999.

"When you add two players (Banks and Orange) like we did along the defensive line … it's no secret — Brian Flores has talked about it, I've talked about it — this is a big man's game, especially when you can add two really unique players with the type of size and ability that these two players have," O'Connell said. "We came into the draft really wanting to try to establish, when the board presented itself, to add talented, big-body guys that can do some different jobs along that D line. We [wanted] to go get those guys, and we were able to do it, and we're really excited about it."

4. Defense-heavy draft | By Lindsey Young

The Vikings used five of their first seven draft selections to strengthen all three levels of their defense.

Was it planned that way? And did it cause O'Connell any anxiety to grab only one offensive player (offensive lineman Caleb Tiernan) through the first two days?

As noted earlier, the Vikings made their draft board and stuck to it, letting things fall as they may. O'Connell acknowledged there are moments during the draft "where you hear that name you were just discussing come off the board … but as [Assistant General Manager] Ryan Grigson says, 'It lets you know you're fishing where the fish are.'

"It's how the board fell, and as Rob said, it really wasn't something we went in with any particular side of the ball as a main focal point," O'Connell added. "But we wanted to make sure we weren't reaching beyond really good players on our board to try to even out offense or defense — or let a specific need jump too far in front of a higher-graded player."

5. Unpacking Greenard Trade | By Craig Peters

One of the biggest developments of the draft and Vikings offseason was the trade of Jonathan Greenard and the 244^th overall pick to the Eagles for a third-round pick this year (98^th overall used on Jakobe Thomas) and a third-rounder in 2027.

Brzezinski and O'Connell were asked about the value of the trade involving a team captain and 2024 Pro Bowler. Both made it clear they appreciated Greenard's two seasons with the Vikings, but said they thought the trade was "in the best interest of all parties."

Greenard, who had two years remaining on his deal with the Vikings, signed a four-year, $100 million with Philadelphia. He posted words of thanks for his time in Minnesota on Saturday:

The trade has a role in creating significant salary cap space for Minnesota.

"We have a pie, a salary cap pie," Brzezinski said. "Regardless of what people say, the salary cap is real. You might not be paying the bill the very day that you're writing the check, but it comes due. We can understand how people are wondering how we could let a player and a person as phenomenal as J.G. leave our building, but again, there's a lot of factors involved in those decisions."

The deal also creates an opportunity for 2024 first-round pick Dallas Turner to step into the starting edge rushing role.

"I think Vikings fans should be excited about Dallas Turner in 2026, and I know I certainly am and I know Flo' and the rest of the staff, but I know there's a lot of guys on our team that feel that same way."

6. Few Trades | By Craig Peters

Including the deal to send Greenard to Philly, the Vikings only executed two other trades.

That could indicate a few factors, including a trust in the board or a lack of "dance partners."

The Vikings were rewarded by moving down two spots from 49 to 51 on Friday night by moving up the board 37 spots from 196 in Round 6 to 159 in Round 5.

Minnesota tabbed Bredeson, the top-rated fullback, at that spot about a month after celebrating the retirement of C.J. Ham, who posted a shoutout to Bredeson on social media. The Wisconsin native also enjoyed a draft party visit by Vikings QB and former Wolverines teammate J.J. McCarthy on Saturday.

The other trade by Minnesota involved sending No. 234 overall and a 2027 sixth-round pick to New England for Pick 198 from which Claiborne was added after a very circuitous route by the selection. Hat tip to Nathan Jahnke for tracking the meanderings of this selection:

7. Positional flex OL | By Rob Kleifield

The first offensive player drafted by Minnesota this year likely won't be looked at to start out of the gate, but he certainly can help the club avoid the anguish it endured in 2025 that resulted from many injuries.

The player in question, Tiernan, is literally giant (6-foot-7 5/8) and has two gigantic things going for him as he switches into a slightly lighter shade of purple: extreme college experience (43 starts in a row) in a conference that has produced a who's who of NFL defenders, plus the athleticism to play across the line.

"When you're really counting the balls and strikes of production," O'Connell shared Friday, Tiernan is "one of the more productive tackles when you're really studying him. He's got, obviously, great size — and good feet to go along with that. He uses those feet to maybe make up for any arm length questions."

With veteran swing tackle Ryan Van Demark also in the fold through free agency, O'Connell is feeling good about the offensive line depth going into 2026, as well as the developmental track designed to maximize Tiernan, which will account for his extensive work at tackle, his positional flex at guard, and O'Connell wanting the o-line to "have the best eight guys we can on game day up and available to us."

"We've seen that with a guy like Blake Brandel. We've seen that with some of our other players over my tenure here where they can play multiple spots and help us get through not only the ebbs and flows of a season, but of a game as well," O'Connell said. "But we really do want to have a mindset on knowing that we want to allow a player to reach that full ceiling. You've got to try to be as consistent as you can with your approach to their development, and that normally takes place with getting a lion's share of your reps at one spot. But once Caleb establishes himself within that offensive line room, if it's the right thing to do for our team to give him some reps at guard, we can do that. And we're going to kind of work through that with a mindset on what's best for the player, but also what's best for our football team."

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