EAGAN, Minn. — Not one, not two, but three former Bearcats are in the Vikings linebackers room.

Minnesota selected LB Jake Golday out of Cincinnati with the 51^st pick of the 2026 NFL Draft on Friday night after executing a pick swap with Carolina and trading back two spots, giving Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores another puzzle piece after the club picked defensive lineman Caleb Banks at 18 on Thursday.

"First and foremost, I just want to thank everybody. I want to thank my family, my entire support staff has always been there for me," Golday said on a post-pick Zoom call. "I say staff, but that just means my entire family that's always right along with me. I want to say thanks to my mom, my dad, my beautiful fiancée, my brother, everybody that has always been there for me. I also want to say a huge, huge thank you to the Wilf Family and the entire Vikings organization for believing in me. I'm ready to get to work."

Golday is set to join a position room that also includes former Bearcats Eric Wilson and Ivan Pace, Jr.

"It's exciting, and I kept messing about that, messing around with that when I was on my visit saying, 'Might as well get a third Cincinnati linebacker in here,' " Golday recalled with a notable Southern accent and smile. "They seem to be doing really, really well for them(selves). And coach really liked them. So I was kind of messing with them. I was like, 'Might as well get another one!' So, yeah, I'm just super excited to be [able to] share a locker room with those guys, share the field with them. That's an honor."

Golday began his college career at Central Arkansas and played his final two seasons at Cincinnati. He recorded 105 tackles (39 solo), including six for a loss, 3.5 sacks, three passes defended and a forced fumble in 2025, and was named First-Team All-Big 12 after being Honorable Mention All-Big 12 in 2024.

"It's been an amazing journey. Kind of was an underdog coming out of high school. Didn't have many opportunities or offers to go to any big schools, and obviously that was my dream coming up, as everybody's is, to go play at the highest level of football that they can possibly play at," Golday shared. "So when I got to Central Arkansas, I absolutely made the most out of the opportunity that I had there."

Golday initially played defensive end at Central Arkansas, which he said helped him develop his pass-rush skills. Eventually, he was moved to linebacker "and that's when things really just opened up for me and I became a much better football player." Winding up at Cincinnati was pretty seamless, he noted, because the program did a great job recruiting him. He added, "It was Cincinnati and only Cincinnati."

A native of Arlington, Tennessee, the 22-year-old Golday was rated by The Athletic's Dane Brugler as the 48^th overall prospect and fourth off-ball 'backer. ESPN's Jordan Reid and Matt Miller tabbed Golday as the 49^th and 67^th player this cycle and sixth and seventh linebacker, respectively (the position rankings for Reid and Miller included Giants No. 5 overall pick Arvell Reese at LB instead of edge rusher, by the way).

Golday was listed on his NFL.com profile at 6-foot-4 1/2 and 239 pounds. He ran a 4.62 40 at the NFL Scouting Combine and posted a 39-inch vertical jump; the latter was fifth among linebacker participants. Golday's Relative Athletic Score (RAS) of 9.85 is the 53rd best mark among 3,480 linebackers since 1987. Furthermore, Golday was featured at No. 48 in Bruce Feldman's annual “Freaks List” after doing 24 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press and reaching a GPS speed of 22.16 mph going into the 2025 season.

"I'm just going to show up Day 1 and do whatever is asked of me, but I think what makes me special is my versatility," Golday commented. "I've done a little bit of everything at the college level. I started off as a pass rusher. Then I moved to Mike linebacker. Then I moved to Sam Linebacker, which was basically a nickel out there and coverage a lot of times. So [there are] definitely things that I need to work on every single day. But I think this position that I'm going to be put in is going to allow me to do that, obviously."

Former NFL scout and current draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah offered his eval of Golday after the pick:

"He can really run and carry guys down the slot [in pass coverage] to go along with some of that range off the edge," Jeremiah said. "You'll see him rush at times, and that versatility. Thinking about [Leighton] Vander Esch, going back to the Cowboys, is another one. We saw these long-range linebackers, Sonny Styles goes off the board in the Top 10. Another version of that here in the second round."

Golday was introduced to Minnesota's culture and spent time with coaches and scouts during his only Top 30 visit with an organization earlier this month. He said he "got a good little minute" to speak with Flores on his visit, which entailed a large group meeting with Vikings defensive coaches and prospects.

The learning component is one of the primary parts of the sport Golday loves and takes pride in, he said.

Golday is the second alumnus from Arlington High School (TN) to play in the NFL. The first, running back Kenneth Walker III, was MVP of Super Bowl LX for Seattle and signed with Kansas City in free agency. Golday and Walker were HS teammates for two seasons. Golday also lettered in baseball and basketball.

Along with his Bearcats brethren, Golday will join a LB room led by starting "green dot" Blake Cashman.

Vikings history in NFL Draft

Golday is the third player ever picked out of Cincinnati by Minnesota, following DB Robert Tate in the sixth round (183^rd overall) in 1997, and RB Hobson Milner in the 12^th round (318^th overall) in 1982.

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