The 2026 NFL Draft is less than two months away.
Vikings fans aren't the only ones excited, either. Members of the personnel department and coaches are currently in Indianapolis at the NFL Scouting Combine, evaluating draft prospects who could elevate the team heading into the 2026 season.
Vikings Entertainment Network's Tatum Everett spoke with a number of league experts and pundits during her time in Indy, including NFL Media analyst Bucky Brooks, who emphasized the optimism that surrounds the combine and draft.
"It's the introduction to the next generation of stars. Once you get past the Super Bowl, everyone kind of puts a pin in last season, and then everyone resets the records to 0-0 and the hope begins," Brooks told Everett. "So the combine is kind of the official introduction to the next generation of stars — who are the guys that are gonna impact the game the most? — and it begins to fuel some of the optimism every team has."
Minnesota currently is slated to have eight draft selections, starting with No. 18 in the first round.
A large contingency believes the Vikings will go for a defensive back with that spot, and a few have mocked Toledo's Emmanuel McNeil-Warren to them. A four-year standout for the Rockets, the safety is expected to make an immediate impact on whichever team he lands with.
ESPN Draft analyst Matt Miller believes McNeil-Warren could be the next "guy" for Minnesota when Harrison Smith retires (whether that happens this offseason or down the road).
"Emmanuel McNeil-Warren is that player. I think he could be that. 6-foot-2, 201 pounds, he can play near the line of scrimmage," Miller said. "It's a copycat league. We can look at Seattle with Nick Emmanwori and how great he was for them. McNeil-Warren's a similar type of player, similar to Derwin James in a lot of ways. He's gonna live in the box, he's gonna take away the run, but then he is long enough, fast enough, physical enough to match up against tight ends and slot receivers. So he just brings a lot of value, a lot of versatility, to a position that is historically hard to find an impact player."
Brooks said of McNeil-Warren: "He is so good. He's tall, he's athletic, he's physical, he has range; he has a lot of the things that Brian Flores typically goes for at the position."
NFL Media analyst Charles Davis also expressed his affinity for McNeil-Warren.
Davis noted the Toledo alum "is more of a high safety" who could also drop down into the box and be effective.
"I think Brian Flores would be able to utilize him," Davis said. "Plus, his build is very similar to what we're seeing with these safeties now, with Derwin James, Kyle Hamilton, Nick Emmanwori — I'm not saying that's the type of player he is at this point, but there's a look about him. There's an athleticism to him. I really like him a bunch."
NFL Media's Daniel Jeremiah also mocked a safety to Minnesota but went instead with Oregon's Dillon Thieneman. (And for what it's worth, Jeremiah had the Rams taking McNeil-Warren off the board with the 13th pick.)
Jeremiah said Thieneman is a talented safety who also could play nickel corner, which would be extremely valuable in Flores' system.
"You can do a lot of different things with him. He's incredibly smart. He's versatile," Jeremiah said. "You go back to Purdue and watch him, where he got to play more in the center of the field, you saw six interceptions — elite range and play making. Then Oregon, they wanted to put him a little more toward the line of scrimmage, let him be a little more of a control player down there, and he did a nice job.
"That's what teams are trying to find: guys who can do all those different things and do them at a very high level," Jeremiah added. "And to me, it just made a lot of sense."
Though Dane Brugler of The Athletic had the Vikings going offense with the 18th pick, he also commented on Thieneman's potential fit.
Similarly to Jeremiah's point, Brugler said Thieneman "can be whatever you want as a safety."
"You want him to be a nickel? OK, he can do that. You want him to be in the post, he can do that. Play the middle field, play a robber role. I mean, he can do all these different things that, you look around the league and safeties look a little bit different for everybody," Brugler told Everett. "You think about Brian Flores and that defense and the way he wants to attack, attack, attack. Thieneman gives him someone that is versatile enough that can do different things. He's another guy this week that I think is gonna surprise some people with how good of an athlete he is. He will come down and hit you, but he also has range to cover the sideline. He also can turn and run with tight ends."
While multiple analysts projected a safety to the Vikings, another several opined they should instead target a cornerback in the first round.
Mansoor Delane is a highly touted CB out of LSU who most would acknowledge could be a great get for Minnesota, but it's also widely assumed he will be off the board by the time the Vikings are on the clock. Other names floated for Minnesota have included South Carolina's Brandon Cisse, Jermod McCoy (Tennessee), Avieon Terrell (Clemson) and Colton Hood (Tennessee).
"Corner is tough this year," Miller said. "There's five guys that'll probably go in the first round, then a pretty big drop off, so it's an area where you almost have to commit to going early if you want to get one of those elite players."
Terrell, whose brother A.J. was drafted 16th overall by Atlanta in 2020, was described by NFL analyst Lance Zierlein as an "athletic, fluid mover with clean transitions and enough speed to stay in phase on most vertical routes."
"Avieon has such great speed, and I think that's where you see him being utilized on the inside, on the outside; that would, I think, fit pretty well. He's also a great blitzer coming off the nickel spot," Miller said.
Jaime Eisner of The Draft Network mocked Cisse to the Vikings at 18.
Eisner called Cisse a tenacious, talented corner who "is still a little raw" at this point, which has him showing up in mock drafts anywhere from the mid-first round to top of the second.
"He's not polished yet. He's somebody that needs to come in and maybe not be a Day 1 starter. But he doesn't have to be a Day 1 starter in 2026; he can grow in 2027. But he does a lot of things really well. He's incredibly athletic. He needs to work a little bit more on the ball production. He needs to attack the football a little bit more.
"But he's got a lot of the pieces that you want to build around; he just needs to be refined a little bit more," Eisner added. "I think he'll play really well inside Brian Flores' defense when can be out there on an island, especially if he learns to be a little bit more aggressive than he has been in college."
Brugler also commented on Cisse, noting he was a three-star coming out of high school and a "a little bit unheralded" before starting at N.C. State and transferring to South Carolina, where he "blossomed" as an outside corner.
"He can turn and run, cover down the field. That athleticism, that explosion, we're going to see it this week [at the combine]. I'm expecting 4.3s in the [40-yard dash], over 40 inches in the [vertical jump]. This should be where he can really shine," Brugler said. "There are some questions about just the physicality and holding up on the outside and against big, physical wide receivers. But in terms of the athlete, there's no question there. That's the type of guy that you bet on."
As mentioned earlier, Brugler went offense for Minnesota when most others predicted a defensive player being tabbed first.
In his mock draft, Brugler had the Vikings taking Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq, whom he expects to "elevate himself" during on-field workouts in Indy.
"When you think of the Vikings, you think about, 'All right, we have a young quarterback that we're not giving up on. We still want to see more from J.J. McCarthy. Let's give him a fun pass catcher who is going to help us down the field. He's also going to help us in the run game, because he's a heck of a blocker,' " Brugler opined. "Kenyon Sadiq is a guy that, here in Indianapolis — people already know him, but I think he's going to elevate himself, because he's an outstanding athlete; he looks the part, but he plays the part, too, and we're going to see his athleticism on display this week.
"You watch him play, and where are the weaknesses, you know? As a blocker, he gets after it in the run game; as a pass catcher down the seam, he rescues balls that are away from his body," Brugler continued. "He's a really good athlete, so he can create that separation. And he's young. He's a true junior. This is really his first year as a starter. Terrence Ferguson was a starter last year, and he went in the second round to the Rams a year ago. Sadiq stepped in, and they didn't miss a beat. He's a young player, so, you know, eliminate some of the drops and some of the mental things. But as you project him forward, and you think about him in two years, three years, I mean, you love what he is now, but you think that the upside and how he'll continue to get better, it's pretty exciting."
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