It's been relatively quiet on the free agency front for Minnesota this year, but not silent.

The Vikings moved quickly to add cornerback James Pierre, who spent six seasons in Pittsburgh and overlapped for periods with Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores and new Defensive Passing Game Coordinator and Defensive Backs Coach Gerald Alexander. The team also has re-signed several key contributors: linebacker Eric Wilson, defensive back Tavierre Thomas and long snapper Andrew DePaola.

Kevin Seifert of ESPN has kept track of the roster construction helmed by Executive Vice President of Football Operations Rob Brzezkinski and offered up his thoughts about the new and returning players.

On Pierre, who inked a multiyear deal, Seifert highlighted the 29-year-old's familiarity with Flores and Alexander, and his chances of having a "significant presence on special teams" in addition to deepening Minnesota's cornerbacks room, which is anchored by veterans Byron Murphy, Jr., and Isaiah Rodgers.

Bringing back Wilson hints he'll "remain a fixture" in Flores' system after he broke out and showed a "unique aptitude" for blitzing; Wilson had the NFL's third-best pressure rate (15.3%) w/ the starting unit.

Thomas and DePaola are both integral pieces of the Vikings special teams and preserve some unit-wide continuity, especially after free agent punter Ryan Wright agreed to a four-year contract with the Saints.

DePaola has received First- or Second-Team All-Pro distinction each of the past four seasons — his consistency was all-important to kicker Will Reichard's First-Team selection in 2025 — and Thomas paced the team with 19 tackles in the third phase in 2025, while playing 83% of the special teams snaps overall.

You can follow along with Seifert's analysis of already completed and future Vikings transactions here.

Top 100 draft prospects

Unsurprisingly, attention on the 2026 NFL Draft hasn't stopped because free agency started.

Over the past couple months, we've tried to stay on top of the players mocked to Minnesota at No. 18 overall in our Mock Draft Tracker series (here's Version 4.0), while also sharing the oft-changing rankings of prospects compiled by experts in the industry, such as NFL Media's Daniel Jeremiah and The Athletic's Dane Brugler. On Wednesday, the lead draft writer for NFL.com, Eric Edholm, announced his Top 100 list.

It's the first compilation of prospects made by Edholm this year and a worthwhile one to explore because it's interesting to see if they stack up differently based on the eyes of the beholder. Edholm noted, for what it's worth, that the pecking order is not finalized and may be influenced by Pro Days.

Anyhoo, let's dive in!

Contrasting Jeremiah's Top 50, which has been updated several times by now, Edholm's ranking begins with Ohio State linebacker/edge Arvell Reese — and not Heisman Trophy-winning Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza. Edholm pegged Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love and Ohio State LB Sonny Styles, the latter described as a "cyborg LB prospect with elite physical traits and tantalizing upside," at Nos. 2 and 3, before slotting in the decorated National Champion QB at 4. Furthermore, two other Ohio State products, safety Caleb Downs and receiver Carnell Tate, are penciled in at Nos. 7 and 9.

While there's a wide range of players linked to Minnesota as potential fits in the first round, there are a half-dozen or so who've gained steam, so to speak, and frequently popped up in simulations we've seen.

Some of the recurring characters include Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy (Edholm's 12^th-ranked prospect), Clemson CB Avieon Terrell (No. 19), Oregon S Dillon Thieneman (22), Toledo S Emmanuel McNeil-Warren (26), Florida defensive tackle Caleb Banks (37) and South Carolina CB Brandon Cisse (41).

Thieneman was the favorite mocked to the Vikings in our latest roundup, receiving 14 out of 25 submissions we canvassed; Edholm wrote he's an "instinctive ball finder with good size and athleticism."

McCoy was viewed as elite in 2024 and carries a grade from Edholm that puts him out of reach with the 18^th pick. His projection is "complicated," however, because he missed the entire 2025 season with a torn ACL; McCoy also didn't test at the combine in Indianapolis, naturally raising questions about his recovery.

Note: Clubs from every corner will be super-interested in his showing at Tennessee's Pro Day March 31.

Expanding the scope now, here are a few primary takeaways from Edholm's initial ranking of prospects:

• Only three QBs cracked the Top 100: Mendoza, Alabama's Ty Simpson (39) and LSU's Garrett Nussmeier (94); the fathers of the latter two are coaches in the college and pro ranks, by the way.
• There's a big gap between RB1 and RB2; Love's running mate at Notre Dame, Jadarian Price, is the second-ranked ball carrier at 48, even after he left Edholm wanting a li'l more at the combine.
• Eighteen wide receivers made the cut, including six in Edholm's Top 30: Tate, USC's Makai Lemon (13), Arizona State's Jordan Tyson (16), Texas A&M's KC Concepcion (21), Indiana's Omar Cooper, Jr. (24) and Washington's Denzel Boston (29); Louisville's Chris Bell was the next highest at 49.
• A possible position of interest for Minnesota — center — has two representatives on Edholm's list: Florida's Jake Slaughter (87; and an awesome last name) and Kansas State's Sam Hecht (99).
• "Mr. Irrelevant," if you will, is Arkansas DB Julian Neal, who earned the final spot in Edholm's first-go after he tested well at the combine with a 40-inch vertical leap and an 11-2 broad jump.

You can read what Edholm had to say about his Top 100 prospects here.

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