Latest NFL Draft intel gives the Minnesota Vikings a chance at franchise changing player they didn’t have before

Throughout the first 348 NFL mock drafts collected, the Minnesota Vikings weren’t sent Ohio State safety Caleb Downs a single time. This week, things have taken a major turn.

Tyler Forness — NFL & College Football News Writer
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Ohio State Buckeyes defensive back Caleb Downs catches a ball during Pro Day for NFL scouts at the Woody Hayes Athletics Center on March 25, 2026.
Ohio State Buckeyes defensive back Caleb Downs catches a ball during Pro Day for NFL scouts at the Woody Hayes Athletics Center on March 25, 2026. Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Minnesota Vikings’ offseason strategy has been one of the more fascinating to follow. They entered with more than $46 million in salary cap space and had to maneuver underneath the cap and add players to the roster.

With interim general manager Rob Brzezinski, there were questions about the approach. He made it clear at the NFL Owners Meetings.

“We came in with the plan, a vision. We want it to be an organizational vision, as far as how we want to build this thing moving forward. We had certain things we were looking to do in free agency, and that included retaining some players that are really important to us, and also trying to work through some of the financial issues we have from the salary cap. I think we’ve positioned that well, working to put the best team on the field for 2026 but also so we can sustain it into the future. And that’s what we’re going to look to do, is build this one step at a time and so far so good.”

Vikings interim GM Rob Brzezinski

NFL Draft projections shift with 3 weeks to go

When talking about the Vikings’ NFL Draft strategy, it’s currently focused on safety. In the first round through 348 collected mock drafts, 137 of them have been two safety prospects: Oregon Ducks’ Dillon Thieneman (92) and Toledo Rockets’ Emmanuel McNeil-Warren. One player who hasn’t been sent to the Vikings in any of those is Ohio State’s Caleb Downs.

That has changed. So far this week, there have been three mock drafts that have sent the Vikings Downs.

Before that, Downs had rarely gotten past the 10th overall pick. Grinding The Mocks has Downs as the 7th-ranked player based on over 2,000 mock drafts, with an average draft position of 8.6. It makes sense why he isn’t getting to 18th overall. So, why the change?

Simply put: safeties fall in the NFL Draft.

Should Downs fall? No, but we said the same about Kyle Hamilton and Derwin James, and they fell to 14th and 17th, respectively. Even in a draft like this one, Downs could end up falling down the draft board. It could especially happen due to this safety class being loaded.

It’s fascinating that it took this long for the Vikings to be sent Downs, but here we are.

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