Brian Flores has explosive targets to monitor for the Minnesota Vikings at the NFL Scouting Combine on all three levels

The Minnesota Vikings desperately need youth on defense, and there are a lot of fascinating targets for Brian Flores.

Tyler Forness — NFL & College Football News Writer
Add as preferred source on Google
Jan 29, 2026; Mobile, AL, USA; American defensive tackle Caleb Banks (88) of Florida works in a drill during American Senior Bowl practice at Hancock Whitney Stadium.
Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images

The NFL Scouting Combine is here, and the Minnesota Vikings are set to watch the next generation of players in the most stressful public job interview out there.

We know that head coach Kevin O’Connell is going to be focusing heavily on the offensive side of the football, but it’s Brian Flores’ defense that needs the most work. They could be replacing upward of six starters next season.

There are a lot of potential options for the Vikings in the first round of the NFL Draft that they can target, and these players are ones you should keep your eyes on throughout the week.

Caleb Banks, DT, Florida

When you look at the biggest needs for the Vikings, a stud defensive tackle is a big one. They haven’t had a high-upside defensive tackle in the building since they selected Sharrif Floyd in the 2013 NFL Draft. It’s been a position where they have relied upon late-round picks and free agent additions.

At some point, the Vikings will need to make a serious investment into the position, and Banks is the type of player they need to invest in. He stands at 6-6 and 330 pounds with 35″ arms and an explosive get-off when the ball is snapped. Watching how well he tests for his size will be huge, as will the medical rechecks.

Avieon Terrell, CB, Clemson

Scouting Report

After seven weeks, Terrell is the most selected player for the Vikings in industry mock drafts. Out of 169 collected mock drafts, Terrell has been the choice a whopping 57 times. It’s been a crazy number of selections for Terrell, but it makes a lot of sense with the need at cornerback.

Watching for Terrell is an interesting one, and it’s mainly due to measurements. He’s listed at 5-11 and 180 pounds, which is very small for a cornerback. If he measures in shorter than that, it could be brutal for his NFL Draft stock. However, excellent athletic testing can keep his stock high. He’s one of the more fascinating players in this class.

Jermod McCoy, CB, Tennessee

Scouting Report

McCoy is a fascinating player to parse through. He had fantastic tape in 2024 that showcased his talent with excellent ball skills and ability in press coverage. The unfortunate thing with his NFL Draft profile is the torn ACL he suffered in the first round of the College Football Playoff in December of 2024.

Now, McCoy was reportedly cleared to play in November, so he should be 100 percent going into the NFL Scouting Combine. How will he end up moving in positional drills? Will he test well coming off his injury? Those are major question marks.

Keldric Faulk, EDGE/DT, Auburn

The defensive line is going to be a really important one for the Vikings to address this offseason, especially on the interior. How they choose to do so will be interesting, as they can go to a lot of different ways. Taking a player like Faulk and making him into an interior player is an interesting idea.

Faulk played last season at a reported 285 pounds and is a bigger player for the position. There are questions about whether he will be best on the edge with his profile, allowing him to thrive on the interior. His testing will tell us everything about how he should project at the next level.

Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, S, Toledo

Safety is a position where the Vikings need to add some significant players. Josh Metellus is the only starting-caliber safety left on the roster, and that’s assuming Harrison Smith doesn’t retire. This could be a priority position in free agency with how Flores uses his defenses, as the safeties do a ton of work pre-snap.

McNeil-Warren has been rising up the draft boards this year and is now second in our mock draft tracker with 19 selections. He’s a rangy safety with excellent ball skills and an explosive downhill trigger. Flores will know exactly how to maximize him, and it’ll be exactly the way he was used in Toledo.

Related Articles