Minnesota Vikings didn’t fill all their needs in the NFL Draft, and it creates a fascinating picture for the future
With the Minnesota Vikings beginning their general manager search, they will inherit a team not void of needs.
With the nine selections the Minnesota Vikings made in the NFL Draft, interim general manager Rob Brzezinski did a really good job in filling multiple needs. Every pick addressed a need for the Vikings, and they addressed the much-needed depth they were desperate to achieve.
Even with all the moves the Vikings made to address their lack of depth on the roster, they didn’t address everything. There are still some significant holes on the roster for 2026, and it helps us better understand where things stand for the future.
Where are the biggest needs for the Vikings, not for this season, but for 2027 and beyond? That could impact how the Vikings choose to utilize free agency and the trade market.
Minnesota Vikings 2026 NFL Draft Class
- Caleb Banks and Domonique Orange fortified a defensive line that desperately needed young talent.
- There isn’t a better prospect to team fit than linebacker Jake Golday with Brian Flores’ defense
- Trenches were a big theme with the Vikings, as they addressed it with four of their nine selections
- Skill position players weren’t a priority, as they waited until the end of the sixth round (No. 198) to select RB Demond Claiborne.
6. Cornerback
It certainly feels like this is going to be a position of need for the Vikings as long as Brian Flores is the defensive coordinator. It’s proven not to be a priority due to how Flores tries to prioritize pressure. They took Charles Demmings in the fifth round, which is going to finally give them some youth in the room.
As things sit, Isaiah Rodgers and Dwight McGlothern will be free agents after 2026, while Byron Murphy Jr. and James Pierre will be after 2027. They will need to address the position again after the 2027 season, and it will likely be with another draft pick and a discount type signing like Rodgers and Pierre were.
5. Wide receiver
It feels weird to consider wide receiver a need for the Vikings with both Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison leading the room. Even so, this is an 11-personnel-heavy league, with the Vikings running more than 60% of it in 2025. If one of Jefferson or Addison gets hurt, Tai Felton and Myles Price are your only options right now.
In fairness, the Vikings did just host Jauan Jennings on a visit with the idea that he could round out their wide receiver room. It would give the Vikings something they don’t currently have: size and physicality. That would likely be a one-year deal, bringing the Vikings back to still needing someone long-term. Adding a player in next year’s NFL Draft with one of their top picks would make all the sense in the world.
4. Tight end
The Vikings knew that this was going to be a major focus moving forward, and were targeting Kenyon Sadiq at 18th overall. The key here was the Vikings targeting unicorns, with both Sadiq and Banks being their targets. It’s going to be a priority next offseason, especially after T.J. Hockenson had the final year of his cotract voided.
Outside of Hockenson, the Vikings will have Josh Oliver with some combination of Ben Yurosek, Gavin Bartholomew, and Bryson Nesbit. None of those players are going to be TE1 material. There are going to be options for them in free agency (maybe Kyle Pitts), but it will be a spot they need to address, especially in the modern NFL.
3. Running back
Going into the NFL Draft, I thought that the Vikings needed to avoid the running back position. It wasn’t due to it not being a need, but rather I didn’t see them getting a starting caliber running back at their requisite value. Now, if Jeremiyah Love fell to 18th overall, that’s a different story.
The next running back class could be really good with the likes of Jadan Baugh, Kewan Lacy, and Isaac Brown are fascinating options and there are some intriguing free agency names as well. Nothing is set in stone, as the Vikings could swing a big trade for a running back or Demond Claiborne emerges, but there will likely be a major overhaul of this room in 2027.
2. Quarterback
Luckily for the Vikings, there are going to be options for them at the position. There are already two players in the building in Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy who could be the starter long-term, and their competition will be crucial in determining that.
If they don’t keep either Murray or McCarthy as their starter, there will be options for the Vikings. Baker Mayfield is set to be a free agent after the lear, and the quarterback class has a ton of potential with the likes of Arch Manning and Dante Moore leading the way. It’s far from a certainty that the Vikings will get the right guy, but they will have options.
1. Edge rusher
The trade of Jonathan Greenard made this the top priority for the Vikings. Dallas Turner is a really good player who will be with the Vikings through the 2028 season (assuming they pick up the fifth-year option). However, they don’t have anyone to replace him. 500 snaps, 35-40 pressures, and 6-8 sacks are going to be hard to replace with only Bo Richter and Chaz Chambliss on the roster behind him and Andrew Van Ginkel.
Now, the Vikings don’t just need a rotational rusher, but they will have to figure out what their plan with Van Ginkel is, as he will be a free agent after the season. Dylan Stewart, Colin Simmons, and Anthony Smith are three of the better edge rushers going into the season, and they will need to fortify the unit quickly.