The Minnesota Vikings will be looking for a bounce-back season after missing the playoffs during the 2025 campaign. Minnesota did add former Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray to bolster their QB play after it was a major issue last season.
Nonetheless, the Vikings were relatively quiet in free agency. As a result, Minnesota will have a chance to improve the team via the 2026 NFL Draft. The Vikings need to hit not just on the No. 18 pick, but the rest of their draft picks to make up for the whiffs in previous drafts.
With the draft a few days away, former Vikings wideout Adam Thielen noted he wants Minnesota to focus on the offensive line on Day 2 of the draft.
“I think protecting the quarterback is a pretty important thing in this league,” Thielen said on the “2026 NFL Draft Preview Show” on April 17. “If you can go find a guy that can maybe create depth or maybe be a Day 1 starter, we’ve seen both here and on other teams that can make a huge impact.
“It’s not the fancy choice to pick an interior offensive lineman, no offense to them. Love those guys. But it’s such a benefit to your team. And you see teams that make it long in the playoffs and make a run in the playoffs have good offensive lines that secure them and let those quarterbacks do their thing.”
Vikings Receive Clear Message on Trading Draft Picks
Minnesota holds the No. 18 pick, and could the team decide to move up for a player who slides outside of the Top 10? Every draft team moves up for players whom they didn’t think would be near where they’d be drafting.
Nonetheless, if the Vikings do decide they want to move up for a player who falls outside the Top 10, or even move into the Top 10, the team’s former linebacker Ben Leber sent a clear warning.
“Even if one of these teams has called the Vikings and said, ‘Hey, [Vikings executive vice president of football operations Rob Brzezinski], you looking to move up here?’ the answer is no,” Leber said on the April 2 edition of KFAN’s “Draft Talk. “
“We just need to gather as much talent as possible. There’s no reason for us to be sacrificing draft picks this year or next year or any of that. I’m all for keeping as many picks as possible and not moving up.”
Minnesota Faces Pressure to Hit on Draft Picks
The Vikings haven’t gotten much return from their recent draft classes under former general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, and that puts added pressure on executive vice president of football operations Rob Brzezinski heading into the 2026 NFL Draft on April 23.
Serving as the interim general manager, Brzezinski will be tasked with restocking the roster with young, cost-controlled talent. Given Minnesota’s limited spending in free agency because of its salary cap situation, the success of this draft class becomes even more important.
Due to this, CBS Sports’ Jared Dubin named the Vikings as one of five teams that need to ace their draft.
“The Vikings, on the other hand, have four top 100 picks and need to make up for what looks like a massive whiff on J.J. McCarthy two years ago,“ Dubin wrote in his April 13 article. “They’re heading into a crucial year of the Kevin O’Connell era, and having all that early draft capital is one way to make sure that they meet or exceed expectations.
“This is an interesting draft for the Vikings for another reason, in that interim general manager Rob Brzezinski will run the show, but the Vikings won’t actually be hiring their new GM until after the draft. If Brzezinski does a good enough job and works well with O’Connell and his staff, could he land the full-time role? That’s something to watch out for as well.”
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