Through two days at the 2026 NFL Draft, the Minnesota Vikings have focused mostly on defense. Four of the Vikings’ five selections have been on the defensive side of the football, with tackle Caleb Tiernan being the only selection for the offensive side.
Nonetheless, as the Vikings head into Day 3 with four draft picks, two of them in Round 5, the team’s defensive legend, Jared Allen, would like to see Minnesota leave with a running back to improve the room heading into the 2026 NFL season.
“I’m not opposed to getting another young running back in there,” Allen said in an April 24 video during an interview with EssentiallySports. “We’ve got to step up our run game a little bit. I know we’ve got some good backs — Aaron Jones Sr. and [Jordan] Mason.
“The way you’re looking at the league, you see who won the Super Bowl, they ran the crap out of the ball and then controlled the line of scrimmage. Play-action, use your tight ends, use your receivers. We obviously have arguably the best receiver in the NFL. We’ve got to find clever ways to get him the ball.”
Minnesota didn’t have the strongest run game during the 2025 NFL season, as no running back crossed the 1,000-yard mark. As a result, it will be interesting to see whether the Vikings can find someone in Round 5 who they see as challenging the veterans, Jones and Mason, for carries.
Justin Jefferson Excited for QB Competition in Minnesota
Meanwhile, in the passing game, the Vikings will have a QB competition, but many expect former Arizona Cardinals star Kyler Murray to win the battle and be the Week 1 starter. On April 20, Vikings wideout Justin Jefferson spoke with the media and shared his thoughts on Murray joining the team.
“My first reaction was just, it’s really good to get some talent in the room, to give a little spark in that room, to see a competitive edge and for those guys to really lock in and do what we’re expecting them to do, which is to come in and be that guy,” Jefferson said.
“We need that one guy for this team. So I’m definitely excited for that room, excited to see what those guys have in store for us in training camp.”
J.J. McCarthy to Benefit From Vikings QB Competition
Moreover, Jefferson noted that he’s excited to see Murray and display the traits that make him an impressive talent. Still, the wideout also highlighted that it will benefit J.J. McCarthy to lock in and know he has major competition if he wants to win the starting job for Week 1.
“I’m definitely looking for those big, exciting plays. I’m looking forward to his speed, his quickness, and his arm strength, which he has shown countless times over the years. For J.J., for somebody to enter that room with that type of ability and talent, he has to step it up a little bit.
“It is good for him to feel that type of pressure and really lock in and say it is either now or I’m going to take that back seat again; it is all about a competitive mindset in these types of situations. It comes down to who is ready for that moment and who is ready to step up and take that initiative.”
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