The Minnesota Vikings could have landed quite the haul in the 2026 NFL Draft. Three rookies already seem prepared to play a big role on their defensive front in Caleb Banks, Jake Golday, and Domonique Orange. RB Aaron Jones Sr. also believes it won’t take long for a fourth rookie to make a name for himself.
The veteran spoke highly of sixth-round rookie Demond Claiborne when speaking to Ben Goessling of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.Â
âYou can see it,â Jones said. âRight away, just getting in and out of the cuts. Heâs a special back in this league. I get to mentor him up and show him the way. I told him I want him to be successful, I want to see him go on and get paid and those kinds of things. Heâll be playing in this league as long as he wants to, but just got to lock in here and take care of the business.â
Unlike Jones, not everyone believes in Claiborne’s talent. He fell to the sixth round for a reason, after all. We might’ve gotten a hint as to why that was the case last week.
Claiborne has received mixed reviews thus far.
Judd Zulgad of SKOR North called the 198th selection “unplayable” due to his questionable hands at last Wednesday’s practice. He said he charted him with three drops, and thinks his roster status could be in danger if he doesn’t iron out that area of his game.
That concern was also prevalent on his scouting report coming out of Wake Forest. NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein wrote that Claiborne “has stiff hands as a pass-catcher and struggles in blitz pickup.” It shouldn’t be surprising that he had only 55 catches for 424 yards over his four years at the school. At only 188 lbs., it also shouldn’t be surprising that he’s not exactly an immovable object in pass protection. He probably won’t be making much of an impact on third downs.
Conversely, he’s also been making a name for himself at training camp. Bring Me The Sports’ Will Ragatz called Claiborne one of the lone bright spots on an otherwise dull Saturday practice.
The rook’s speed could allow him to carve out a role on offense.
You can’t teach speed, and Claiborne has a TON of it. He ran a 4.37-second 40-yard-dash at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine. There was a time when Jones would be able to hold his own in a foot race (at least wearing pads and carrying a football, as he never put up a blazing fast 40 time), but that day is not today. Jordan Mason, on the other hand, would be left in the dust regardless of the occasion.
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell wanted to inject some speed into Minnesota’s RB room, and that’s why they landed on Claiborne in the draft. The University of Wake Forest product is a true home-run hitter in a backfield consisting of players who routinely hit singles but aren’t challenging to get to third base.
Claiborne hasn’t locked up his roster spot yet. However, he has a chance to make a strong case for himself in their preseason games. Even if it might be partially at his expense, Jones is clearly betting on the rookie back to get it done.
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