B
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings let Hunter fall and pounced. Final grade: B.
by jimbo92107 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 2 steals
· 4 reaches
The best pick of the weekend was also the simplest. The Vikings watched Lee Hunter slide 33 picks past his grade and did not hesitate.
They covered a lot of ground and still skipped quarterback, which is a strange place to end up. The Boettcher pick is the one the value grade keeps tripping over.
The Benjamin St-Juste pickup adds a known quantity to a class of unknowns. It is a bet on later, and a defensible one for a team playing the long game.
Bottom line, more hits than misses and a roster nudged the right way.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 18th pick they get a centerpiece for the ground game, outstanding value to boot.
They will replay Lee Hunter at Round 3, Pick 18 for years; that is how good the value is. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A tidy little value on Zakee Wheatley in pick No. 97, a step better than break-even. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They paid sticker price for Trey Zuhn III in the 120th overall pick, and that is fine. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Bryce Boettcher in the Round 5 slot, miles early. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
Kaleb Elarms-Orr at slot 163 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
Jeff Caldwell at No. 196 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the wide receiver. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A market-rate wide receiver, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Kaden Wetjen. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They went early on Eli Heidenreich in No. 235, and the value did not follow. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They paid a round early for Josh Cuevas in the 244th overall pick, more than the board wanted. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.