A-
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings won the night they stopped Taaffe from sliding. Grade: A-.
by NorseGods72 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 8 steals
· 1 reaches
You build a draft on nights like this. Michael Taaffe had no business being available in pick 235, and the Vikings did the only sane thing and turned in the card.
The phones were where this weekend was really won. They are betting Norfleet proves the room right and everyone else wrong.
A whole weekend of picks and quarterback is somehow still a want.
A strong weekend's work, and a rare one to find this little fault with.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 20 they get a sideline-to-sideline linebacker at a price that makes it sweeter.
Taking Dillon Thieneman in the Round 2 slot is close to grand larceny; a safety that good had no business lasting this long. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Emmanuel McNeil-Warren in Round 3, Pick 18 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Jake Slaughter in pick 97 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
You do not let an interior defensive lineman like Kayden McDonald reach pick No. 163 and blink. They did not. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Treydan Stukes in No. 196 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
They robbed the room for Tyreak Sapp here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Michael Taaffe at the 235th pick is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They talked themselves into Brett Norfleet at Round 7, Pick 28, and the board did not agree. It fills a real need, too.