B-
Minnesota Vikings
A sensible, unshowy class lands the Vikings a B-.
by NorseGods72 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 3 steals
· 4 reaches
Nobody had VJ Payne this high, and it is not close. The Vikings reached 38 spots to get him at the 163rd overall pick.
Getting Slaughter where they did is the sort of value that quietly makes a class. That quarterback hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall.
They left with safety solved and the rest of the wish list mostly ticked off.
A workmanlike haul that should hold up just fine.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 18 they get a downhill thumper at linebacker. Need was not the driver here.
They did well to land Caleb Banks in Round 2, Pick 17, just ahead of his grade. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A offensive lineman of that caliber at No. 86 is the definition of value, full stop. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Mike Washington Jr. in pick 97 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Zxavian Harris this early at the Round 4 slot. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
VJ Payne at slot 163 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They read the board right and Keagen Trost was the payoff at the 196th overall pick. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
By-the-book stuff, Robert Spears-Jennings at the 234th pick squarely in line with his ranking. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Nolan Rucci in slot 235 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Brett Norfleet in No. 244 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.