B+
Minnesota Vikings
The steal of the weekend belongs to the Vikings and Ramsey: B+.
by bwbry ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 22 picks
· 11 steals
· 4 reaches
The best pick of the weekend was also the simplest. The Vikings watched Kamari Ramsey slide 31 picks past his grade and did not hesitate. A sturdy weekend that grades out a B+.
The phones were where this weekend was really won. They covered a lot of ground and still skipped quarterback, which is a strange place to end up. The Lawson pick is fine in a vacuum, less so with quarterback, edge rusher and other spots still on the board.
Every board in the league had Rucci lower, and that gap is the story.
Bottom line, more hits than misses and a roster nudged the right way.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 29th overall pick they get a downhill thumper at linebacker, outstanding value to boot. More want than need.
Value with a capital V on Lee Hunter in Round 2, Pick 30, a genuine coup. It fills a real need, too.
A interior defensive lineman of that caliber at the Round 3 slot is the definition of value, full stop. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They let Treydan Stukes come to them and pounced at pick 91. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
A surprising call. With quarterback, edge rusher and other spots still to address, they spent the 96th pick on Deontae Lawson, a linebacker they were not short of.
The eyebrow-raiser of the weekend. They went cornerback with Daylen Everette while clear needs at quarterback, edge rusher and other spots sat open.
Circle this one: Kamari Ramsey at slot 109 is a fall that decides a draft. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Steal is underselling it; Connor Lew at No. 111 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Good price on Bud Clark in No. 112, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A want over a need in Round 4, Pick 26: Harold Perkins Jr. adds a linebacker while quarterback, edge rusher and other spots keeps waiting.
They will replay Bryce Lance at the Round 4 slot for years; that is how good the value is. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They paid up for Zxavian Harris at the 148th overall pick when waiting would have done the job. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They did well to land Beau Stephens in pick 163, just ahead of his grade. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Kage Casey at slot 165 nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
No drama and no debate, Travis Burke went about where he belonged in the 169th pick. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
The board had cheaper options than Matt Gulbin at pick No. 170, and it noticed. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A market-rate wide receiver, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Jeff Caldwell. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Keagen Trost at pick No. 196 is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A top-tier cornerback at a bargain, Ephesians Prysock in the Round 6 slot, plain and simple. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
They took Zavion Thomas at par in No. 234, which is nothing to complain about. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
A straight-up fair deal on Robert Spears-Jennings at pick 235, value and slot in agreement. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Nolan Rucci this early at Round 7, Pick 28. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.