C+
Minnesota Vikings
A weekend that raised as many questions as it answered. The Vikings get a C+.
by Khoston1999 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 2 steals
· 6 reaches
Nobody else had Jaydn Ott anywhere near Round 3, Pick 33. The Vikings did, by 142 spots, and that gap is the whole story.
Koziol at that cost is the sort of edge that compounds over a roster. For all the activity, quarterback went untouched, which is hard to explain.
In the end, one you will need a couple of seasons to truly judge.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 18 they get a rangy last line of defense, though they paid up to get him. The biggest hole, addressed.
A straight-up fair deal on D'Angelo Ponds at pick 49, value and slot in agreement. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
Gracen Halton in slot 82 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. It fills a real need, too.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Jaydn Ott. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Jeff Caldwell at the Round 5 slot is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Steal is underselling it; Ar'maj Reed-Adams at Round 6, Pick 15 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Jack Pyburn in the Round 7 slot, miles early. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They will replay Tanner Koziol at slot 235 for years; that is how good the value is. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Enrique Cruz Jr. this early at pick 244. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.