B
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings robbed the room for Slaughter. Final grade: B.
by kkkkkk ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 7 steals
· 1 reaches
The Vikings spent the weekend waiting on one name, and it fell: Jake Slaughter, the No. 54 name on the board, in pick 82.
Every board in the league had Murdock lower, and that gap is the story. They covered a lot of ground and still skipped quarterback, which is a strange place to end up.
Safety is handled and the depth chart looks a good deal healthier for it.
Not a headline-grabber, but a perfectly good weekend's work.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 18th pick they get a centerpiece for the ground game, outstanding value to boot. A clean fit for the roster.
Christen Miller at pick No. 49 is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Somehow Jake Slaughter was still sitting there in the 82nd overall pick, and they pounced on premier offensive lineman value. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They let Zakee Wheatley come to them and pounced at pick 97. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Red Murdock in Round 5, Pick 23, miles early. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
Marlin Klein at the Round 6 slot is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Kaden Wetjen in No. 234 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Eli Heidenreich in slot 235 lands just on the right side of the ledger. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Nice patience on Charles Demmings, who had no business lasting to No. 244. A minor itch, scratched.