D-
Minnesota Vikings
Larceny in pick 99 lands the Vikings a D-, Ramsey and all.
by vikings12343213232vcx ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 6 steals
· 2 reaches
You can lose a draft before you make a pick. The Vikings did it at the trade table, overpaying to chase players the board did not price nearly as high. Put together, it is a D-.
That edge rusher hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall. They will need Heinecke to outplay his draft slot in a hurry to justify it. Whatever else happened, they won the night they took Ramsey.
Bottom line, they will need several of these picks to beat their grades just to break even, and edge rusher is still a hole.
Pick-by-Pick
A quiet steal in the 21st overall pick: Sonny Styles for less than the market said. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
In the 24th pick they get a moveable chess piece at tight end. A real need, handled.
A reach on Jadarian Price in Round 2, Pick 17; the board had better options right there. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They robbed the room for Keionte Scott here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Connor Lew in pick No. 97. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Kamari Ramsey in the Round 3 slot is a gift, value that borders on unfair. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Nice patience on Malik Benson, who had no business lasting to the 163rd overall pick. The roster fit checks out.
Cole Payton at slot 196 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They paid up for Owen Heinecke at the Round 7 slot when waiting would have done the job. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
A slide stopped in pick No. 244, with Thaddeus Dixon worth more than the price. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.