C
Minnesota Vikings
The steal of the weekend belongs to the Vikings and Scott: C.
by PATRICK305 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 7 picks
· 3 steals
· 1 reaches
Thirty-one other rooms let Keionte Scott slide, and the Vikings were the ones holding the card at the 97th pick. Highway robbery. Some smart calls, some head-scratchers, and a C in the wash.
The cost of the Haynes reach is exactly the players who went right after him. The trades bled value they could not afford to lose. That quarterback hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall.
They went 2 of 8 on their needs, which is most of what a draft is for.
If Josiah Trotter and a couple of the gambles land, hindsight will be kinder than this grade.
Pick-by-Pick
A linebacker of that caliber at pick No. 82 is the definition of value, full stop. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
Keionte Scott in slot 97 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
Demond Claiborne at the 163rd pick is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They took Justin Jefferson at par in No. 196, which is nothing to complain about. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
Jamal Haynes at the 234th overall pick is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Taking Kaelon Black in Round 7, Pick 19 is close to grand larceny; a running back that good had no business lasting this long. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
A straight-up fair deal on Alan Herron at pick 244, value and slot in agreement. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.