B-
Minnesota Vikings
Koziol should have been long gone. The Vikings pounced, and earned a B-.
by GOATman123 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 4 steals
· 1 reaches
The best pick of the weekend was also the simplest. The Vikings watched Tanner Koziol slide 70 picks past his grade and did not hesitate.
They are betting Klubnik proves the room right and everyone else wrong. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through edge rusher.
They left with quarterback solved and the rest of the wish list mostly ticked off.
Not a headline-grabber, but a perfectly good weekend's work.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get the heartbeat of the defense. Need was not the driver here.
D'Angelo Ponds at slot 49 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Jadarian Price in Round 3, Pick 18. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Cade Klubnik at pick No. 97 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A market-rate safety, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Louis Moore. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
No drama and no debate, Justin Jefferson went about where he belonged in No. 196. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
Tanner Koziol at pick 234 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
You do not let a quarterback like Sawyer Robertson reach the 235th overall pick and blink. They did not. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Noah Whittington in pick 244 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. A need, and now a little less of one.