PFF Makes Surprising Pick for Vikings in 2026 NFL Mock Draft
Following the Minnesota Vikings’ loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, the team is now 4-5 on the season.
Unless the Vikings make a serious turn around over their final eight games, playoff chances seem to be getting slimmer and slimmer for the purple squad. As a result, some may have the desire to look ahead to next year and what Minnesota could do in the 2026 NFL Draft.
PFF Sends Minnesota Vikings a Surprising Pick in 2026 NFL Mock Draft
In Pro Football Focus’ latest mock draft, Trevor Sikkema made a somewhat surprising selection by sending the Vikings a running back in the first round with the 15th overall pick. That running back is Jeremiyah Love out of Notre Dame.
“Love feels like a top-10 talent in this class, so he could go much higher than this, but you never know with the running back position,” Sikkema explained. “What we do know is that Love is the kind of athlete you want in your backfield. He has engineered back-to-back seasons of 90.0-plus PFF overall grades with good receiving ability and home-run speed.”
The Vikings certainly could use some insurance out of their backfield in the future years as Aaron Jones will turn 31 years old on December 2. The running back has missed time already this season and is yet to record more than nine carries in a single game.
Meanwhile, Jordan Mason, Jones’ running mate, has also gone missing from the offense in recent weeks. Mason has put together just four carries in two of the past three games, and the only game in which he didn’t have four carries was Week 9 against the Detroit Lions when he only had 10.
A running back at any point in the first round would be an extremely surprising pick from Kevin O’Connell at this point given how reliant the Vikings have been on the passing game lately. However, perhaps with the selection of a true bell cow back like Love, Minnesota will get back to running the ball a little bit more.
After totaling 1125 rushing yards and 17 rushing touchdowns in 16 games last season as a sophomore, Love has exploded during his junior season with 988 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns in his first nine games. He has scored at least one touchdown in all but one game so far this year (Week 1 vs. Miami).
Love is an explosive play machine, ranking fourth in the entire FBS in carries for 10+ yards with 28. He also has forced 42 missed tackles, tied for 14th in the FBS.
There is a long ways to go before the 2026 NFL Draft arrives, and it is entirely possible that Love is off the board well before the Vikings are on the clock depending on how they finish the season.
While a running back would be a surprising choice in the first round, particularly given how Minnesota has schemed on offense as well as their needs at other premium positions like cornerback, Love could be the player to buoy the running game in the years to come and take some pressure off J.J. McCarthy.
Editor’s Note: Statistics for this article were found via Pro Football Focus, Pro Football Reference, and Sports Reference CFB.
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