Dustin Baker’s 2026 Draft Predictions for the Vikings
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah worked as the Minnesota Vikings’ general manager for four years before his shockingly timed termination at the end of January, making next week’s draft tricky to forecast. Rob Brzezinski is in charge and is auditioning for the full-time position. Accordingly, VikingsTerritory has predictions.
Minnesota enters draft weekend with a clear plan and several predictable paths.
The Vikings have nine picks this time; here’s what we expect to occur in the draft.
Five Outcomes for Vikings’ Draft Weekend
Hold us accountable for the following prognostications.
1. The RB Pick Is Jonah Coleman or Emmett Johnson
Johnson is the hometown guy, and by the sounds of it, he really, really wants to play for the Vikings, a wise choice. He should be on the board when Minnesota makes two picks in Round 3. He also has the juice to become the long-term RB1 in the Twin Cities.
But Coleman of Washington is the best pass-blocking tailback after Jeremiyah Love in the class. The Vikings love their pass-blocking running backs, and in time, Coleman wouldn’t have to come off the field on 3rd Down.
It’s tough to know the inside of the war room, but let’s roll with the RB pick of Johnson or Coleman.
2. Vikings Land a Center Who Projects to Start before Too Long
Minnesota dropped Garrett Bradbury a year ago, signed Ryan Kelly, and watched as neither is on the roster in the 2026 offseason. Bradbury was traded by the New England Patriots to the Chicago Bears. Kelly retired after multiple concussions.
Blake Brandel will probably start in September at center, but Minnesota will leave next week’s draft with his successor: Parker Brailsford (Alabama), Sam Coogan (Indiana), Sam Hecht (Kansas State), Connor Lew (Auburn), Logan Jones (Iowa), or Jake Slaughter (Florida).
Zone Coverage‘s Carter Cox wrote about Lew this month, “Lew is a 6’3″, 310 lb. center projected to be drafted in the second round, making him a perfect pick for the Vikings with the 49th-overall selection. He’s a third-year player with plenty of experience. He was in the starting lineup for Auburn late in 2023 as a freshman, even earning SEC freshman of the week in his first career start.”
“Lew is a 6’3″, 310 lb. center projected to be drafted in the second round, making him a perfect pick for the Vikings with the 49th-overall selection. He’s a third-year player with plenty of experience. He was in the starting lineup for Auburn late in 2023 as a freshman, even earning SEC freshman of the week in his first career start.”
Lew will likely be drafted late in Round 2 or sometime in Round 3,
Carter continued, “Additionally, after the Vikings signed Kyler Murray, a smaller quarterback, the center position becomes even more important across all aspects of the game.
“Lew would be a perfect addition to the Vikings’ locker room, especially as a second-round pick with first-round potential.”
3. DBs Are Surprisingly Deprioritized
Some Vikings fans act like the defensive secondary is in shambles, while Minnesota finished the 2025 campaign with the league’s third-best defense overall. It might be safe to assume that Brian Flores doesn’t need otherworldly cornerbacks and safeties to marshal a Top 10 defense.
Minnesota will leave the draft with a new safety and cornerback, but that won’t necessarily be from Round 1. Remember: Flores strutted into the 2025 campaign with cornerbacks Byron Murphy Jr., an unproven Isaiah Rodgers, and Jeff Okudah. He was perfectly content with that. Why would he suddenly need flashy young DBs?
4. The Vikings End Up with 5-6 Picks in the Top 100
The aforementioned Adofo-Mensah traded like a fiend, which was actually quite fun for fans as spectators. Brzezinski may not “trade just to trade,” but he came up under Rick Spielman, whose longtime nickname was “Trader Rick.”
The trading continues for the Vikings, and Brzezinski stockpiles Top 100 picks. The draft’s sweet spot is considered picks 30 through 70.
Brzezinski starts with four Top 100 picks. FYI.
5. Fans Leave the Draft Completely and Utterly Energized
In 2025, Vikings fans left the draft generally optimistic about Donovan Jackson, confused about the Tai Felton pick, upbeat about Tyrion-Ingram Dawkins, and indifferent about Kobe King and Gavin Bartholomew. The club had so few picks that there wasn’t much to get motivated about, especially with the aforementioned Adofo-Mensah’s draft track record.
This year won’t be like that.
Minnesota should leave the event with at least 10 picks, and regrading five or more, fans will pound the table, particularly the new running back and probably the wide receiver.
Last year’s draft felt milquetoast. This year will feel like a return to a normal draft feeling, when all rookies can do no wrong for four months.
6. Peter Woods Is the First Vikings’ Pick of the Event
Minnesota’s draft needs are unusually flexible this year. While cornerback, safety, defensive tackle, or tight end are all possibilities, the Vikings could shift gears entirely depending on how the draft unfolds. The ambiguity makes it difficult to anticipate their strategy, unlike previous years when a clear position or player target emerged.
Predicting their moves was simpler in the past. In 2023, wide receiver was an obvious need, and they addressed it with Jordan Addison. Similarly, quarterback was a primary focus in 2024, and they secured J.J. McCarthy. After a 2024 playoff loss to the Rams — the game where Sam Darnold crumbled — the offensive line was the clear priority the following offseason, and they invested in it accordingly — Donovan Jackson.
In those years, their intentions were quite obvious. But this year, not so much.
Despite this uncertainty, one area stands out: the defensive line. With the departures of Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave, this position has become a significant priority. Whether Minnesota stays at No. 18 or trades back, the focus consistently returns to this position.
Peter Woods, a DT from Clemson, emerges as a logical choice. Considered the top defensive tackle in a relatively weak class, he presents the Vikings with an immediate and long-term solution to a pressing need.
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