Vikings Doing Homework on Day 2 Linebacker
The Minnesota Vikings will have a Round 2 draft pick for the first time in four years on April 24th, and they might just spend it on a new linebacker: Jake Golday from Cincinnati.
Minnesota’s pre-draft homework keeps pointing toward linebacker help in the middle rounds.
The Vikings will meet with Golday this week via Top 30 visit. Needing youth at the ILB spot, Golday is a name to remember with the draft two weeks away.
Golday Fits the Vikings’ Need for Speed and Depth
Linebacker could be a target in Rounds 2 and 3.
MIN to Meet with Golday
The top off-ball linebackers in this year’s draft, Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles, will be long gone by the time Minnesota is called to the podium, but the Vikings are doing their diligence on inside linebacker nevertheless.
VikingzFanPage, an account with nearly 30,000 followers on Twitter (X), tweeted Wednesday, “Cincinnati LB Jake Golday will have a pre draft visit with the #Vikings later this week, per KSTP’s Darren Wolfson.”
Minnesota holds the 49th pick in the draft, also known as prime real estate to draft Golday, who is ranked No. 50 on the current Consensus Big Board.
The Golday Scouting Report
Golday is 6’4″ and 239 pounds, a 22-year-old Tennessean who will turn 23 a week after the draft. He’s known for his 4.62 speed at his size, high motor, and coverage skills. Downside? He played just one full season as an off-ball linebacker, and he fits better in a 4-3 defense, whereas the Vikings run a 3-4.
The Athletic‘s Dane Brugler on Golday: “A two-year starter at Cincinnati (and three-year starter overall), Golday played Sam linebacker in defensive coordinator Tyson Veidt’s 3-3-5 base scheme, playing to the field side. After three years in the FCS (two as a defensive end, one as a Mike linebacker), he moved up to the FBS in 2024 and joined the Bearcats.”
“He changed positions again and showed growing pains, but he continued ascending in 2025 and almost doubled his tackle production while cutting down on the mistakes. Golday was asked to operate in a ton of space in college (almost like a nickel defender), which helped showcase his gazelle-like speed to chase down the ball anywhere on the field.”
The Vikings onboarded a different off-ball linebacker from the same school three years ago: Ivan Pace Jr.
Brugler added, “His mental processing took a clear jump in 2025, which was the hope during his second season as a full-time overhang linebacker. Though he had the explosive athleticism to get away with false steps in the Big 12, it won’t be that easy in the NFL. He is trending in the right direction against the pass, but his coverage recognition isn’t yet a strength.”
“Golday is still unrefined in several areas, but his size, speed and ascending skill set are reasons to be encouraged. He projects as an immediate special teamer who can compete for defensive snaps during his rookie year.”
Vikings Current ILB Situation
Speaking of Pace Jr., the Vikings’ ILB setup is a little goofy right now because they dropped rookies Kobe King and Austin Keys midseason last year, two players who had no problems finding work right away. In short, Minnesota needs more inside linebackers, especially young ones, so it’s a safe bet to assume one joins the team from the draft or undrafted free agency.
Nonetheless, this is the current ILB group:
- Blake Cashman
- Eric Wilson
- Ivan Pace Jr.
- Jacob Roberts
- Josh Ross
Cashman and Pace Jr. are scheduled to hit free agency in 2027.
Other Linebackers in Round 2 & 3
Golday won’t be the only off-ball linebacker available to Minnesota on Day Two of the draft. The rest of the field will look like this:
- C.J. Allen (Georgia)
- Jacob Rodriguez (Texas Tech)
- Anthony Hill Jr. (Texas)
- Josiah Trotter (Missouri)
- Kyle Louis (Pittsburgh)
- Jaishawn Barham (Michigan)
Hill Jr. from Texas could be a sweet fit in defensive coordinator Brian Flores’s system. Our Josh Frey noted on his skill set last month, “Hill’s greatest strength is his prowess in the running game combined with great tackling technique. He is alarmingly quick off the snap as a downhill blitzer, and as a result, he racked up tackles for loss during his collegiate career with 31.5 in 40 career games including 17 sacks.”
It’s actually a wonderful draft for a team to need a linebacker after Round 1 while still expecting the rookie to turn into something.
NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein compared Golday to Steelers linebacker Malik Harrison, who’s been in the league since 2020.
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