Top DT in Draft Lands Back on Vikings Radar
The Minnesota Vikings booted two starting defensive tackles from their roster this offseason, and that’s usually something a franchise does before drafting a rookie replacement. So when Clemson’s Peter Woods found his way back into the Vikings’ mock-draft orbit this week, well, it made sense.
Minnesota still needs interior defensive line help, and Peter Woods keeps surfacing as a logical first-round fit.
Pete Prisco did the honors, giving Minnesota a rest from the nonstop Dillon Thieneman mock-draft takes.
Woods Checks Some Boxes for Minnesota at a DT Need
Yes, the Vikings need a defensive tackle.
Pete Prisco: Peter Woods to Min at 18
Two weeks remaining before the 2026 NFL Draft, and if Prisco has it right, Woods will be a Viking. He wrote this week in a just-published mock draft, “The interior of their defensive line needs a boost after they let go of Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave. Woods was dominant in 2024, but his play tailed off some last year. The talent is there.”
Most mock drafts expect Minnesota to pick a safety in Round 1, either the aforementioned Thieneman from Oregon or Toledo’s Emmanuel McNeil-Warren.
Some others believe Minnesota could select a cornerback like Avieon Terrell (Clemson) or Jermod McCoy (Tennessee).
The Bio for Woods
Woods is 6’2″ and 300 pounds. He runs a 4.75 forty — pretty fantastic for a defensive tackle — and is known for his first-step explosion and flexibility. His swipe move is also impressive, and on the whole, he’s a freak athlete for DT standards. Woods banked 5 sacks in the last two seasons at Clemson.
The Athletic‘s Dane Brugler on Woods: “Woods flashes the ability to win with quickness, strength and hand usage — and the next step in his development is for him to do so more consistently. He offers scheme diversity, although he projects best as a three-/4i-technique DT.”
“A two-and-a-half-year starter at Clemson, Woods shuffled up and down the line in defensive coordinator Tom Allen’s four-man front. After earning Freshman All-American honors in 2023, he received All-ACC honors in each of the last two seasons.”
Woods is also young; he just turned 21.
Brugler added, “He was tabbed as a potential top-five draft pick entering his junior season, but he struggled to match that hype in 2025, posting up-and-down tape and poor production (14 pressures, 3.5 tackles for loss and two sacks over 12 games). Draft projections for Woods will depend on a team’s willingness to grade to his flashes.”
“He moves with big-man twitch and has the foot quickness to elude blocks in tight quarters. However, for a player with his explosive traits, he doesn’t have many quick wins on his tape and needs to learn how to diversify his rush approach.”
Vikings’ DT Setup for 2026
It’s not breaking news, but it’s unfinished business: the Vikings need a defensive tackle. The franchise parted ways with two starters last month, cutting Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave, a pair that played over 1,300 snaps in Brian Flores’s 2025 defense.
Without Woods, a different rookie, or a free agent like Christian Wilkins or D.J. Reader, Minnesota would roll into 2026 with this interior defensive line group:
- Jalen Redmond
- Levi Drake Rodriguez
- Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins
- Elijah Williams
- Taki Taimani
- Jaylon Hutchings
That might work; it might not. The DT unit is one Redmond injury away from disaster. Therefore, an extra defensive tackle is probably on the way.
Other Draft DT Options
It’s a safe bet to assume the Vikings leave the draft with a defensive tackle; it’s just unclear if Woods will be the guy. If not, these are the DT options before the end of Round 4, according to the Consensus Big Board in early April:
- Kayden McDonald (Ohio State)
- Caleb Banks (Florida)
- Lee Hunter (Texas Tech)
- Christen Miller (Georgia)
- Domonique Orange (Iowa State)
- Gracen Halton (Oklahoma)
- Darrell Jackson Jr. (Florida State)
- Kaleb Proctor (Southeastern Louisiana)
- Chris McClellan (Missouri)
- Dontay Corleone (Cincinnati)
- Xzavian Harris (Mississippi)
- Rayshaun Benny (Michigan)
- Zane Durant (Penn State)
Vikings fans have taken a shine to Hunter from Texas Tech because he should be available at Minnesota’s 49th pick, and he’s huge at over 330 pounds, known for stopping the run as a true-blue nose tackle.
Brugler noted on Hunter: “Hunter doesn’t have the pass-rush skill set to consistently impact the quarterback, but he is instinctive as a run defender and has heavy hands to make stops at the line of scrimmage. He projects as a scheme-diverse, two-gapping nose.”
The Vikings have drafted three players from Clemson in the last decade: safety Jayron Kearse, cornerback Mackensie Alexander, and cornerback Andrew Booth. So, too, did elite DT Dexter Lawrence, a trade candidate, go to Clemson. Maybe a Woods/Lawrence twosome materializes at some point.
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