The first few rounds of every NFL Draft are the ones that get the most attention, but the later rounds are every bit as important for building a team as the early ones are. And we all have players that we would love to see the Minnesota Vikings grab to fill out their draft class as the weekend wears on, whether it’s a player from our alma mater, a player that impressed at the Scouting Combine, or a player from a smaller school that you think could explode at the next level.
So, who is the player that
you think our favorite team should be targeting in the later rounds of the 2026 NFL Draft?
For me, as you probably figured from the picture, the player I’m looking for the Vikings to target late is Eli Heidenreich out of Navy. You’ll notice that I didn’t put a position next to his name because. . .well, I’m not sure what position I would put there. Is he a running back? Is he a fullback? Is he a receiver? Because at Navy, he did a little bit of all of those things.
Heidenreich has shown real skill as both a receiver and a runner in his college career. In his senior season at Navy, he averaged around 6.5 yards/carry as a rusher and 18.5 yards/reception. He also holds both the single-game receiving yardage record and the career receiving yardage record for the Midshipmen. I know that the Naval Academy hasn’t exactly been known for its passing prowess throughout its history, but it’s become a much larger part of their offense in recent years, and Heidenreich has shown an ability to get open as well as very good hands.
He’s obviously going to have a significant adjustment period going from the sort of offensive scheme that Navy runs to a pro-style offense. But while he learns those nuances, he’s also the sort of player that could be effective if the team can manufacture him some touches on screens, end arounds, or even in the return game, given the opportunity.
To me, Heidenreich just seems to be exactly the sort of player you take on Day 3 of the Draft. He’s a player who has obvious skills and talent who might not have an obvious “fit” in your offense right away, but a good coaching staff could develop him into a significant contributor relatively early on and make him the sort of player that good teams need to make themselves complete. That and, as you’ve likely figured, having a guy from one of the service academies on the squad who can actually contribute would be sort of nice.
That’s my late-round target for the Vikings. Who’s the player that you’re hoping the team can, potentially, get their hands on late in this year’s NFL Draft?
