In Thursday night’s first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, the Minnesota Vikings addressed one of their biggest needs with one of the Draft’s biggest players, selecting Florida defensive tackle Caleb Banks with the 18th overall pick. Now, as we move into Day 2 of this year’s selection meeting, it’s time to focus on which needs the Vikings have to take a look at addressing with their second and third-round selections. They have three picks to make over those two rounds, so which positions should they
be focusing on?
Let’s take a look.
Safety – The majority of mock drafts going into Draft Weekend had the Vikings married to a safety in Round 1, but the team decided to go in a different direction. With the status of Harrison Smith still up in the air. . .and even if Smith does decide to come back for a fifteenth season. . .safety might now be the top priority for the Vikings as we head into the second day of the Draft.
Potential candidates – Emmanuel McNeil-Warren (Toledo), Treydan Stukes (Arizona), A.J. Haulcy (Louisiana State), Bud Clark (Texas Christian)
Cornerback – The Vikings are still a bit undermanned at the cornerback position as well. Only two cornerbacks were taken in Round 1 of this year’s draft, so there’s quite a bit of depth to be had there, but a lot of those players have some concerns. . .obviously. Still, perhaps Brian Flores and company can find something they can work with on Day 2, or maybe they’re waiting for someone to fall even further.
Potential candidates – Jermod McCoy (Tennessee), Colton Hood (Tennessee), Avieon Terrell (Clemson), Brandon Cisse (South Carolina), D’Angelo Ponds (Indiana)
Edge defender – How big a need this is hinges on the answer to one question: Are the Vikings going to trade Jonathan Greenard? If the answer is “yes,” then this moves significantly up the list. Of course, then they’d have an extra pick to use to find a potential replacement. The rumors haven’t completely gone away yet, but if we don’t see a deal by the end of Round 2, I don’t think we’re going to.
Potential candidates – T.J. Parker (Clemson), Cashius Howell (Texas A&M), Zion Young (Missouri), R Mason Thomas (Oklahoma)
Center – The Vikings have been saying that they’re comfortable with Blake Brandel as their starting center. I think they’d be even more comfortable with Brandel as their super sub along the offensive line and another player starting at center instead. Round 3 seems to be the “sweet spot” for centers in this year’s class, and the Vikings have two selections there.
Potential candidates – Sam Hecht (Kansas State), Logan Jones (Iowa), Connor Lew (Auburn)
Wide receiver – As we’ve gone over several times in this space, there isn’t a whole lot on the depth chart at the wide receiver spot beyond Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison for this team. It seems like there are always wide receivers with the ability to contribute in the middle rounds, and this year appears to be no exception. Maybe the Vikings fill that need sometime on Friday night.
Potential candidates – Ted Hurst (Georgia State), Antonio Williams (Clemson), Malachi Fields (Notre Dame), De’Zhaun Stribling (Mississippi)
Running back – In today’s NFL, unless you’re getting a truly special type of player, you can get running backs in the later rounds. I’m not even sure if the Vikings will address the position on Friday. They might wait until Day 3 to see what develops, but it’s still a need. Not a super pressing need or anything, but a need nonetheless.
Potential candidates – Mike Washington Jr. (Arkansas), Jonah Coleman (Washington), Emmett Johnson (Nebraska), Demond Claiborne (Wake Forest)
Those are some of the positions the Vikings could be looking to address in Friday’s second and third rounds. What do you see as the team’s biggest needs heading into Day 2 of the 2026 NFL Draft?
