The 2026 NFL Draft kicks off Thursday night from Pittsburgh with the first round. Rounds two and three will take place on Friday night and rounds four through seven will go on Saturday. The Minnesota Golden Gophers have had at least one player drafted in every single NFL Draft since 2019 with 19 total players hearing their name called over the past six drafts. While the Gophers streak of having a player taken in the top two rounds will end this year after six consecutive drafts. the Gophers hopefully
will extend their streak of having at least one player selected to seven years if Deven Eastern’s name is called on Saturday.
Eastern is a Shakopee native who joined the Gophers for his freshman season in 2021. He would redshirt that year before seeing initial action in 2022 where he played in just seven games. Eastern would play in all 13 of Minnesota’s games the next three seasons peaking as a senior in 2025 with 38 tackles, five tackles for loss, two and a half sacks, and a forced fumble.
Eastern was invited to both the Senior Bowl and the NFL Combine. There Eastern was measured with a 9’4″ broad jump that placed near the 90th percentile at the DT position. He was measured at 6’5″and 320 pounds, with 34″ arms. With his sheer body mass and surface area, he can get underneath blocks and sledge opponents upright, thereby minimizing gap displacement and muddying interior looks. But he does not show this consistently and struggle with leverage at times along with slight hip stiffness that contributes to upright pad level drift, particularly on quick swim attempts.
If Eastern can find a spot where thy can hone in that consistency, he has the frame, initial explosion, raw strength, and power to potentially hold his own in two-gapping schemes. His stacking power is ultra-reliable for resetting the contact point when his hand placement is sound, and he has the ability to split double-teams and drive his legs to make stops at the line.
Where Might Eastern Be Drafted?
Eastern met with all 32 teams at the senior bowl and then had additional interviews with teams at the NFL Combine. He told NFL Draft on SI earlier this spring that, “There were a few teams that stuck out. I had about 20 minutes with each team. A lot of teams were interested in me as a person and player. They enjoyed hearing about my story and my process, how I’ve gotten to this point. The Packers, Falcons, and Bears come to mind, but a lot of my meetings went well.”
The general consensus is that if Eastern is drafted it will be on Saturday. There are plenty of “draft experts” and yes that is in quotes intentionally that do not see Eastern getting picked and will need to settle for a UDFA position. But plenty of others do see Eastern hearing his name called on Saturday. Here’s a roundup of mock drafts that do see Eastern getting drafted:
Ian Cummings, Pro Football Network.com : Tampa Bay Buccaneers 5th Round Pick 145
Josh Edwards, CBSSports.com: Atlanta Falcons Round 7 Pick 231
Jordan Edwards, Sports Info Solutions: Minnesota Vikings 7th Round Pick 234
Mike Luciano, FanSided: Minnesota Vikings Round 7 Pick 235
Travis May, A to Z Sports: New England Patriots Round 7 Pick 247
Matt Miller, ESPN.com: Indianapolis Colts Round 7 Pick 249
The large scale consensus is that Eastern will likely go in the 7th round. Obviously when you go that late in the draft there are lots of variables for teams to consider when making a selection including their previous selections, best player available, whether the picks have been traded, etc. So trying to correctly pick where Eastern will go is a total needle in a haystack. But, we will try.
TDG Prediction:
I don’t like it, but I do think Eastern will stay in the NFC North, but it will not be in purple. Our prediction is that Eastern is selected by the Chicago Bears with pick #239 in the 7th round on Saturday.
