2026 NFL Draft Preview: Minnesota Gophers DL Deven Eastern

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.