Vikings Draft Just Produced These Obvious Winners

Instead, interim general manager Rob Brzezinski waited until Round 6 to pick Wake Forest’s Demond Claiborne. When a player is chosen that late, he is truly a lottery ticket. A scratch-off.

While Claiborne could become “the next De’Von Achane” with the tutelage of Frank Smith and Kevin O’Connell, Mason remains the somewhat youthful main option at tailback for the Vikings in 2026, with a splash of Aaron Jones, who could split the RB1 workload if he stays healthy.

4. Blake Brandel (C)

One month ago, O’Connell essentially nominated Brandel as his starting center in 2026 — and he wasn’t kidding.

He said to media members who asked about the center spot, “It is great that we feel that good about Blake’s versatility, but ultimately we want to do what’s best for Blake to ascend and reach his highest potential at one position or have the flexibility still to play multiple. What his offseason looks like, what his training camp looks like and what his work flow looks like leading into the season, we want to have him more than likely at that center spot and build on some things that he did last year.”

“It’s a position that’s got some really unique names in the draft, depending on where you may be looking to take one. There’s some guys with experience, there’s some guys with tremendous upside and then some guys that have that flex above the neck of really the smarts and the command that it takes to play center at the National Football League level. We’ll continue to work through it.”

The “tremendous upside” guys turned out to be a single human, named Gavin Gerhardt from the University of Cincinnati, a man extracted from Round 7. While Gerhardt could emerge in time, it’s probably Brandel’s job to lose at center this season.

3. Brian Flores (DC)

After the Vikings fired general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah at the end of January, fans assumed that Flores would have more say in the organization and the draft process.

Fans were right.

Zone Coverage‘s Tom Schreier wrote over the weekend, “Ultimately, the issue with Adofo-Mensah is that he didn’t have a scouting background. The idea behind hiring him was that he would collaborate with the coaches and scouts to identify the best players, then use analytics to maximize draft picks and free-agent spending.”

“By replacing Rick Spielman with Adofo-Mensah, the Vikings were moving from a super scout as their general manager to a CEO.”

Brian Flores observes players moving through drills, tracking positioning and effort as the Minnesota Vikings conduct organized team activities on June 10, 2025, at the team’s training facility in Minneapolis. The defensive coordinator studies each rep closely, continuing to shape a unit that gained momentum during the previous season and enters a pivotal offseason stretch. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images.

Five of the nine new guys play defense:

R1: Caleb Banks (DT) | Pick 18
R2: Jake Golday (LB) | Pick 51
R3: Domonique Orange (DT) | Pick 82
R3: Jakobe Thomas (SAF) | Pick 98
R5: Charles Demmings (CB) | Pick 163

That’s a Floresian draft, folks.

2. Tai Felton (WR)

Minnesota scouted oodles of wide receivers in February, March, and April. How many did they draft? Zilch.

Brzezinski and O’Connell said “no thanks” to dozens of promising wideouts, basically allowing Flores to cook from the section above. And — that turned out to be good news for Felton, who remains the Vikings’ WR3 right after the draft.

In theory, Minnesota could sign Deebo Samuel, Jauan Jennings, Tyreek Hill, DeAndre Hopkins, Stefon Diggs, or Keenan Allen — or even trade for Brandon Aiyuk — but for now, Felton is the WR3 on paper. Most fans didn’t expect that outcome in the fallout from the draft.

1. Dallas Turner (OLB)

For two seasons, Flores struggled to find full-time playing time for Turner, the team’s 1st-Round draft pick in 2024. Those days are over.

Dallas Turner lines up on defense during postseason action, focused on the snap as the Minnesota Vikings face the Los Angeles Rams in an NFC wild card game on Jan 13, 2025, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale. Wearing No. 15, the linebacker prepares to engage, bringing energy to a high-stakes playoff matchup. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images.

Pro Bowl outside linebacker Jonathan Greenard was shipped to the Philadelphia Eagles for two 3rd-Round draft picks, completely paving the way for Turner to start in 2026. He received ample playing time down the stretch of 2025 when Greenard was hurt, but now Turner doesn’t have to sit around and wait for injuries to hear his name called.

In September and beyond, you will soon find out if the [very] expensive Turner trade, conducted by the aforementioned Adofo-Mensah, was worth it.