Vikings take Country Day's Caleb Tiernan in third round of NFL Draft

The Minnesota Vikings dipped back into the Metro Detroit well Friday night.

With the fourth-to-last pick in the third round of the NFL Draft, the Vikings selected offensive tackle Caleb Tiernan out of Northwestern. Tiernan, a Livonia native and former Detroit Country Day standout, was the 33rd selection of the third round, and the 97th overall pick of the 2026 draft.

On Thursday, in Round 1, the Vikings selected former Southfield A&T standout Caleb Banks, a defensive end out of the University of Florida.

Northwestern offensive tackle Caleb Tiernan, a Detroit Country Day product, was drafted by the Vikings in the third round on Friday.

Tiernan, 23, played in 52 games over four years with Northwestern, starting 43 of them. He played left tackle his last three seasons, starting 42 straight games to close out his college career. Tiernan (6-foot-8 and 323 pounds) graded out as one of the best pass blockers in the Big Ten last season. His final college game was in his home state, a 34-7 win over Central Michigan in the GameAbove Sports Bowl at Ford Field on Dec. 26.

He impressed at the NFL Combine in February in Indianapolis, recording a vertical jump of 35½ inches, the 10th-highest by an offensive lineman since at least 1999, according to the Vikings.

The NFL Draft concludes Saturday, with Rounds 4-7.

tpaul@detroitnews.com