2 (49)
3 (82)
3 (97)
Day 2 got a little complicated and the Vikings ended up exiting the day with four draft picks.
For most of the offseason, outside linebacker Jonathan Greenard has expressed a need for a better contract. To be honest, he signed for a bargain and outplayed the deal almost immediately. On and off the field, Greenard has been an outstanding free agent addition. Another season like the first two seasons and he’s ranking among the very best free agent signings in Vikings franchise history. I hated the idea of trading Greenard but the Vikings weren’t really in a financial position to adjust the contract that he’d signed only two years ago. So, Greenard was traded during the Day 2 draft selections. There were two bad things about the trade. The first was that the trade happened. The second was that Greenard was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles. If there’s a team that doesn’t deserve a player and person like Jonathan Greenard, that team is the Eagles. In return, the Vikings received a third-round pick this year and a third-round pick next year. The Vikings also tossed in a seventh-round pick this year. Two thirds is a questionable return for Greenard but it’s done. The Vikings now had four picks on Day 2.
Before the Jonathan Greenard trade, the Vikings did a little deal with the Carolina Panthers. That deal:
Vikings get:
2 (51)
5 (159)
Panthers get:
2 (49)
6 (196)
So, the Vikings ended up making four selections on Day 2.
2 (51) Jake Golday, LB, Cincinnati
3 (82) Domonique Orange, DT, Iowa State
3 (97) Caleb Tiernan, OT, Northwestern
3 (98) Jakobe Thomas, S, Miami
This isn’t even remotely close to the collection of rookie talent that Vikings fans probably expected to see. Every pick was probably a surprise. Through three rounds, the Vikings selected four defensive players in five opportunities. Inconceivable.
In three years with the Vikings, defensive coordinator Brian Flores has schemed a consistently dominant defense. That first year, he did it with marginal talent. The past two years, the talent has been a bit better. Still, the personnel limitations can be best seen in the draft origins of the the defensive front:
Jalen Redmond - undrafted
Levi Drake Rodriguez - seventh-round
Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins - fifth-round
Taki Taimani - undrafted
Elijah Williams - undrafted
All of the five have shown potential. Despite his humble origins, Jalen Redmond emerged last year as an impact player. Levi Drake Rodriguez and Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins seem to be on the verge of break out seasons. As an undrafted rookie Elijah Williams showed potential. In my opinion, this is an intriguing and underrated group of football players. It’s such an intriguing and underrated group that I thought defensive line wasn’t the need that many considered it to be. The Vikings obviously believed that the position needed to be addressed. Through the years, I’ve admired teams that have addressed weaknesses with emphasis. After Randy Moss torched his secondary in 1998, Ron Wolf loaded up his suspect Packers secondary with “bigger” defensive backs in the 1999 NFL Draft. Didn’t work. No one could cover Moss. But I respected the commitment to improving a weakness. Despite my appreciation of the group, the Vikings scrappy defensive line was in need of high-end talent. The Vikings attacked that need in the first three rounds of this draft. In many of my “dream” mocks, I had one of Caleb Banks or Domonique Orange coming to Minnesota. I never considered the possibility of both. Now, the Vikings can put this trio on the field:
Jalen Redmond
Domonique Orange
Caleb Banks
Brian Flores now has some high-end talent on his defensive front. With those players fronting the defense, there’s a chance that linebackers Blake Cashman and Eric Wilson never get touched. Speaking of linebackers, second-round pick Jake Golday joins Wilson and Ivan Pace Jr. as former Cincinnati Bearcats at the position. Until he takes over the defense in the middle, Golday will be a special teams stalwart as well as a possible backup edge rusher. The Vikings were well set up to replace Jonathan Greenard with Dallas Turner but the depth on the edge took a hit with the trade. Golday could be a fix to that hit.
I was surprised by the selections of Caleb Banks, Jake Golday, and Domonique Orange with the Vikings first three picks. Taken together, after the fact, I get it. In my opinion, the Vikings didn’t attack this draft with the idea of adding players to the team. I believe they attacked this draft with the idea of resetting the team. There have been games in which the Vikings have been overwhelmed by teams. They have been more finesse than power. If the Vikings were considered soft before, they won’t be considered soft after this draft. That starts with those big defensive tackles but it continues with the final two picks of Day 2. For about a minute, the selection of Northwestern tackle Caleb Tiernan was puzzling. On the offensive line, the only obvious need was at center. The Vikings drafted a tackle with perhaps guard potential. Selecting a tackle was a surprise but I think I get it. Despite being a late third-round pick, Tiernan was considered by many as the best of the non-first-round tackles. Between the free agent signing of Ryan Van Demark and drafting of Tiernan, the Vikings have depth on the offensive tackle in particular, and offensive line in general. Last season was wrecked by injuries and uncertainty on the offensive front. For about a decade, the Vikings have approached the offensive line and it’s depth as an afterthought. At the moment, there’s first- and second-round starters in Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill. Those bookend tackles are now backed by priority free agent Van Demark and third-round pick Tiernan. Im not sure I can remember such security on the edges.
Through the first two days of this draft, nothing that the Vikings have done has been as I expected. That’s a surprise as the last time I’ve been truly surprised by the team’s pick tin he first-round selection was Christian Ponder in 2011. Perhaps being unpredictable can be a good thing.
Jakobe Thomas
Throughout the draft process, Jakobe Thomas was always been a defensive back hovering on the periphery of the position. I’m a little surprised that he was selected ahead of Miami teammate Keionte Scott. I thought that Scott would be nabbed in the second round and Thomas in the third. Well, the Vikings selected Thomas in the third.
If the first two nights of the 2026 NFL Draft did anything for Vikings fans, it’s your pick isn’t necessarily the team’s pick. That’s probably a very good thing.
