The 2026 NFL Draft is just two weeks away and the Minnesota Vikings continue evaluating prospects and hosting Top 30 meetings as well. They met with a bunch of prospects this week and will likely continue to meet with prospects through at least mid-April.

However, while there is still a lot of unknowns about the Vikings’ draft intentions- and likely some attempts at obfuscating those intentions- if we piece together roster needs, salary cap situation, prospect meetings, and draft picks, there appears to be at least an outline of how the Vikings may approach this draft and ultimately the positions and players they draft.

As a reminder, the Vikings have a first-round pick (#18), a second-round pick (#49), two third-round picks (#82 and #97), no fourth-round pick, a fifth-round pick (#163), a sixth-round pick (#196), and three seventh-round picks (#234, #235, and #244) in the upcoming draft.

The Vikings’ starting lineup this season is already pretty much set.

OL: Christian Darrisaw, Donovan Jackson, Blake Brandel, Will Fries, Brian O’Neill

EDGE: Andrew Van Ginkel, Jonathan Greenard, Dallas Turner

CBs: Byron Murphy Jr., Isaiah Rodgers, James Pierre

Specialists: K Will Reichard, P Johnny Hekker, LS Andrew DePaola

We may see some of the early round picks a bit in rotation, and maybe the first-round pick more than that, but this draft is mainly about developing current draft picks into players who can start next year or later on to replace aging veterans, to build more quality depth, and perhaps add a missing but needed skillset here and there. Scheme evolution could impact draft pick selection. And positions where aging and expensive veterans predominate could be the focus of early round picks, particularly at higher-value positions.

In particular, both safety and cornerback position groups could be the target for early round picks, or potentially linebacker as well. All three groups have aging veterans that will need to be replaced at some point in the not-too-distant future and potentially this season if Harrison Smith retires or next year in some other cases. Interior defensive line would seem to be a need given the departures of Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen, but not sure if that will be the priority for either the first or second-round pick.

Offensively, running back and tight end are areas where an aging and expensive veteran will likely need to be replaced next season. Center looks to be at least an area for more quality depth and possibly a future starter. Adding to the wide receiver development pipeline makes sense too, although with the Vikings indicating that they are budgeting for a Jordan Addison extension that may limit the priority. Lastly, there is no such thing as too much quality depth along the offensive line. Backups at guard may be the priority with Brandel moving to center and Ryan Van Demark as primary swing tackle.

So, with all that background in mind, let’s review consider how that may translate into how the Vikings approach each of its draft picks. But first a brief recap of last year’s draft.

Last year, a week before the draft, I put together all the prospects the Vikings had met with in the pre-draft process along with their consensus board rankings to provide an overview of how the Vikings’ draft may unfold. As it turned out, their first three picks were guys they met with during the pre-draft process. That is not always the case, but typically the Vikings meet with guys they invest a top draft pick in at some point in the pre-draft process.

To recap, last year the Vikings explored trading down from their #24 spot but didn’t like the compensation so picked Donovan Jackson there. He was ranked #37 on the consensus board the week before the draft. They then traded down from #97 for #102 in exchange for moving up from #187 to #142. They picked Tai Felton at #102. He was ranked #125 on the consensus board. They picked Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins at #139 (he was ranked #176 on the consensus board). Then they traded the #142 pick for Sam Howell and the #172 pick. Then they traded #172 for picks #201 and #202. They picked Kobe King and Gavin Bartholomew with those picks. There were no reported meetings between the Vikings and their last two picks in the pre-draft process.

Of course last year’s draft was run by Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, who is no longer with the team. This year it will be run by Rob Brzezinski. My guess is that the scouting staff will help prepare their draft board with a lot of input from the coaching staff and that Brzezinski will try to execute on coaching staff priorities.

Here is a list of prospects the Vikings have met with arranged by consensus board rank with the Vikings’ draft pick slots in bold.

The Vikings have met with defensive tackles that could go around almost every Vikings’ draft pick slot, which makes it a strong likelihood that they draft a defensive tackle at some point in the draft. Scheme fit, value at a particular draft slot, and whether the defensive tackle is the best player available at that draft slot may determine at what point in the draft they select a defensive tackle, although we don’t know if there is a particular defensive tackle they favor overall.

The Vikings also have met with several running backs, including three in Top 30 visits. History suggests when that is the case that the Vikings will draft a running back in the first four rounds (80% chance). The running backs the Vikings are showing the most interest in are expected to go in the late third or early fourth rounds.

The Vikings have also met with a number of offensive tackle prospects expected to go late in the draft. These are mostly prospects that could slide inside to guard. This isn’t seen as a good draft for either offensive tackles or guards. It’s worth noting that most of these guys look to be more gap-scheme type offensive linemen, which is the run scheme trend these days in the NFL. It’s also worth noting that running back Emmett Johnson, who the Vikings appear to have a lot of interest in,

The Vikings have also not met with any prospect expected to go ahead of their first pick at #18 and they only met with Dillion Thieneman at the Combine and not since. That doesn’t suggest the Vikings are considering a move up in the first round. The fact that they’ve met with some later first-round/early second-round prospects suggests a move down would be more likely if they trade out of #18.