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GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 16: Garrett Nussmeier #13 of the LSU Tigers is striped of the ball by Caleb Banks #88 of the Florida Gators during the second half of a game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on November 16, 2024 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
The 2026 NFL Draft has concluded, and we now have a sense of the future for these Minnesota Vikings.
This year, they didn’t have a technical full-time general manager at the helm for the event. These duties were given to Rob Brzezinski, who has been with the team since 1999 in behind-the-scenes roles.
Have a look at their official 2026 NFL Draft class.
If you hold a magnifying glass to the picks, there’s a clear vision from the Vikings’ shot-callers. And for two of these gentlemen, Sports Illustrated expects immediate production.
GettyBATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA – NOVEMBER 11: Caleb Banks #88 of the Florida Gators celebrates a defensive stop during the first half against the LSU Tigers at Tiger Stadium on November 11, 2023 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
The Vikings selected two defensive interiors in the Top 100 selections of the draft. These two men are Florida’s Caleb Banks and Iowa State’s Domonique Orange.
Sports Illustrated recently explained that they should both be Day 1 starters on the Vikings’ defense in 2026.
“Both of the humongous defensive tackles the Vikings selected in the first two days of the draft should slot in as immediate plug-and-play replacements for Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave in Minnesota’s starting lineup, even if they’ll be part of a rotation to keep them fresh.
There are obviously questions about Banks’ history of foot injuries, but he’s expected to be recovered from his current ailment in June and to be fully ready to go for the season. As long as he’s healthy, he’ll be in line for a big role under Brian Flores and Ryan Nielsen, playing from a variety of alignments.
With that said, it’s worth noting that Banks’ career high in defensive snaps at Florida was 422 (in 12 games in 2024), so the Vikings may want him to be in the 500-600 snap range, as opposed to the 800ish that Allen and Jalen Redmond played in 2025.”
The Vikings couldn’t ask much more out of their 2026 draft class than having two immediate starters within it.
GettySEATTLE, WASHINGTON – NOVEMBER 30: Defensive coordinator Brian Flores of Minnesota Vikings looks on against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field on November 30, 2025 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
The Vikings ended up spending 4 draft picks on the offensive side of the ball. The first selection for KOC’s offense was tackle Caleb Tiernan out of Northwestern. That was at pick 97.
The next offensive pick didn’t come until pick 159 with FB/TE Max Bredeson from Michigan. Minnesota would end their offensive picks with RB Demond Claiborne at pick 198 and C Gavin Gerhardt at pick 235.
Bredeson has been tabbed as a C.J. Ham replacement. Demond Claiborne seems likely to get some run in 2026, and may be an option to be running back of the future in the Twin Cities.
Brevan Bane Brevan Bane is a sports scribe covering the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Minnesota Vikings and Cincinnati Bengals. Brevan began his writing career by making a platform on Twitter and leveraging his presence into writing and content creation opportunities for outlets like PurplePTSD, Vikings Territory, The Noise, Hockey Wilderness, and the VikesNow YouTube channel. You can follow him on X @brevmanbane. More about Brevan Bane
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