Where the Vikings May Have Stolen a Draft Pick (or Two)
Depending on who gets asked, the Vikings stole a draft pick or two within the undrafted free agency haul.
Admittedly, the framing of the discussion is a bit silly. The 2026 NFL Draft just concluded, meaning the NFL has collectively decided who should get drafted and who shouldn’t. But then there’s another reality: the league annually demonstrates that the teams don’t get the process completely right.
Every year, some guys slip through the cracks as talents who should have been drafted. Think of current Vikings Eric Wilson, Ivan Pace, Myles Price, Jalen Redmond, and others for some examples.
Did Minnesota sign a couple of those guys within the 2026 haul?
The Vikings Stole Draftable Players
A lot of the time, the top of the draft involves broad consensus. Nobody was surprised that Fernando Mendoza went at No. 1. Some may have been surprised to see running back Jeremiyah Love and safety Caleb Downs in their specific drafts slots (No. 3 and No. 11), but seemingly everyone agreed that these guys could play ball.
Where things get trickier is further down the board.
A tool like the Consensus Big Board can be helpful insofar as it synthesizes industry opinions, distilling things down into an easy-to-manage assessment of the top contenders (though not without online controversy and criticism). The CBB is one way to assess where guys should get picked. But then there’s the opposite approach, pivoting off the crowd to instead highlight a particular individual. Nobody is infallible, but leaning on a single trusted source has the merit of straightforward clarity.
To begin, note who was a draftable player from within the assessment of a single person: Lance Zierlein. He offers his draft reports for the NFL’s website. Check out whom he considers Day 3 guys whom the Vikings stole as UDFAs:
- P Brett Thorson, 5th Round (Source)
- WR Dillon Bell, 6th Round (Source)
- CB Marcus Allen, 6th/7th Round (Source)
What should be remembered, as well, is that LB Scooby Williams was given a 7th/UDFA grade. He was part of that initial talent group but then got axed due to a health issue. Maybe he finds his way back to the Vikings upon returning to health.
Consider the other angle: the Consensus Big Board. Arif Hasan assembles one for his Substack called Wide Left. Things are more humble over there (unless there’s talent I’ve missed):
- WR Dillon Bell, No. 287
In that spot, Bell isn’t technically sitting within a draft slot. The NFL scooped up 257 players, so Bell was being looked at as a fringe 7th within the insight contained in the Hasan board. For whatever it’s worth, the other player to be included is Williams; the injured linebacker came in at No. 295.
If, in the end, the Vikings were able to get two or three players who should have been drafted, then the front office did some good work within the UDFA haul. Maybe that means boasting a new starting punter (Thorson) and/or a new returner (Bell). Or, perhaps, the Vikings snagged a good corner in Allen, somebody to secure the CB4 or CB5 job.
Other names to know include center Delby Lemieux and safety Jacob Thomas. Offensive lineman Tristan Leigh got a large payday, making him an intriguing player to monitor, as well.
The Vikings get rolling with OTAs next week.
