Vikings 2026 Draft Profile: Notre Dame WR Malachi Fields
Continuing the series of Vikings 2026 NFL Draft profiles is Notre Dame WR Malachi Fields.
The former high school quarterback was a 3-star recruit hailing from Charlottesville, Virginia. Fields spent his first four years of college at home at the University of Virginia before transferring to Notre Dame for his final campaign in 2025.
Statistically, his best season was actually his third at UVA, in 2023. That campaign saw him rack up his career-best 58 receptions and career-best 811 yards. He also tied his career-best in touchdowns with 5, which he achieved in the 2024 and 2025 seasons as well. Last season, he recorded a career high of 17.5 yards per reception.
The Vikings have a history of drafting Fighting Irish alumni, most notably the great Kyle Rudolph and Harrison Smith.
The Strengths and Weaknesses of Malachi Fields
Strengths:
- His 6’4″, 218lb frame is paired with a great wingspan and Fields’ natural understanding of body control, making him a legitimate big-play threat in tight coverage all over the field.
- Fantastic contested-catch ability, showing natural ability to attack the ball at the apex of the throw trajectory, coupled with a fierce ability to rip the ball away from contesting defenders and a nasty box-out.
- Strong grip strength shines in his ability to routinely catch passes thrown in front of or behind him.
- Shows great instinct in zone coverage; naturally feels the soft spots in zone defensive deployments.
- Good after the catch, breaks arm tackles with ease
- Size lends him to be a decent run blocker
- High motor, doesn’t take snaps off
Weaknesses:
- Speed isn’t earth-shattering; he probably won’t win a lot of foot races, but he can rely on his size and strength to fight off tacklers
- Route running isn’t elite, rounds off routes on a consistent basis, leading to the creation of separation from defenders being lackluster
- Won’t provide much in regards to the quick-game and on screens; lack of speed limits his effectiveness on quick-hitters
- Not a huge factor when the play breaks down, and the QB has to improvise; shaky ability to create separation shows up here
- Can get jammed in press coverage, not a very notable release off the line
Malachi Fields on the Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings have some big decisions coming up regarding their wide receiver room. Will they decide to move on from Jordan Addison? Do they find it worthwhile to give Jalen Nailor a big contract? Only time will tell.
Until then, we will speculate. If Addison sticks around and Nailor is allowed to hit the free agency market, where a receiver-needy team hands him a lucrative deal, there would be an opening at WR3. In this realistic hypothetical, Fields could compete with 2025 3rd-round selection Tai Felton.
An ideal lineup for the Vikings would be, of course, Jefferson as the WR1, but he and Fields could play the boundary receiver roles in most packages, with Addison working primarily out of the slot, where he shines.
As of now, Fields is slated to go on late-Day 2 or early Day 3 of the 2026 NFL Draft. The Vikings’ selections of 82 and 97 put them well in range of drafting the promising receiver.
