Vikings 2026 NFL Draft Profile: Toledo S Emmanuel McNeil-Warren
Let’s continue the series of Vikings 2026 NFL Draft Profiles. You can expect the frequency of these to pick up as we come closer and closer to the “Super Bowl of the offseason” in April.
Toledo S Emmanuel (EMW) McNeil-Warren
The Vikings have an obvious need for safety this offseason. It’s widely assumed that Harrison Smith will be retiring, and Theo Jackson is probably just not the answer at the other safety spot.
Emmanuel McNeil-Warren is a 6’2″, 202 lbs safety of the Toledo Rockets in the MAC. He spent his entire collegiate career with Toledo, appearing in 48 games over 4 seasons. The defender was born in Tampa, Florida, and played high school ball at Lakewood High School in St. Petersburg, Florida.
McNeil-Warren had a mostly quiet college career until 2025, though he did win MAC West Division Defensive Player of the Week honors after an impressive game against Western Michigan. That year, EMW posted a career-high in PFF coverage grade and overall defensive grade. Among other career bests were completion percentage allowed (40%), QB pressures (8), and interceptions (2).
The Play of Emmanuel McNeil-Warren and How He Could Fit With the Vikings
Lance Zierlien of NFL.com broke down McNeil-Warren’s game in his draft report of the Toledo safety.
“Long, downhill safety capable of bolstering a team’s run defense and playing enforcer over the middle. McNeil-Warren is most valuable when playing near the line of scrimmage or in robber positioning. He anticipates well in coverage and is quick to close on receivers but will need to be protected by scheme to prevent speed mismatches.
He’s urgent in run support and has a feel for slipping blocks/meeting runners early in the carry. He’s a rangy tackler, but needs to quiet his feet when diagnosing and flowing downhill to tackle. McNeil-Warren might be pigeon-holed schematically but he’s good at his job.”
The easy assumption would be that McNeil-Warren could be the Harrison Smith replacement. That possibility is not a far-fetched one. He has good speed, but not good enough to play a lot of slot corner, which could limit his ability to float around the secondary, other than when matched up against a tight end.
His ability to close on receivers in front of him and lay big hits makes him an interesting prospect at both box safety and safety in the backfield. He possesses the ability to bring physicality inside the box and impose his presence on receivers over the middle, as well as ball-hawking in the defensive backfield.
McNeil-Warren could be landing in the best spot possible if he lands with the Vikings. Brian Flores is one of the best in the league at maximizing players’ skill-sets, as evidenced by Minnesota allowing the second-fewest passing yards per game in the NFL in 2025 (158.2). This was done with a secondary of Byron Murphy Jr., Isaiah Rodgers, Fabian Moreau, Jeff Okudah, Theo Jackson, and a declining Harrison Smith.
Expect EMW to climb draft boards as we inch closer to the NFL Draft. McNeil-Warren currently sits at a weird spot with their first two selections (18th and 49th), as most mocks have him going in the mid-30’s to mid-40’s.
