The Minnesota Vikings are down in the dumps in the middle of the 2025 season, as the horrendous play of quarterback J.J. McCarthy coupled with a lack of a deep roster thanks to years of generally poor drafting from Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has the post-Sam Darnold squad in a tough place.
While McCarthy may not be guaranteed a ton of road in front of him due to his struggles this season, his performance should not take attention away from the fact that brian Flores' defense has a lack of star power so critical that multiple Top 100 picks need to be spent in that area.
Assuming the Vikings bring in a veteran backup to both light a fire under McCarthy or possibly step in if things start to look even more dire, this 3-round 2026 NFL Mock Draft will help build whoever is under center an idiot-proof defense that gets this team back in business.
Minnesota Vikings 3-round 2026 NFL Mock Draft
Round 1, Pick 12: Peter Woods, DT, Clemson
The defensive tackle class should produce multiple solid players on Day 2, but Woods and Florida's Caleb Banks seem to be the only players in line for a first-round selection. Woods remains a Top 10 talent who might be pushed into Minnesota's range due to the lack of DT-needy teams at the top.
Woods is already arguably the best run-stuffing defensive tackle in this class, and his technical advancements suggests that he has more pass rush upside than most big tackles. With Harrison Phillips gone and the new-look line struggling, Woods could be the young stud who takes them from good to great.
Round 2, Pick 44: Colton Hood, CB, Tennessee
Minnesota might get a bit lucky with Hood in the second round, but this cornerback class is still completely wide open, and a Vikings team that is approaching critical levels of poor cornerback depth could add someone with starter potential very early in the second round.
Hood may not be the best tackler in the world, but he has proven to be lethal as a cover man in both man and zone concepts, which should lead to the Vikings snapping him up and instantly giving him a semi-prominent role.
Round 3, Pick 74: Jake Golday, LB, Cincinnati
Ivan Pace is starting to come back down to earth after a scintillating start to his career and Blake Cashman is once again showing his inability to stay healthy on a consistent basis, which has made the need for a new inside linebacker one of the clearer holes on this roster.
Golday doesn't have the great coverage ability of some of the other top linebackers in what is admittedly a fairly deep class at the position, but he is a tremendous between-the-tackles run-stuffer who should team with Woods to make Minnesota impossible to run on.
Round 3, Pick 97: Jalon Kilgore, SAF, South Carolina
Even though teammate Brandon Cisse has likely replaced Kilgore as the top Gamecock defensive back in this class, it'll be hard for a team like the Vikings to look at a premium athlete who hits hard and has experience at both nickel cornerback and safety like Kilgore and turn him down.
A big safety at 6-1 and almost 215 pounds, Kilgore could be another Josh Mettellus type who lined up all over the defensive backfield and makes oodles of plays when he's there.