Among the questions around the Minnesota Vikings heading into the offseason and looking toward next season, some sit more prominently than others. Some of those questions are also easy to overlook to some extent, in comparison to others.
It's fair to say veteran safety Harrison Smith is on a year-to-year arrangement right now. If he returns for his 15th season, he would enter some rare territory in Vikings history, and late this season, he showed he still has something left in the tank.
But on the other hand, Smith and everyone around him seemed to treat the regular-season finale like it was possibly his farewell. Time will tell what he decides, but right now it seems like a legit coin flip.
In any case, whether Smith decides to play another season or not, the Vikings cannot be caught with their proverbial pants down when it comes time to replace one of the best defensive players in franchise history. The replacement plan can start in April's draft, if it makes sense.
Minnesota Vikings make plan for Harrison Smith-less future in Daniel Jeremiah's first 2026 NFL mock draft
NFL Media's Daniel Jeremiah recently put out his first mock draft for 2026. At No. 18 overall, he has the Vikings taking Toledo safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren. A popular Smith successor among Minnesota fans, Ohio State safety Caleb Downs, went No. 11 to the Miami Dolphins in Jeremiah's mock.
Jeremiah shared why he picked McNeil-Warren to land with the Vikings.
"I’m higher on McNeil-Warren than some other people around the league, but I love his combination of size and explosive playmaking ability. He could help replace Harrison Smith if the soon-to-be 37-year-old does indeed retire."
Jeremiah is not alone in liking McNeil-Warren, who currently sits as a projected second-round pick in most places but could easily push himself into the first-round conversation during the pre-draft process.
His combination of size (6-foot-2, 202 pounds) and alignment versatility seems to fit nicely within the variability of defensive coordinator Brian Flores' scheme.
#Toledo S Emmanuel McNeil-Warren is emerging as one of my favorite players in the draft.
— Andy (@AndyyNFL) January 26, 2026
Big hitter with elite instincts and ball skills makes him a machine in forcing turnovers. Best G5 prospect in the draft for me, Top-32 player and rising. pic.twitter.com/hEXlJHqcCq
Over more than 1,800 defensive snaps over his last three seasons at Toledo, here's how McNeil-Warren's alignment broke down (according to Pro Football Focus).
In the box: 952 snaps (52.2 percent)
Free safety: 613 snaps (33.6 percent)
Slot corner: 193 snaps (10.6 percent)
Wide corner: 44 snaps (2.4 percent)
Defensive line: 21 snaps (1.1 percent)
Concerns about McNeil-Warren's level of competition in college are easy, but they can be assuaged by his performances against Mississippi State (10 total tackles) in 2024, as well as Kentucky (11 total tackles) and Washington State (13 total tackles) this past season.
If Flores could create a safety who'd be perfectly suited to play in his scheme, like Josh Metellus but with more raw talent, it would probably look a lot like McNeil-Warren (if it's not Downs). And with the investment the Vikings have made to keep their defensive coordinator, giving him strong influence over the pieces added to his unit is inherent.
As a plan to replace Smith must come to the forefront for the Vikings, McNeil-Warren could be the second-best safety in this draft class by a fair margin.