With NFL free agency slowed to a trickle and the calendar flipped to April, we are in the peak of mock draft season for the next few weeks. The Minnesota Vikings have some clear-cut needs to consider addressing in the NFL Draft later this month, in some order.
For better or worse, the mock draft machine must be fed, and it will be fed heartily until the actual proceedings start on the night of April 23. And, even if they're ultimately disregarded with no remorse, some front offices have acknowledged they read mock drafts as part of their overall pre-draft research.
As time goes on, though, and the process for mock drafters gets more repetitive and perhaps bit arduous, the differences in a large number of mocks can become narrower and narrower to the point of becoming indiscernible from each other.
New 2026 NFL mock draft from notable analyst goes down a well-worn path for the Minnesota Vikings
The Athletic's Bruce Feldman kicked off April with a new mock draft on Wednesday, and his pick for the Vikings at No. 18 overall is all too familiar.
"18. Minnesota Vikings: Dillon Thieneman, S, Oregon
With the great Harrison Smith now 37 and uncertainty about whether he’ll retire, Minnesota can grab one of the best defensive players in this draft in the ball-hawking Thieneman, a 6-0, 201-pound freak of an athlete.
He made 306 tackles and eight INTs in his three college seasons. At the combine, he ran a 4.35 40 with a 1.52-second 10-yard split, vertical jumped 41 inches and broad jumped 10-5.
That elite athleticism shows up on tape too, and it has since he first got to Purdue, where old Boilermakers coaches say he was the best player in the program from his first day on the team."
As of this writing, via NFLMockDraftDatabase.com, Thieneman has been the pick for the Vikings at 18th overall in 29 mock drafts over the past week. No one else has been the mock pick for the Vikings in the first round more than three times over that span.
Over the past month, Thieneman has been the mocked pick to Minnesota in the first round 82 times.
Even if Smith decides to suit up next season, as seems more and more likely since a veteran has not been acquired to replace him, safety is a need for the Vikings, and finding his eventual replacement in this year's draft is on the table.
But it would also be nice for any one (or more than one) of the slew of notable mock drafters to offer an original thought every once in a while. Following the herd regarding a certain position for a team, or in this case for Minnesota, a certain player, until you're blue in the face, is easy.
Fans have begun to grow so tired of seeing Thieneman mocked to the Vikings at No. 18, it's being perceived as hate for the Oregon safety by some people. It's not hate for the player, though; it lands more like hate for a mock draft game that doesn't incentivize unique (yet still logical) thought nearly enough.