Compared to last year, when they had just five total picks, the Minnesota Vikings have an oasis of draft picks this year. The need for the right influx of young talent is also critical, as the draft mistakes of the recent past, which played a key role in former general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah losing his job, have left that pipeline uniquely depleted.
Immediately or for the future, there are some easy-to-see need areas for the Vikings. But the priority for the front office led by interim (for now?) general manager Rob Brzezinski is to add cost-controlled talent to the roster wherever possible.
It's also fair to assume head coach Kevin O'Connell and defensive coordinator Brian Flores have had strong voices "in the room" during the pre-draft process, with focus on the side of the ball where their expertise is.
The Minnesota Vikings have been urged to avoid a prospect who was once a popular fit during the 2026 NFL Draft.
As he moved toward naming the one draft prospect the Vikings should avoid in the upcoming draft, Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report cited some recent history.
"The Vikings have not really used early picks on cornerbacks in the first two rounds during the Brian Flores era. You can argue they would be better off, but the defense has been pretty solid so the strategy is working."
The Vikings not using early picks on cornerbacks since Flores has been the defensive coordinator is an incomplete narrative, since they haven't had a second-round pick in any of those three drafts. This year will be the first time since Flores was hired that they will, but Alec Lewis of The Athletic has suggested they won't be using a first or second-round pick on a cornerback this year either.
Ballentine then named the cornerback he thinks the Vikings should avoid, along with why they should avoid him.
"Avieon Terrell isn't the prospect to change that pattern."
"Terrell comes in at No. 22 on our big board so he wouldn't be a reach. However, there are size concerns as the Clemson product is 5'10 ¾", 186 pounds with 31" arms."
"B/R scout Daniel Harms also has reservations about his press technique."
"Soft press technique can be slightly slow, leading to quicker receivers beating him quickly across his face," he wrote in Terrell's scouting report.
Ballentine then finished with the common narrative for the direction the Vikings should got at No. 18 overall.
"Terrell's competitiveness and potential will likely make him a first-round selection, but the Vikings would be better off look at safeties with their first selection."
For as much as we've been exhausted by Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman being mocked to the Vikings at No. 18 overall lately, mock drafts from early February to early March had Terrell to the Vikings over and over in the first round. It was almost exhausting then, before the oversaturation of mock drafts putting Thieneman in purple.
Terrell is still a potential first-round pick and among the top cornerbacks in this year's class, but his stock has been dinged by aggravating a prior hamstring injury early in his personal Pro Day in late-March. He didn't run a 40 at the NFL Combine, and he didn't participate in Clemson's Pro Day on March 12 due to the hamstring issue. Then he re-injured it right away in a showcase opportunity for NFL teams.
The odds that Terrell could be the Vikings' first-round pick, at least based on mock drafts, are already diminished from where they had been. So it probably won't be difficult for the Vikings to bypass him in the first round.
If Terrell is still available at pick No. 49 in the second round, maybe the conversation would shift. Even then, there might be an available corner that it'll be known Flores has more affinity for, apart from the idea of taking another position with that pick.
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