Heading into the 2026 NFL Draft, with picks at their disposal like they didn't have a year ago, the Minnesota Vikings are equipped to add some much-needed young, cheap talent to the roster. How those picks take shape is the question, even if mock draft buzz points one direction in the first round to the point it has become exhausting.
But mock drafts will be put to bed for the real thing soon, and, in general, it's nice to see some different paths in the remaining mocks.
In a new three-round mock draft from Bleacher Report, the Vikings took Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman at No. 18 overall (insert yawn here). In the third round, they find their potential long-term answer at center with Florida's Jake Slaughter at pick No. 82 and bolster their running back depth chart with Nebraska's Emmett Johnson at pick No. 97.
But it's the second-round pick that lands as particularly interesting.
The second-round pick in a new mock draft lands as the Minnesota Vikings' contingency plan for a big move
At pick No. 49, B/R's mock has the Vikings taking Missouri edge rusher Zion Young.
Taking the proverbial "best player available", regardless of position or perceived need, is usually a good idea, and it has worked well for the Vikings in the past. Young, who has garnered some buzz as a potential first-round pick, would undoubtedly be the best player available if he fell to the middle of the second round.
That said, the Vikings don't really have room for an edge rusher to contribute immediately next season. So, taking Young would be with an eye on the future, which is actually perfectly reasonable as Andrew Van Ginkel enters the final year of his contract.
Unless, as could easily be expected, trade talks around Jonathan Greenard ramp back up during draft week. Above all else, the Vikings would need a viable plan to replace him if they're going to trade him; it would not make sense.
If the Vikings end up taking Young or another well-regarded rookie edge rusher with one of their first two picks, trading Greenard would seemingly move toward inevitability. Any trade leverage they may have recaptured would also pretty much disappear, though, so an agreement to trade the veteran edge rusher would ideally already be done before making that pick.
Taking an edge rusher early in this year's draft would be a surprise to Vikings fans as things stand, days before the proceedings. Using that kind of pick on the position would be an undeniable signal, if there hasn't already been news of a trade by then, that Greenard is going to be moved.
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