What Do the Vikings' Prospect Visits Reveal About Their Draft Plans?

With the NFL Draft less than two weeks away, the Minnesota Vikings are wrapping up their visits with potential prospects. And while the visits don’t provide a complete picture of Minnesota’s draft plans, they offer some clues about how Rob Brzezinski and the Vikings might approach this year’s event.

For starters, each of the last four first-round selections made by the Vikings also had a Top-30 visit. Donovan Jackson, J.J. McCarthy, Dallas Turner, and Jordan Addison all met with Minnesota before the Vikings eventually selected them. Obviously, there’s a new man handling general manager duties this year, so the approach may be different this time around. But it is interesting to note that, according to consensus rankings, Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq is the only first-round player to have had a Top-30 visit with Minnesota.

The Vikings have technically met with players like safety Dillon Thieneman and defensive tackle Kayden McDonald, but only at the NFL Combine and not in any official capacity afterward -- at least that has been reported (there are still eight or so Top-30 visits that haven’t been made public). Sadiq would be an interesting fit with the Vikings and could be Minnesota's pick at No. 18 should he fall that far. Still, it seems likely that the Vikings break the streak of drafting Top-30 players this year, simply based on the lack of top-talent visits.

While Minnesota has typically drafted players in the first round who were also in the top 30, that may not be how Brzezinski approaches his first draft. NFL teams are a paranoid bunch and often keep their interest in certain players quiet, so the Vikings may be keeping things close to the vest. Maybe Minnesota loves Thieneman and has all the information they need. Maybe they’ve met with a few other first-round prospects, and it hasn’t been made public. Or, possibly, could it be that the Vikings are already planning on a trade down? Dun-dun-dunnn!

Minnesota has met with many Day 2 players. With numerous needs to fill, the Vikings could likely explore a trade down. But what’s most interesting about the players they’ve met with isn’t where they could fall in the draft; it’s the positions they play. Nine of the known Top-30 visits have been with a receiver or running back compared with just one for center and a stunning zero for cornerback.

It’s a stark contrast for positions that Minnesota has crucial, and debatably equal, needs for in this draft. Receiver and running back are both fine-ish for 2026. While it wouldn’t hurt to add a WR3 and RB3, the need really starts for those positions in 2027 and beyond. Jordan Addison had his fifth-year picked up, but he’s likely to outprice or outlaw himself from Minnesota, and it seems clear that neither Aaron Jones or Jordan Mason are any sort of long-term solution.

The Vikings have met with a handful of running backs that are expected to fall in the third or fourth round, and it feels like they’ll almost certainly take one there. Hometown hero and Nebraska running back Emmett Johnson could be in play then, and Wake Forest’s Demond Claiborne is someone who Minnesota has met with multiple times.

Meanwhile, Gavin Gerhardt is the only center the Vikings had a visit with, a projected UDFA from the University of Cincinnati. The Vikings have not had any public Top-30 visits with a cornerback. Odd for sure, as both could arguably be two of the biggest areas of need this upcoming season. Again, Minnesota has been to the combine and some of these positions' Pro Days, so they aren’t going into the draft completely blind. Still, either they have all the faith in the world in Blake Brandel or Minnesota is hiding intel very well ahead of the draft.

With so many cornerbacks set to go in rounds one and two, it’s a bit shocking that Minnesota has yet to have a Top-30 visit with any of them. It’s even more surprising, considering that many have potential issues to vet, like Jermod McCoy’s medicals. It would be hard to imagine the Vikings won’t address corner at some point in this draft, so hopefully they already feel comfortable with a few prospects.

If history is any indication, the Vikings are all in on Sadiq in Round 1 — and yet it’s likely much more complicated than that. Plenty of players have joined a team that never spoke to them once. Minnesota's other visits could indicate a potential trade down, or they could just be the team doing their due diligence. Either way, with a new GM running the show, the 2026 draft may look nothing like those of the past few seasons. With any luck, it won’t.