Minnesota’s haul in this year’s draft included nine new players. First-rounder Caleb Banks was a controversial selection, as he comes into the building with two significant foot injuries on his resume, but also with a ton of physical talent.

Seemingly less controversial was the Vikings’ addition of third-rounder Caleb Tiernan. The offensive lineman was ranked 34th on ESPN’s top 100 pick rankings, assembled by draft analyst Matt Miller. No Viking received a better ranking.

Though perhaps not an immediate contributor given the state of the offensive line, the Northwestern pickup might pay huge dividends in the future.

Miller wrote, “A value pickup at the end of Round 3, Tiernan should be viewed as the long-term plan at right tackle. Brian O’Neill is still a very good player at 30 years old, but the team must make a decision on his expiring contract after this season. Drafting Tiernan might give us a hint about Minnesota’s long-term plans.”

O’Neill can still play, without a doubt, but he will turn 31 in September and has missed some time in recent years. His contract is up and the Vikings either need to hand him a new one or say goodbye to their veteran next March. Furthermore, Christian Darrisaw’s knee issue remains a topic of conversation. His health was a huge problem in 2025, a year after suffering a torn ACL and it cannot be taken for granted moving forward.

Having a backup plan for either tackle position is a smart move. Cross-training Tiernan at guard could also be in the franchise’s best interest.

Miller added, “A six-game starter at right tackle (38 at LT), Tiernan has experience on the right side and a frame many scouts think projects better to that side or at guard. He’s worth monitoring in training camp to see where and how Minnesota plans to use him.”

Tiernan doesn’t possess the prototypical arm length teams are looking for in an offensive tackle. Therefore, guard has been floated as an idea for the 6’7″ blocker.

About his arms, he said in his introductory presser, “A lot of those [doubts] come from people who probably don’t know football that well. You know, obviously I’m a football player and there’s no — it’s not an arm length competition on the field. It’s a physicality competition. And, you know, I feel like I’m really good at that. And I feel like that’s kind of what allowed me to kind of succeed.”

Whether it will ultimately hinder his play at tackle remains to be seen. It is a fact that elite pass rushers can take advantage of any physical disadvantages.

He added, “I’d love for someone to say I got beat here or I didn’t do as well here because my arms are too short — kind of going to be pretty tough to find. But yeah, you know, obviously arm length, some teams harp on it. Some fans love it. Some guys hate it. I’m just a football player at the end of the day.”

At guard, the Vikings have a long-term starter on the left side in last year’s top pick, Donovan Jackson. On the right side, Will Fries enters his second campaign as Minnesota’s starter. He signed a massive deal last offseason, and the Vikings could decide to move on next year, which would present another path to the starting unit for Tiernan.

The rookie has some solid athletic tools and his football IQ has drawn praise in the pre-draft process.

The Ringer‘s Todd McShay wrote about Tiernan: “Early in his career, Tiernan could fill a swing tackle role while also providing guard depth as he develops into a potential starter. Players like Bernhard Raimann, Luke Goedeke, and Braden Smith have overcome similar length limitations to stick at tackle.”

“There’s also a Northwestern precedent for shorter-armed tackles moving inside and thriving — Peter Skoronski is already among the league’s best. If Tiernan follows that path, Sam Cosmi is a strong stylistic comparison. Tiernan is an athletic, experienced, and versatile offensive lineman who may need to transition from tackle, where he played in college, to guard in the NFL.”

The Vikings might not need Tiernan to block defenders anytime soon, but once there’s an injury or another roster shakeup, having a talented third-rounder waiting in the wings is what smart franchises do.

Tiernan ranks 34th among Miller’s best draft picks of the year. The selections of Caleb Banks (43rd), Domonique Orange (68th), Max Bredeson (83rd), and Demond Claiborne (85th) also made his top 100 list.

Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.

Janik Eckardt is a German sports nerd, who likes numbers and stats. He chose the Vikings to be his … More about Janik Eckardt

The 2022 champions, India, have advanced to the semifinals of the Thomas Cup 2026 on Friday, following a resounding 3-0 victory over Chinese Taipei in the quarterfinals held in Horsens, Denmark.

The result was secured in the first three matches of the tie, eliminating the need for the final two scheduled games. India will now face the winner of the France vs. Japan quarterfinal in the semifinals.

Lakshya gives India the lead

The quarterfinal opened with a classic encounter between Lakshya Sen and the veteran Chou Tien Chen. For a while, it looked like India would be chasing the tie; Lakshya dropped the first game 18-21 and found himself trailing 6-12 in the second.

Satwiksairaj-Chirag secures a three-game thriller

The doubles powerhouse duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty then took the court to face Chiu Hsiang Chieh and Wang Chi-lin. It was a marathon battle that tested the Indians’ patience, especially after they lost a tight second game to force a decider.

Despite a few uncharacteristic service errors, “Sat-Chi” regained their world-class form when it mattered most. They dominated the third game from the opening serve, racing to an 11-5 lead at the interval and eventually closing out the match 23-21, 19-21, 21-12. Their victory put India 2-0 up and left Chinese Taipei with a mountain too steep to climb.

Ayush Shetty seals the win

The knockout blow was delivered by young Ayush Shetty, who faced a personal demon in Lin Chun-Yi. Having never beaten Lin before, Ayush initially struggled, trailing 7-11 in the first game. However, a spectacular tactical shift saw him win 14 of the next 17 points to take the opening set.

In the second game, Ayush remained the “calm and composed” figure the Indian camp needed. He dictated the tempo and kept Lin under constant pressure, finishing the match 21-16, 21-17. By securing the straight-games win, Ayush completed the 3-0 sweep and officially punched India’s ticket to the semifinals.

WWE had to cancel a major Backlash match. The premium live event will emanate from Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Florida, on Satuday, May 9, and three matches have already been confirmed.

Roman Reings will defend the World Heavyweight Championship against Jacob Fatu after the Samoan Werewolf brutally attacked OTC1 on RAW this week. Seth Rollins also confronted Bron Breakker, and the two will clash at the weekend.

The third match announced so far will see Asuka battle IYO SKY. Going by WWE’s new trend of keeping match cards short, another couple of matches could be added to the night. However, it appears the promotion had to cancel a planned match for the event.

In the recent edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (WON), Dave Meltzer mentioned that two or three more matches could be expected to be added to Backlash. He then noted that even though Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan vs. Stephanie Vaquer was not officially on the card, it was in discussion before La Primera’s injury.

Vaquer was taken out backstage in an attack by The Judgment Day’s Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez. This angle was carried out because the former Women’s World Champion was dealing with a legitimate injury.

Vaquer and Morgan clashed at WrestleMania 42 for the Women’s World Championship, and it looks like WWE may have been contemplating a rematch between the two for Backlash. But now it looks unlikely due to the injury of the 33-year-old star.

Earlier, Wrestlevotes Radio on Fightful Select reported that Stephanie Vaquer will be out of action “for the foreseeable future,” with talk of at least a six-week absence. Still, it is hoped that she could return in time for SummerSlam.

Stephanie Vaquer was not 100% heading into WWE WrestleMania 42 match

Ahead of WrestleMania 42, Stephanie Vaquer appeared for an interview on INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet. During the discussion, she said that she needs to recover and mentioned she isn’t at 100% for the Show of Shows.

Her Title match against Liv Morgan on night one of WrestleMania lasted barely seven minutes. This drew criticism from the fans, but there was a reason why WWE kept the match short.

Bodyslam+ reported that both competitors were banged up heading into the match, and the company didn’t want either woman to get hurt further.