The Minnesota Vikings have nine picks between now and Saturday evening, but everyone cares about the first one at the moment. Accordingly, we’re here to publish our 1st-Round prognostication for the Vikings, and in 2026, that’s defensive tackle Peter Woods, whether via trade or remaining at the No. 18 spot.

Woods gives Minnesota juice inside.

Interim general manager Rob Brzeznski could reasonably pick about 10 different players, and no one would be too befuddled, but for the official forecast, we say Woods.

Woods Fits the Vikings’ Long-Term Defensive Plan

The Clemson DT could marry “best player available” and roster need.

The Main Case for Woods

Brian Flores presumably has more control over the defensive personnel now that Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is no longer employed, and when he ran the Miami Dolphins, his very first draft pick seven years ago was Christian Wilkins, a defensive tackle.

Meanwhile, Minnesota tossed Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave to the curb in March, signing no replacements from free agency. If the Vikings’ season started tonight, they’d play Jalen Redmond, Levi Rodriguez, and Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins in the middle of the defensive line. It is unclear if that’s enough oomph and experience.

Too, Minnesota has drafted offensive players in Round 1 in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024, and 2025. It’s time for a defensive player.

Woods is gettable at pick No. 18 and possibly after a slight trade back. He’s also the top defensive tackle in the draft, per most pundits. So, we say Woods to Minnesota on Thursday night.

Dropping Allen and Hargrave Isn’t Nothing

During Adofo-Mensah’s final free agency, he added two starting defensive tackles: Allen and Hargrave. The excitement was palpable because, although not overly young, the two had plenty of experience and Hargrave had a Pro Bowl to his name. Then, the regular season played out, with each man playing decently but nowhere near the value of their contracts.

So, the Vikings kicked them out. Allen landed in Cincinnati and will play next to Sexy Dexter Lawrence. Hargrave picked the Green Bay Packers.

Combined, the pair played over 1,300 defensive snaps. It would just seem strange to hand those snaps to Rodriguez and Ingram-Dawkins. The Vikings would be gambling on “maybes.”

Therefore, the evidence points to a DT addition early in the draft. Remember: in 2023, Minnesota needed a wide receiver. It drafted Jordan Addison. In 2024, it needed a quarterback. J.J. McCarthy was the first pick. How about 2025? A guard was the most pressing need. Donovan Jackson joined the Vikings. If you don’t overcomplicate it, Woods to Minnesota make sense.

Time to End the Drought

The Vikings haven’t drafted an interior defensive lineman in the first three rounds of the draft since 2013. If you remember Sharfif Floyd, he was the last guy. Minnesota got away with this, mainly because Linval Joseph cooked for six seasons.

Generally speaking, the Vikings and all other teams should take a swing at a promising DT at least once every five or eight years or so. In that regard, the purple team is overdue.

Draft Woods. End the drought. Complement the Vikings’ fantastic outside linebackers from the inside out.

Get to Know Woods

At 6’2″ and 300 pounds, Woods possesses surprising agility for his size. His exceptional 4.75-second forty-yard dash, especially notable for a defensive tackle, demonstrates a quick first step and impressive leverage when engaging opponents. His signature swipe move is particularly effective on film, allowing him to penetrate the backfield rapidly. Over his last two seasons at Clemson, he amassed 5 sacks and consistently disrupted plays.

The Ringer‘s Todd McShay on Woods: “He locates the ball quickly, violently sheds blocks as a run defender, and uses his quick hands and feet to make plays in the backfield. He’s on the lighter side (298 pounds) with shorter arms (31 1/4 inches), and the latter shows up on tape. He can win with his hands and still get stuck on the block as a pass rusher.”

“He doesn’t get enough separation to locate the ball at times as a run defender. He gets washed down the line of scrimmage and needs to do a better job of getting vertical when defending zone runs. And he’s an inconsistent tackler. He has upside as a pass rusher, but he did not take the next step as one in 2025.”

For context, defensive tackles often take a few years to hit their groove — longer than players at other positions — so Woods may not be a total stud as a rookie. Give him time.

McShay continued, “His hands are powerful, and he has an effective push-pull move. He can advance his rush while remaining engaged when he stays low. Woods compares well with New England defensive tackle Milton Williams, who lacks ideal length and mass but wins with his hands and athletic ability.”

“He should compete for a starting role as a rookie. Woods compares well with New England defensive tackle Milton Williams, who lacks ideal length and mass but wins with his hands and athletic ability. He should compete for a starting role as a rookie.”

McShay also mock-drafted Woods to Minnesota on Wednesday in his final set of predictions.

Woods turned 21 last month.

If the Woods prediction is wrong, the Vikings will likely draft Dillon Thieneman (Oregon), Emmanuel McNeil-Warren (Toledo), or Kenyon Sadiq (Oregon) instead.

Delhi Capitals conceded their highest total of IPL 2026, 242 runs, powered by a sensational unbeaten 135 from Abhishek Sharma, who batted through the entire 20 overs. Following the defeat, former Australian captain Aaron Finch has criticised Axar Patel for bowling just two overs while allowing part-time Nitish Rana to complete his full quota during Delhi Capitals’ (DC) clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).

Sunrisers Hyderabad continued their strong run with a commanding 47-run win, driven by Abhishek’s 68-ball masterclass, which included 10 fours and 10 sixes. He was well supported by Travis Head (37) and Heinrich Klaasen (37* off 13), helping SRH post a daunting 242/2.

In reply, Delhi Capitals showed early promise through a partnership between KL Rahul (37) and Nitish Rana (57), but lost momentum after their dismissals. Eshan Malinga starred with the ball, picking up 4/32, as DC were restricted to 195/9.

Finch was openly critical of the decision, saying, “We’ve been sitting there scratching our heads, haven’t we? Your two Indian premier spin bowlers, Axar Patel, the skipper, and Kuldeep Yadav, bowled four overs between them. A part-time offspinner in Nitish Rana has wheeled out four overs. To me, that makes no sense,” he told ESPNcricinfo.

He further questioned Axar’s reluctance to bowl to left-handers, even after dismissing Travis Head, suggesting it reflects an issue with mindset.

“It’s the responsibility of your captain, your senior player, your retained player, your best bowler, an Indian bowler, he’s one of your core bowlers in the Indian cricket team. That’s no small bit. He’s a double World Cup winner. So the fact that he doesn’t trust himself to execute under pressure and to defend himself against any left handers, as soon as a left hander walks to the crease, not for me today, thanks. To me, that says more about his attitude towards it than anything else,” he added.

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Earlier, Ravichandran Ashwin also highlighted the overuse of part-time bowler Nitish Rana, while frontline spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel bowled just two overs each.

“In DC’s bowling attack, they have Axar Patel, Kuldeep, Lungi, Mukesh, and Natarajan. But the first player to complete his 4-over quota was Nitish Rana, and that’s where they lost the match. It has to be the biggest blunder so far,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel Ash Ki Baat.

Ferrari star Lewis Hamilton and his girlfriend took to a beach in Malibu, California, with images and videos from the same surfacing on the internet. The couple’s cozy moments, which were captured in the videos and images, broke the internet.

With the F1 races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia cancelled due to the conditions in the Middle East, the F1 drivers have the months of April to themselves. While Max Verstappen decided to race in the NLS, Hamilton has been spending time with his girlfriend, Kim Kardashian.

On April 21, 2026, images and videos of Lewis Hamilton and Kim Kardashian on a beach in Malibu surfaced. The seven-time F1 champion gave the supermodel a surf lesson before the couple spent time on the beach and in the shallows.

The images included the couple standing on the shore, with Hamilton’s arm around the supermodel’s waist. A video of Hamilton giving his girlfriend a surf lesson also surfaced.

Another couple of images showed the couple sharing some pleasant moments together. The first one was of Lewis Hamilton and Kim Kardashian hugging in the shallows, with the other one being an image of the Briton kissing his supermodel girlfriend.

As the images and clips surfaced, they spread like fire on the internet with multiple accounts sharing, reposting, and uploading them on various social media platforms, including X and Instagram. The images were reshared thousands of times with millions of views.

Kim Kardashian was spotted with Lewis Hamilton in Tokyo ahead of the Japanese GP. The supermodel also featured in his Instagram reel of him drifting through Tokyo. After the Japanese GP, the couple was spotted together at Coachella attending Justin Bieber’s performance.

Lewis Hamilton and Kim Kardashian’s dating timeline: From Paris Hotel reports to Instagram hard launch

Kim Kardashian and Lewis Hamilton have known each other for over a decade and were first seen together at the GQ Men of the Year awards. Over the years, the Briton became a good friend and was even invited by the Kardashians to family events.

Earlier this year, after the Barcelona shakedown, Hamilton and Kim Kardashian were spotted getting out of the same car at a hotel in Paris, which gave birth to the dating rumors. This was followed by their appearance at Super Bowl LX, where they sat together in the VIP box.

Just before the 2026 F1 season began, Kim Kardashian and Hamilton were spotted in Arizona, enjoying a sunset. The seven-time F1 champion was recently seen in Tokyo with his girlfriend, and eventually hard-launched his relationship via an Instagram reel uploaded by him, captioned “TOKYO DRIFT VOL. III”.