The 2026 NFL Draft starts on Thursday, and we’re gearing up for our coverage of the players expected to be selected from the West.

We begin with a look at the region’s Top 25 defensive prospects, ranked by their projected selection rounds or free agency (UDFA).

I have provided summary evaluations for the Top 10 best prospects and projections for the rest.

This year’s Draft will be held in Pittsburgh, PA, and runs from April 23–25. It will be broadcast on NFL Network, ESPN, ABC, and ESPN Deportes.

Coverage starts at 5 p.m. PT on Thursday, and continues at 4 p.m. on Friday, and at noon on Saturday. Streaming is available on NFL+, ESPN App, Hulu, and Disney+

Let’s get on to the list!

writes about various topics for SuperWest sports, including stats and records, college sports, and motorsports. He also founded and runs the Sports and Entertainment Research Center (SERC).

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The Minnesota Vikings opted to tender linebacker Ivan Pace Jr., a restricted free agent, last month, and about six weeks later, the man has locked in his fourth season in Minnesota.

Minnesota got one linebacker move done early.

Pace Jr. won’t be going anywhere, signing his tender this week and adding depth to Minnesota’s 2026 linebacking corps.

Pace Jr. Still Matters in Minnesota’s Linebacker Mix

He’s the single, somewhat young LB in Minnesota.

Officially Back for Year No. 4

It’s draft week, and Pace Jr. back in the fold means the Vikings don’t urgently need an extra off-ball linebacker, though one couldn’t hurt.

NBC Sports‘ Josh Alper wrote Monday, “Linebacker Ivan Pace has signed a contract with the Vikings for the 2026 season. Pace’s agents Drew Rosenhaus and Kyle Lincoln said that Pace has signed the restricted free agent tender the team used on him earlier this offseason.”

“The Vikings tendered Pace at the right of first refusal level, which would have given them a chance to match any outside offer sheet without entitling them to any compensation if Pace moved on. Pace is now set to make $3.52 million for the coming season.”

It’s worth noting that Monday’s development was the expected outcome, making the news a formality for most Vikings fans.

Career So Far

Eric Wilson’s rise to late-career stardom did Pace Jr. no favors last offseason. As Wilson gained traction, Brian Flores increasingly relied on him, rapidly shifting the depth chart and significantly reducing Pace Jr.’s snaps, quickly leading to his demotion.

Pace’s early struggles with missed tackles in 2025 created an opening, which Wilson capitalized on with steady, reliable play. Consequently, the team’s defensive rotation solidified. While Pace’s opportunities didn’t vanish entirely, they were less consistent.

The ripple effect was evident in the numbers. Pace’s Pro Football Focus grade plummeted to 42.3 in 2025, a stark contrast to the 77.1 mark he posted after starting 27 games across 2023 and 2024. Such a steep decline made Pace Jr.’s future in Minnesota feel up in the air heading into the 2025 offseason.

Despite this, Minnesota retained the advantage. As a restricted free agent, it’s easy to keep such players, and that’s what the Vikings did with Pace Jr., evidently betting on a resurgence.

The easiest way to think of Pace Jr. so far? Fantastic in 2023 as a rookie, decent in 2024, and forgettable in 2025.

Our Kyle Joudry wrote about Pace Jr. on Monday, “What has been discouraging is that Pace hasn’t fully been able to build off of that early promise. As a sophomore, Pace functioned alongside Blake Cashman as the LB2. Still a starter, Pace started taking a smaller bite of the pie, limited to a smaller percentage of the defense’s snaps.”

“With a cap charge sitting at $3,520,000, Ivan Pace operates in a middle-class range for NFL linebackers, albeit on the lower end. Essentially any path forward is possible, meaning an extension or a trade could occur. Or, perhaps, the Vikings let him function in a prove-it year to see if he can reclaim some former magic while demonstrating improvement.”

The Vikings’ LBs before the Draft

With Pace Jr. back in the mix, the Vikings don’t have to panic about ILBs in the draft. Here’s the group:

• Blake Cashman
• Eric Wilson
• Ivan Pace Jr.
• Jacob Roberts
• Josh Ross

Wilson and Cashman will be 30 or older during the 2026 regular season. Pace Jr. will turn 26 shortly before Christmas. Minnesota picking an off-ball linebacker somewhere early in the draft cannot be ruled out, but having Cashman, Wilson, and Pace Jr. around doesn’t mandate it.

The Flores defense will just flow much better if Pace Jr. can turn the clock back to 2023.

Getting Rid of Kobe King and Austin Keys

Still, the Vikings, under former general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, who has since been fired, made some curious ILB decisions down the stretch of 2025. The club drafted King from Penn State in Round 6 last year. Out of the blue, it released him in October. He stayed in the Twin Cities for about six months altogether. King remains with the New York Jets after New York grabbed him from the waiver wire.

On Keys, the Vikings scooped him from undrafted free agency — like Pace Jr. — and he contributed on special teams. But like King, the Vikings cut him on New Year’s Eve, and he was claimed by the Arizona Cardinals the next day.

Before too long, probably from the draft or undrafted free agency, Minnesota will need a couple of depth linebackers to replace King or Keys, making the case for dropping in the first place all the more confusing.

Flores’s defense ranked third in the NFL last year per DVOA.

The filly Snitzel Dancer proved trainers Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou right by notching her stakes debut win in the Group 3 $250,000 James HB Carr Stakes (1400m).

Ryan expressed confusion over Snitzel Dancer’s two early-season Warwick Farm runs.

But her rebound success at Hawkesbury led Ryan and Alexiou to target the Carr Stakes.

“This filly shows us a lot at home so we couldn’t work out what happened in those two Warwick Farm runs,” Ryan said.

“It’s possible she just doesn’t like Warwick Farm because she was back to her best at Hawkesbury.

“I know she was big odds today but we were confident she would run very well. I told the owners she would finish top three.”

Kerrin McEvoy guided the $21 Snitzel Dancer to a strong finish, winning by near a length from resilient Plaintiff ($2.15 favourite) who had a wide passage with cover and placed second closely, while Karinska ($7.50) overcame interference to grab third half a length away.

Snitzel Dancer has now qualified for the stable’s Brisbane winter carnival squad, per Ryan, with the Group 1 Queensland Oaks in sight.

“We will go to perhaps the Guineas against the boys or the Bracelet on the Gold Coast, because I’ve always believed this filly will run 2000 metres.

“The Oaks is only 2200m, but we’ll just see how she’s going. We won’t stretch her too far.

“It’s good to see her live up to what she’s shown all the way along.”

McEvoy feels Snitzel Dancer can handle extended journeys.

“She hit the line strongly late and will get 1600m at least,” McEvoy said.

“I think she’ll stay further because she’s such a nice attitude. She’ll keep developing and no doubt strengthen a bit more.

“If Gerald and Sterling want to head towards the Oaks, then it’s worth a try because she’s a promising filly who is only going to get better.”

Plaintiff aimed for a perfect record and Jordan Childs praised her.

“She has gone extremely well,” Childs said.

“We had a nice run in transit, got into the three wide moving line and travelled up like the winner. “She probably just didn’t quicken up as good as she did the other day, being fresh. This was her first go 1400m I thought it was a good run.”

Visit Australian betting sites for betting markets for the race and future Oaks contenders.

Myles Garrett and his girlfriend, Chloe Kim, are enjoying their downtime away from their respective sports. On Sunday, the three-time Olympic snowboarder posted a photo on her Instagram Story of her laying next to Garrett.

Kim smiled in the photo and used just a simple caption to proclaim her excitement in the moment.

“yay!!” Kim said.

Kim and Garrett have shown support for each other since debuting their relationship in 2025. The Olympian was spotted at several Cleveland Browns games throughout the regular season.

The reigning NFL defensive player of the year made the trip to Milan, Italy to support Kim at her third Olympic games. She won the silver medal in the halfpipe event.

Also Read: Myles Garrett’s GF Chloe Kim pairs $9,970 Chanel purse with blue Balmain jacket as she travels to Italy for 2026 Winter Olympics

Also Read: When did Chloe Kim and Myles Garrett make their first public appearance together? All you need to know about the NFL-Olympic power couple

Chloe Kim shared heartfelt post for Myles Garrett for first Valentine’s Day

Just two days after she claimed her third Olympic medal, her first silver, Chloe Kim celebrated her first Valentine’s day with Myles Garrett. She shared a carousel of photos of their relationship and expressed her gratitude for him.

Amongst the photos, she included a glimpse of Myles Garrett wearing a shirt that read, “I heart my Super Hot Beautiful Girlfriend so please stay away from me,” to which the Olympian revealed she bought him.

“blinked and suddenly I had a Valentine ❤️ and yes I bought him the shirt,” Kim said.

Kim and Garrett debuted their relationship in May while attending the Crunchyroll Anime Awards. In a recent interview the snowboarder revealed that they were introduced by a mutual friend, who happened to her physical therapist. She was unaware at first that Garrett was a football player until after she attended an NFL game.