Sometimes it’s tempting to look down at an NFL team’s roster, identify a couple of short-term roster holes, and think, “It looks like a Team X needs a player at Position Y.” That’s even the correct line of thought from time to time. But for the Minnesota Vikings in 2026, outside linebacker could be a sneaky roster need, even if it’s not shouted from mountain tops.

Minnesota may have bigger needs elsewhere, but an EDGE pick at No. 18 would not come out of nowhere.

Most fans expect the purple team to draft a defensive back or defensive tackle in Round 1 — it’s a smart theory — but an EDGE defender cannot be ruled out.

Jonathan Greenard’s Future Could Shape the Draft Board

The case for an EDGE in Round 1.

Jonathan Greenard + Andrew Van Ginkel’s Future

The Vikings have one main player in their trade rumor mill right now, and that’s Greenard. He’s lived there for one month. Greenard wants a sizable contract extension, or so goes the working theory, earning $19 million per season at the moment, when his NFC North peers, like Micah Parsons and Aidan Hutchinson, make over $45 million annually. If Minnesota cannot bend to Greenard’s asking price, he may be traded during the draft.

Meanwhile, Van Ginkel has one year left on his contract, and he’ll turn 31 at the start of July. He is not young. Perhaps Minnesota will re-up with Van Ginkel beyond 2026, and his upper-echelon production will continue into his 30s.

But those are two huge maybes: maybe Greenard won’t be traded, and maybe Van Ginkel will be around to produce at a high level after 2026.

The draft, especially in Round 1, should be about preparing for 2028 and 2029. If that’s the case, the Vikings probably need an EDGE defender.

Dallas Turner Is Rising, but …

Meanwhile, Minnesota has Turner marinating, picked in Round 1 two years ago after an expensive trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Turner didn’t play too much as a rookie in 2024, about 30% of the time on defense, but he made a few noteworthy plays, along with showcasing a promising trajectory for the future. That assessment checked out in 2025 when Turner experienced increased playing time due to injuries that affected Greenard and Van Ginkel.

The speedy young EDGE rusher played about two-thirds of defensive snaps last season, tallying 8 sacks for his troubles and hitting his groove late in the season. Turner is also still 23 years old.

If Greenard were traded or Van Ginkel left next offseason, there’s a temptation to think, “Just play Dallas Turner,” and that opinion may be spot-on. However, Turner has yet to prove he can handle the grind as a full-time starter. Fans and some pundits think he’s ready for it; he just has to prove it. Leaving the starting OLB spot up to the mercy of Turner’s development could be risky business.

The Round 1 EDGEs

Suppose the Vikings swerve and pick an outside linebacker with the 18th overall pick. These are the realistic options:

• Akheem Mesidor (Miami)
• Keldric Faulk (Auburn)
• T.J. Parker (Clemson)
• Cashius Howell (Texas A&M)
• Zion Young (Missouri)

Mesidor will be a 25-year-old rookie in 2026, so Faulk might be the safest bet for the EDGE plan.

NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein on Faulk: “Faulk has a long, developing frame, good movement skills and the potential for odd or even fronts once he gains more muscle mass. He’s a culture player with high character who earns a grade bump based on his age (turns 21 in September), traits and advanced foundation. A fluid athlete with good movement skills, he works around blocks with finesse but needs more assertive initial strikes to set firmer edges in gap control.”

“His toughness and mentality suggest he’ll play through blocks more consistently in an NFL environment. Faulk’s rush is diverse. However, with average upfield burst, he might require a move inside on passing downs, where his long levers, quickness and agility can overmatch guards. Faulk needs polish but offers a high ceiling that should reveal itself within a couple of years.”

The Meaningful Ones after Round 1

If the Vikings are not in the mood to spend their 1st-Rounder on an EDGE, well, they have eight more picks on the menu. Before the end of Round 4 — everything after Round 5 in the draft is a crapshoot that doesn’t typically amount to much — these are the EDGE names to know:

• Malachi Lawrence (UCF)
• R Mason Thomas (Oklahoma)
• Gabe Jacas (Illinois)
• Derrick Moore (Michigan)
• Dani Dennis-Sutton (Penn State)
• Romello Height (Texas Tech)
• Joshua Josephs (Tennessee)
• Keyron Crawford (Auburn)
• L.T. Overton (Alabama)
• Anthony Lucas (USC)

Stylistically, Jacas from Illinois would fit well within Brian Flores’s system.

Minnesota has drafted just one EDGE rusher in Round 1 in the last 20 years, the aforementioned Turner.

The $1 million Percy Sykes Stakes at Randwick features Reachin’ Out as the novice among nine, though she may hold the highest ceiling of improvement.

This Stay Inside filly turned heads with a resounding four-length debut success at Kensington last month, preceded by pair of effective barrier trials.

Adrian Bott and Gai Waterhouse wasted no time elevating her to Group 2 warfare, with early wagering reflecting approval by making the two-year-old the $3.60 elect in Saturday’s Percy Sykes Stakes over 1200m.

“That was her debut performance, and she ran good times on the day, some good figures off the back of it,” Bott said.

“She was excellent, and she looks like she has continued to improve.

“She is one of the fillies on the way up. The timing might be ideal for her for this race.”

Lumbini flies the Tulloch Lodge flag as well, having posted an unremarkable result from Queensland in the Sweet Embrace Stakes (1200m) before a heartening second to Pembrey in the Magic Night Stakes (1200m).

Her owners prioritized this race over a Golden Slipper tilt, even with the disadvantage of stall nine.

“She had a quick turnaround from the Gold Coast so she may have been in need of that first run, and she bounced back last start,” Bott said.

“It was always in the plan to come through to this race and skip the Slipper. We weren’t always trying to push her towards that, we thought she would be better placed here.

“She seems to be in good shape, and the form around her looks good.”

Agrarian Girl, runner-up in the Reisling Stakes and Golden Slipper reserve, was in Percy Sykes calculations for Tulloch Lodge, but Bott elected to spell her after her preparation peaked.

“We didn’t want to go one too many,” he said.

“She had been up for a while and just started to come to the end of it. We will do the right thing by her, and give her a bit of time.”

With Medicinal from Godolphin set for Sydney bow after Victorian double, and unbeaten Satono Glow homecoming from Flemington Group 3 win, the Percy Sykes Stakes looks compelling.

Rachini contributes via recent fourth in Group 1 Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m), while Screen Icon aims to rebound from Golden Slipper exclusion.

Visit betting sites for the latest racing betting markets on the Percy Sykes Stakes.

The Minnesota Vikings will have a Round 2 draft pick for the first time in four years on April 24th, and they might just spend it on a new linebacker: Jake Golday from Cincinnati.

Minnesota’s pre-draft homework keeps pointing toward linebacker help in the middle rounds.

The Vikings will meet with Golday this week via Top 30 visit. Needing youth at the ILB spot, Golday is a name to remember with the draft two weeks away.

Golday Fits the Vikings’ Need for Speed and Depth

Linebacker could be a target in Rounds 2 and 3.

MIN to Meet with Golday

The top off-ball linebackers in this year’s draft, Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles, will be long gone by the time Minnesota is called to the podium, but the Vikings are doing their diligence on inside linebacker nevertheless.

VikingzFanPage, an account with nearly 30,000 followers on Twitter (X), tweeted Wednesday, “Cincinnati LB Jake Golday will have a pre draft visit with the #Vikings later this week, per KSTP’s Darren Wolfson.”

Minnesota holds the 49th pick in the draft, also known as prime real estate to draft Golday, who is ranked No. 50 on the current Consensus Big Board.

The Golday Scouting Report

Golday is 6’4″ and 239 pounds, a 22-year-old Tennessean who will turn 23 a week after the draft. He’s known for his 4.62 speed at his size, high motor, and coverage skills. Downside? He played just one full season as an off-ball linebacker, and he fits better in a 4-3 defense, whereas the Vikings run a 3-4.

The Athletic‘s Dane Brugler on Golday: “A two-year starter at Cincinnati (and three-year starter overall), Golday played Sam linebacker in defensive coordinator Tyson Veidt’s 3-3-5 base scheme, playing to the field side. After three years in the FCS (two as a defensive end, one as a Mike linebacker), he moved up to the FBS in 2024 and joined the Bearcats.”

“He changed positions again and showed growing pains, but he continued ascending in 2025 and almost doubled his tackle production while cutting down on the mistakes. Golday was asked to operate in a ton of space in college (almost like a nickel defender), which helped showcase his gazelle-like speed to chase down the ball anywhere on the field.”

The Vikings onboarded a different off-ball linebacker from the same school three years ago: Ivan Pace Jr.

Brugler added, “His mental processing took a clear jump in 2025, which was the hope during his second season as a full-time overhang linebacker. Though he had the explosive athleticism to get away with false steps in the Big 12, it won’t be that easy in the NFL. He is trending in the right direction against the pass, but his coverage recognition isn’t yet a strength.”

“Golday is still unrefined in several areas, but his size, speed and ascending skill set are reasons to be encouraged. He projects as an immediate special teamer who can compete for defensive snaps during his rookie year.”

Vikings Current ILB Situation

Speaking of Pace Jr., the Vikings’ ILB setup is a little goofy right now because they dropped rookies Kobe King and Austin Keys midseason last year, two players who had no problems finding work right away. In short, Minnesota needs more inside linebackers, especially young ones, so it’s a safe bet to assume one joins the team from the draft or undrafted free agency.

Nonetheless, this is the current ILB group:

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

Cashman and Pace Jr. are scheduled to hit free agency in 2027.

Other Linebackers in Round 2 & 3

Golday won’t be the only off-ball linebacker available to Minnesota on Day Two of the draft. The rest of the field will look like this:

• C.J. Allen (Georgia)
• Jacob Rodriguez (Texas Tech)
• Anthony Hill Jr. (Texas)
• Josiah Trotter (Missouri)
• Kyle Louis (Pittsburgh)
• Jaishawn Barham (Michigan)

Hill Jr. from Texas could be a sweet fit in defensive coordinator Brian Flores’s system. Our Josh Frey noted on his skill set last month, “Hill’s greatest strength is his prowess in the running game combined with great tackling technique. He is alarmingly quick off the snap as a downhill blitzer, and as a result, he racked up tackles for loss during his collegiate career with 31.5 in 40 career games including 17 sacks.”

It’s actually a wonderful draft for a team to need a linebacker after Round 1 while still expecting the rookie to turn into something.

NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein compared Golday to Steelers linebacker Malik Harrison, who’s been in the league since 2020.

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) star Dewald Brevis revealed how he did not follow an advice KL Rahul gave him in his debut IPL season. Brevis, who missed the first few matches of the ongoing IPL 2026 season, is likely to return to action against the Delhi Capitals (DC) on Saturday, April 11.

In a conversation with CSK legend Ravichandran Ashwin, Brevis revealed how KL Rahul had adviced the youngster to be true to himself. However, he admitted to not following the same and learning his lesson the hard way eventually.

“Even in my young days, I remember KL Rahul told me my first IPL, always be true to yourself. That was his advice. What did I do? I went out, and I wasn’t true to myself at the start. But it was a beautiful journey. It has been great,” he said on Ashwin’s YouTube channel.

He reckoned that going through a difficult phase was important for his career. Before being a part of CSK, Brevis played three seasons for the Mumbai Indians (MI), having made his IPL debut in 2022. He also revealed how his time at MI shaped him, spending time and learning from the greats such as Rohit Sharma, Mahela Jayawardene, and Sachin Tendulkar.

“It was important for my journey to have gone through that. My time at MI, three years, really formed who I was. But in that time, I had to make that decision, I had to tell myself that any young cricketer, what is the most important in his life, and that is what all the people adviced me. I did good things, but I knew what I wanted. I have learned a lot in the nets, like spending time with Rohit, Mahela, Sachin Sir, and everyone. I felt like I needed to make decisions about what is good for my game,” he stated.

Brevis’s return would come as a huge boost for Chennai, who have struggled so far this season. They have lost all three of their matches and are at the bottom of the table.

“A big blessing came when Fleming and CSK reached out,” says Brevis

Talking about his stint with CSK, Dewald Brevis reflected that head coach Stephen Fleming and the franchise reaching out to him was a big blessing in itself. Brevis joined the five-time champions as an injury replacement for pacer Gurjapneet Singh midway through IPL 2025.

“A big blessing came when Fleming and CSK reached out and it was a very easy decision. It has been one of the best decisions, this stepping stone that I have had and CSK has only done good for me. In my young career, I did not play a lot. I was a lot on the side. You can only learn when you are out there, and the more you bat,” he said.

Brevis impressed right away, scoring 225 runs from six games at an average of 37.50 and a strike rate of 180.00. Therefore, he was retained by them for the IPL 2026 season as well.