Sports
Vikings Draft Class Looks Promising in Early Training Camp Practices
One of my favorite parts of training camp in my NFL front office years (and now in my media work) has been to closely watch the team’s draft picks and project their potential impact as rookies. These young players are the shiny new toys for coaches as they determine if they can trust the rookies to see the field when the regular season comes.
As I’ve watched practices this week—especially the fully padded sessions on Monday and Wednesday–I’ve been impressed with the potential of this Vikings draft class. Time will tell as we won’t really know how impactful these players will be in Year 1 until the regular season and perhaps several weeks into the schedule. It certainly appears that many of the nine 2026 draftees will contribute as backups and good special teamers and several could start.
We’ll have plenty of time to break down the quarterback situation where Kyler Murray will likely be named the starter before the joint practices with the Ravens on August 19-20. For this week, I’ll depart from the QB discussion and give my early impressions of the 2026 draft class.
The GM & The Vikings Draft Class
Caleb Banks: The first-rounder is listed at 6-6, 327 pounds and he looks really big when you see him on the field. The best news is he’s practiced every day after recovering from his foot surgery that sidelined him in the offseason program.
Like many rookies, Banks is up and down. I saw him dominate in one-on-ones on Monday and then look average or worse when taking on two blockers in a drill on Wednesday. He’s going to be a work in progress and perhaps needs to get in better shape to play consistently in the summer heat but the tools are there and the coaches have to be a bit patient but still push him hard. A healthy Banks should start at defensive tackle as he perfects the scheme and utilizes his size and strength to be a force inside.
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Jake Golday: He’s a future starter on the Vikings defense, whether as an edge player or an inside linebacker. Golday is athletic, versatile and looks smooth wherever he lines up. The second-round pick should be the third edge rusher as a rookie, providing relief for Andrew Van Ginkel and Dallas Turner and perhaps lining up with them as pass rushers at times. He appears destined to be a Van Ginkel clone who can rush the passer, stop the run and drop effectively into coverage.
With Blake Cashman, Eric Wilson and Ivan Pace at inside backer, it’s apparent Golday’s greatest impact this season will be if he’s that third edge rusher/OLB and doing it well. He’s been lining up both inside and outside in camp so he has a lot on his plate in learning multiple positions.
Golday definitely should be a top special teamer immediately and I expect him to make some big plays in that area. The Vikings personnel people and coaches obviously thought highly of him as they passed up quality centers and safeties to take Golday as a higher rated player on their draft board. It won’t surprise me if he winds up as the best player in this Vikings draft class.
Domonique Orange: “Big Citrus” is the prototypical run-stuffing nose tackle/defensive tackle who certainly looks the part as a third round pick who should contribute this season and perhaps be a future Vikings starter. He didn’t practice on Monday with a minor injury but to his credit, he was back at practice Tuesday and Wednesday and had the defensive coaches highly excited by one of his reps in one-on-ones. Orange’s size and strength should be a big help to the run D this season.
Caleb Tiernan: What struck me in first seeing him is his size and especially his height at 6-7. He looks like he has good feet and the word is he can play guard even if he looks best suited at tackle.
The third-rounder probably won’t play this season unless injuries hit the O-line as vet Ryan Van Demark seems headed for the swing tackle backup role. It’s hard to know at this juncture about a young O-lineman but I think Tiernan has a good Vikings future ahead and it won’t be a surprise if he’s a starter somewhere on the offensive line by his third season.
He’s a player to watch in Vikings preseason games when Brian O’Neill and Christian Darrisaw get very few snaps in order to keep them healthy.
Jakobe Thomas: He’s a confident looking safety with good size and instincts to possibly start if Harrison Smith does not return. The coaches will watch the third rounder closely this month and he’ll get a lot of play time in preseason games with the opportunity to push his way into a big role as a rookie.
Even if Smith comes back, I think Thomas has a solid chance to be the third safety ahead of Theo Jackson and Jay Ward. Thomas needs to be the safety who can run with receivers going deep and play the underneath routes against tight ends while also being a run stopper.
The Vikings need more interceptions from their safeties after having only four from the two safety spots last season (two each by Smith and Josh Metellus). Thomas had five picks last season for Miami along with 3.5 sacks so he can cover and blitz. He also played the run well with 76 tackles. He should be a future starter and could be a rookie starter at a position of need.
Max Bredeson: He’s built solid at 6-2, 252 pounds and he’s a physical blocker at fullback who has good hands. I saw him make a nice catch in the flat in a team drill this week. He steps into the C.J. Ham role as a strong lead blocker, reliable pass catcher in the flat and excellent special teamer. I expect the Vikings fifth rounder to see the field a fair amount this season.
Charles Demmings: This fifth-round pick is making an impact with his physical coverage skills at training camp, He comes out of small school Stephen F. Austin but I’m impressed that he’s not intimidated in his first NFL camp which we saw when he put a big hit on vet WR Jauan Jennings in practice this week.
Demmings could push vet free agent signee James Pierre for the third corner or at least become the fourth corner who gets play time in certain defensive schemes and in the event of injury to the other corners.
He’s a 4.4 guy with good size at 6-1, 193 pounds who can run with wide receivers and should be able to play the run. Demmings will get good battle testing trying to cover the Vikings talented WR corps in camp and he’ll be worth watching when he plays a lot in preseason games. He should be another special teams standout. There have been a lot of late-round corners who wound up being great players. Perhaps Demmings can be such a player.
Demond Claiborne: He’s an attention grabber in camp with his blazing speed (4.37 in the 40) which makes him the Vikings’ fastest running back and a potential sixth-round steal. He was a dual threat player at Wake Forest but he’s had a few drops early in camp so he needs to fine tune his concentration in the passing game. He also was a good kick returner in college and will be in the mix for a return role.
Claiborne will play a lot in the preseason games as the team limits the play time of Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason. It will be fun to see how Claiborne performs and if he can be a viable option as a change of pace back this season with a possible bigger role in the future.
Gavin Gerhardt: He’s most likely a developmental player this season who will have to work hard to make the team and may wind up on the practice squad if he can’t beat out Michael Jurgens as the Vikings’ No. 2 center. It’s too soon to tell if he has an NFL future but Gerhardt will get snaps in the preseason games.
Center was a need position going into the draft but the Vikings took higher-rated players at other positions and waited until the seventh round to select Gerhardt who had plenty of starting experience in college at Cincinnati. Starting center Blake Brandel was a sixth rounder in 2020 so it’s certainly possible for a late round pick to emerge on the O-line.
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