What Excites the Vikings About Each of Their Day 2 Draft Picks

The Vikings followed up their big swing on Caleb Banks in round one by adding four more talented players in rounds two and three of the NFL draft on Friday night. They didn't come into the evening planning on taking three defensive players, but that's the way their board fell, and coordinator Brian Flores won't be complaining.

The draft wraps up with rounds four through seven and college free agency on Saturday. But as Day 3 gets going, let's take a look back at Day 2 and dive into what the Vikings like about each of the four prospects they selected in the 50-100 range — a haul they hope will produce several impact starters.

Round 2, Pick 51: Jake Golday, LB, Cincinnati

Golday, the Vikings' first second-round pick in four years, is a player whose productivity, athleticism, and versatility has the franchise extremely excited.

After starting his career at Central Arkansas as an edge defender, he moved to middle linebacker for his final FCS season and then transferred up a level to Cincinnati two years ago. With the Bearcats, he was a Sam linebacker who played quite a bit as an overhang defender almost in a nickel alignment, which allowed him to use his remarkable burst to make plays in space. Golday ran a 4.62 40 and recorded a 39-inch vertical at nearly 6'5" and 240 pounds.

Over two seasons at Cincinnati, Golday racked up 13 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, 5 passes defended, and 3 forced fumbles. He is a rangy playmaker with the awareness to diagnose what's happening and the physical tools to go make things happen. He earned a 90.6 PFF run defense grade last season.

The versatility Golday will bring to Flores' defense is highly intriguing. They can use him as a true off-ball linebacker like Eric Wilson, where he has the skill set to beat running backs as a blitzer. He also projects as an understudy in the Andrew Van Ginkel role at OLB.

"Based upon his size and length and football instincts, IQ, he's a really good tackler, we think he can give us some snaps on the edge," Kevin O'Connell said. "And really those edge positions, the location that Andrew Van Ginkel plays versus that rush edge position that Jonathan Greenard (played) and we've seen Dallas Turner have his biggest impact at, they're really two different positions in Flo's scheme.

"We think Jake gives us really good depth as an off-the-ball 'backer, we think he gives us a guy that can learn from Andrew Van Ginkel, has some of those characteristics to him. We hosted him on that 30 visit and really dove into his football intelligence. He's a guy that, for his size, has the athletic ability and the space awareness and instincts to play a role out there in space like we've asked Andrew Van Ginkel to do."

Jake Golday just went to the perfect defense for his skill set
— Jon Ledyard (@LedyardNFLDraft) April 25, 2026

It'll be very interesting to see what Golday's role on defense looks like as a rookie. From a long-term perspective, the ceiling of what he can become in Flores' scheme feels quite high.

Round 3, Pick 82: Domonique Orange, DT, Iowa State

The Vikings double dipped at the defensive tackle position when they used their first of three third-round picks on Orange, AKA "Big Citrus," a big-time nose tackle from Iowa State. With Banks and Orange coming to Minnesota, the Vikings feel like they've added two large, talented men who can be cornerstones of their defense and whose skill sets should complement each other nicely.

The upside with Banks has a lot to do with what he can become as an interior pass rusher from a 3-technique alignment all the way out to a 5-technique. Orange is a true 0-technique nose who will line up in the middle of the D-line, take on blocks, and be extremely hard to move because of his size and strength.

"We found it incredibly valuable to add really a big-bodied nose tackle that has already put on tape, at a very consistent level, the ability to be a very difficult guy to move in there," O'Connell said. "Taking on double teams, doing some of the dirty work, played a ton of snaps for a bigger-bodied guy."

Domonique Orange | Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

Orange's game is mostly about his impact on the run on early downs. But the Vikings do feel like he has some upside to contribute as a pass rusher, even though he had only one sack in his college career. Orange did have 55 pressures across four years at ISU, including 17 on just 176 pass rush snaps in 2024. He is a pretty remarkable athlete for his size.

"I think he's a guy that is gonna be able to maybe grow his pass-rush repertoire," O'Connell said. "He's got that in his body."

In a world where both players come close to reaching their ceiling, Banks and Orange could wind up reminding Vikings fans of the "Williams Wall" of Kevin and Pat from the late 2000s.

Round 3, Pick 97: Caleb Tiernan, OT, Northwestern

With their only offensive pick in the top 100, the Vikings added some important O-line depth by selecting Tiernan, who some analysts thought would go as high as the second round. He's a massive lineman at nearly 6'8" and 323 pounds who did well in the vertical and broad jumps at the combine.

Tiernan, first and foremost, proved to be a very good football player in the Big Ten. He was a four-year starter at Northwestern, serving as the Wildcats' left tackle for the past three seasons. Tiernan earned consistently excellent grades in pass protection and also shows plenty of ability as a run blocker on tape.

Caleb Tiernan | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

"A guy that played a ton of football at the left tackle position in the Big Ten," O'Connell said. "This is a guy, when you're counting the balls and strikes of production, one of the more productive tackles when you're studying him. He's got great size and good feet to go along with that. He uses those feet to maybe make up for any arm length questions."

The arm length thing is the big question a lot of analysts had. Tiernan has a very unique build as a 6'8" tackle with very short arms (just over 32 inches) and small hands.

Caleb Tiernan's unusual spider chart | mockdraftable.com

On that front, Tiernan gave a great quote on Friday night after being drafted. "It's not an arm length competition on the field, it's a physicality competition," he said. "I feel like I've got that, and that's what's allowed me to succeed."

Some have speculated that his arm length could cause Tiernan to end up as a guard in the NFL. The Vikings, it seems, plan to have him work as a tackle to begin his career but could be open to exploring his versatility later down the line.

This is a pick that reflects the importance in having depth on the offensive line and in developing players who can potentially step into major roles in the future. Tiernan won't start as a rookie, but whether he sticks at tackle or moves to guard, he could have a bright future in Minnesota.

Round 3, Pick 98: Jakobe Thomas, S, Miami

With their last pick of the night, with a selection they acquired in the Jonathan Greenard trade, the Vikings finally added a defensive back. Thomas was a bit of a reach based on the consensus board, which had him going somewhere in the fifth round, but when you watch the highlights and listen to him talk, it's pretty easy to understand the appeal here for Minnesota.

Thomas spent his first three seasons at Middle Tennessee State, moved up to Tennessee in 2024, and then became one of the best players on a Miami defense that helped take the Canes all the way to the national title game last year. Across 16 games, he recorded 5 interceptions, 6 PBUs, 3.5 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles. He earned an 89.1 PFF coverage grade.

Jakobe Thomas | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

In a lot of ways, Thomas feels like a perfect Flores defensive back. He will fly downhill as a run defender or a blitzer, and he has the instincts and ball skills to make plays in coverage.

"I would file Jakobe under the category of, in many ways, a great fit as a safety in our defense," O'Connell said. "Play style jumps off the tape, he's a very highly intelligent player. Jakobe's a good blitzer, he's a good tackler, and I know Flo is incredibly excited about him as a communicator and his upside, football IQ, in a year that Harrison Smith has moved on."

What stands out most about Thomas is that he is a passionate competitor. He's a bit of a throwback safety who will light somebody up if he gets the opportunity. Thomas isn't an elite testing athlete, and sometimes his aggressiveness will get him in trouble. But he absolutely has the mindset you want your defensive backs to have. He's got that dog in him, as they say.

"My parents have been through a lot," Thomas said. "And any time I line up against somebody else with an opposite-color jersey on, they're taking food out of my mom's mouth. And I can't let that happen. So any time I get the opportunity to blitz or play football in general, I'm playing at a hundred percent, a thousand percent effort at all times. It's just a mindset thing."

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