Kenyon Sadiq News - MinnesotaSportsFan https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/tag/kenyon-sadiq/ Minnesota sports, but different Mon, 12 Jan 2026 19:32:19 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=32,height=32,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/cropped-cropped-MSF-favicon-1.jpg Kenyon Sadiq News - MinnesotaSportsFan https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/tag/kenyon-sadiq/ 32 32 Where MN Vikings Pick in 2026 NFL Draft and Possible Targets https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-vikings/2026-nfl-draft-options-sadiq-terrell-mcdonald/ Mon, 12 Jan 2026 17:17:24 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=78790 The latest Minnesota Vikings season somehow ended above .500, with a 9-8 record that, quite honestly, looks better on paper than it did unfolding in real time.

KOC, his staff and his culture deserve credit for holding Minnesota’s ship together when waters got rocky and postseason hopes died. There are a lot of teams around the league that would have let the walls cave-in on them, given the same situation.

MN Vikings ealing with lengthy offseason to-do list

But let’s be honest, most of Minnesota’s late-season “heroics”, on the football field, came against bad teams with unproven quarterbacks that defensive coordinator Brian Flores was able to take advantage of.

The best example came week 18 vs the watered-down (and Love-less) Green Bay Packers, who rolled into town for their regular season finale with Clayton Tune as their QB. Then, they cut him the Monday after.

One week later, the Packers have joined the Vikings on the playoff sideline, following a second half Wild Card collapse Saturday night vs shared NFC North rival, Chicago .

And while most teams receive a end-of-season consolation prize, once eliminated from postseason contention — their official NFL Draft position for that Spring — the Green Bay did not get to enjoy that loser’s luxury either.

Instead, they traded the 2026 first round pick they once owned (now No. 20 overall) to Dallas, as one of the featured pieces to their acquisition of superstar pass rusher, Micah Parsons.

Minnesota Vikings hold pick No. 18 in the 2026 NFL Draft

The Minnesota Vikings, meanwhile, have 99 offseason problems on their plate right now, but losing their first round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft is not one of them. On April 23, the Vikings are officially slotted to pick No. 18 overall in the first round.

Last season, the Vikings selected Donovan Jackson (guard) in the first round, out of Ohio State. In 2024, they traded up twice, one spot from 11 to 10, for J.J. McCarthy (quarterback); then again from 24 to 17 for Dallas Turner (edge).

What are MN Vikings looking for in 2026 NFL Draft?

Ten months later, teams across the league are preparing to go back on the clock. Mock drafts are all over the board right now, when it comes to the Minnesota Vikings. That’s not a surprise this early in the process.

When it comes to positional needs, it’s difficult to project where Kwesi and his scouting staff will focus most. They have needs all over the roster, right now (C, S, CB, WR, DT, RB, TE) but that hopefully won’t be the case three months from now, when the Draft takes place.

GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah - Minnesota Vikings at Pittsburgh Steelers

By then, we should have a lot more finality on the MN Vikings’ plans for QB JJ McCarthy in 2026, along with the future of Harrison Smith — not to mention the hindsight of NFL free agency, which opens in March.

But now that we know where the Vikings will pick, come April — Here are some names that are projected in the middle of the first round, and would seemingly fit what Minnesota is looking for.

Kenyon Sadiq – Tight End (Oregon)

With cap issues galore this offseason, the Minnesota Vikings will need to make some difficult decisions. Among them is a potential cut of tight end T.J. Hockenson. He hasn’t been nearly as good as expected, is expensive, and has been injured.

That would leave just Josh Oliver and Gavin Bartholomew as future talents at tight end. Kevin O’Connell adding Kenyon Sadiq would give the Vikings another offensive wrinkle.

Projected as TE1, he could go anywhere from a fringe top-10 pick, to somewhere in the early 20’s. He’s an athletic freak with speed and athleticism off the charts (don’t worry, he can block too). He turned in 560 yards and eight touchdowns this season for the Ducks. Sadiq would be a matchup problem for linebackers, and draw eyes off of Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison in Minnesota’s offense.

Aveion Terrell – Cornerback (Clemson)

Last offseason the Minnesota Vikings had to take big swings at the cornerback position. They brought back Byron Murphy Jr. and he ranked as just the 71st cornerback per Pro Football Focus. Isaiah Rodgers shined in Week 1, and finished 17th per Pro Football Focus.

Beyond that tandem though, the room is barren. Brian Flores had just three cornerbacks on the Week 1 roster, and Jeff Okudah was every bit the flop and injury concern he always has been as one of the three.

Aveion Terrell had 48 total tackles this season for Clemson. In 12 games he had 4.5 tackles for loss and three sacks. He picked off three passes over the course of his college career, and his brother A.J. Terrell has played well for the Atlanta Falcons.

There’s also a possibility that LSU’s Mansoor Delane could be available to the Minnesota Vikings. He would be another cornerback option in this range.

Kayden McDonald – Defensive Tackle (Ohio State)

In free agency last offseason, the MN Vikings addressed their interior defensive line by adding both Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen. The former was Minnesota’s best interior lineman not named Jalen Redmond. The latter was not good, and finished ranked a mere 84th by Pro Football Focus.

Hargrave is a cut candidate though, as he carries a cap hit over $21 million and has just under $10.5 million in dead cap. There’s only $4 million in cap savings to cut Allen, so he’ll likely be back, and the Vikings need more from him.

Kayden McDonald would bring youth to the Vikings defensive front. The Ohio State product had three sacks and nine tackles for loss from the interior this season. His 65 total tackles were impressive and he is considered as one of the best interior defenders in this class.

What Harrison Smith decides to do next season could put a need for safety in play during the first round. Minnesota should always be seeking offensive line help, and they could take a swing on another quarterback if the veteran stopgap option isn’t where they want to go.

]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 13:32:19 +0000 Minnesota Vikings