Can past drafts help predict what Minnesota will do in 2026 NFL Draft?

Trends are real, and they are prevalent in the 2026 NFL Draft. San Francisco takes a running back in rounds three or four, Carolina has gone wide receiver in back-to-back drafts and could do it again this year, etc. Do the Minnesota Vikings have trends in the first round, and could they help us predict where Minnesota will go on Thursday?

Here are the first-round picks for the Vikings over the last 15 years: 2013: Sharrif Floyd, DT, Florida / CB Xavier Rhodes, CB, Florida State / Cordarrelle Patterson, WR, Tennessee 2014: Anthony Barr, LB, UCLA / Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Louisville 2015: Trae Waynes, CB, Michigan State 2016: Laquon Treadwell, WR, Ole Miss 2018: Mike Highes, CB, UCF 2019: Garrett Bradbury, C, NC State 2020: Justin Jefferson, WR, LSU / Jeff Gladney, CB, TCU 2021: Christian Darrisaw, OT, Virginia Tech 2022: Lewis Cine, S, Georgia 2023: Jordan Addison, WR, USC 2024: J. J. McCarthy, QB, Michigan / Dallas Turner, OLB, Alabama 2025: Donovan Jackson, G, Ohio State The position that stands out the most on this list is cornerback.

The trend suggests Minnesota prefers to go secondary in round one, especially at cornerback. With Dillon Thieneman, Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, or Jermod McCoy often mocked to the Vikings, this does, in fact, match the trend. This article originally appeared on Vikings Wire: NFL Draft: Past drafts paint a picture of what the Vikings may do