Hidden draft gem feels tailor-made for the Vikings defense
As a part of final offseason’s free company spending spree to fortify the trenches, the Minnesota Vikings doubled up on defensive tackles by signing Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave. One sport in the strikes looked greathowever the returns have been significantly diminished over the remainder of the season.
Couple the underachievement of the big-name veterans with the emergence of Jalen Redmond, and the Vikings are in line to change their pecking order at defensive sort out once more this offseason. While Allen’s contract is troublesome to maneuver on from, Hargrave is easy to offer as a possible reduce or commerce candidate.
The Vikings have a good quantity of younger inside line of defense expertise in place already, with Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins, Levi Drake Rodriguez, and Elijah Williams becoming a member of Redmond. But that ought to not cross the place off their 2026 draft board if a participant is deemed a match.
Hidden draft gem may fortify Minnesota Vikings’ inside DL youth motion
NFL Draft On SI’s Justin Melo recently identified one hidden draft gem to look at for every NFL workforce throughout the NFL Combine. For the Vikings, he went with Missouri defensive sort out Chris McClellan.
“Defensive tackle is a mid-round need for Brian Flores and the Minnesota Vikings. Missouri’s Chris McClellan has massive measurements (6-3, 315, 34-inch arms, 11-inch hands) and feels like a player Flores will appreciate. The Vikings would be an outstanding fit, and that sentiment should grow stronger after the combine.”
McClellan began his school profession at Florida earlier than transferring to Missouri and getting the alternative to start out. Over these two seasons at Missouri, he had 13.5 tackles for losses and eight.5 sacks (eight and 6, respectively, in 2025).
Common optimistic threads in evaluations of McClellan, together with Lance Zierlein of NFL.comnotice his measurement, play energy, and hand energy.
On the unfavourable facet, there are questions on constantly sustaining his pad stage and the broadness of his abilities as a cross rusher. Those flaws really feel like issues that may be coached up at the subsequent stage, with the sort of God-given measurables that can not be taught.
Entering the Scouting Combine, McClellan is lined as much as be a Day 2 or an early Day 3 draft choose, and CBS Sports notably has him at No. 72 of their general prospect rankings.
If the Vikings need him, with no fourth-round choose proper now, they could should take him if he is there in the third spherical at No. 82 general, wait to see if he is nonetheless on the board after they’re on the clock in the fifth spherical (No. 161) or, extra doubtless, commerce up from a type of two spots.
There’s no such factor as having an excessive amount of expertise alongside a defensive entrance. McClellan might be somebody who lands on the Vikings’ radar with that concept in thoughts, however loads of stars could should align for them to get him.
