The Minnesota Vikings don't want to take any chances during the 2026 season. Minnesota re-signed Carson Wentz on Thursday, further reinforcing their quarterback room. One Vikings insider suggested the team should make an aggressive trade to add more offensive talent during the 2026 NFL Draft.
The Athletic's Alec Lewis released a new Vikings mock draft on Thursday. Lewis include a bold trade in the mock draft, having Minnesota trade up to the 11th overall pick to acquire Notre Dame's Jeremiyah Love.
“Love’s fit in Minnesota is tantalizing. He has home-run hitting ability, which is currently lacking from the Vikings’ running backs room (made up of Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason),” Lewis wrote. “He is also an exceptional pass catcher. You can imagine how productive he’d be in a system that requires defenses to play vertically. The Vikings have eyed Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs in past years. Love can reach those levels.”
The Vikings sent the 18th overall pick, a 2027 third-round pick, and a 2027 fifth-round pick to the Dolphins for the 11th overall pick. Lewis suggested that Miami may be interested in scooping up additional 2027 draft picks as they enter an extensive rebuild.
But will Love even be available at the 11th overall pick?
Many mock drafts have Love going off the board early in the first round, some as high as the second overall pick. ESPN NFL Draft analyst Matt Miller even has Love as the top player on his big board.
Lewis addressed this concern in his mock draft.
“Will Love fall to No. 12? It’s a fair question. Dane Brugler, The Athletic’s draft expert, had him third in his most recent ranking of the top 100 draft prospects,” Lewis added. “Most major draft analysts project him as a top-10 pick, but there’s always a chance when teams are privy to more information than the public.”
It is certainly exciting to fantasize about Minnesota landing Love, regardless of how likely it is to happen.
