The Minnesota Vikings have not exercised useful drafting habits in the last four years, but there’s hope the club can reverse the trend in 2026. It’s a new era, including the first draft class not picked by former general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.

Minnesota’s newest class has multiple realistic paths to early playing time.

In short, the Vikings need rookies to contribute more immediately because the last four years, well, ain’t pretty.

A Rookie Class Built for Faster Contributions?

When will rookies get love from the Vikings’ coaching staff?

2022 Rookies: 20 Games Started in 2022

The Class:

In 2022, Ingram started all 17 games, Evans checked in at 2, and Booth got the nod for 1. This group now lives in infamy as one of the Vikings’ worst draft classes ever, and perhaps one of NFL history’s most disappointing as well.

Sadly, the class set the tone for the rest of Adofo-Mensah’s picks. Fans grew accustomed to rookies not playing in Year One and not really working out at all.

2023 Rookies: 20 Games Started in 2022

The Class:

Addison takes the cake — probably the best Adofo-Mensah draft pick overall — with 17 starts as a rookie. Blackmon, now an Indianapolis Colt, started three in 2023, with Hall starting twice and Roy finding the starting lineup once.

Fast forward to this offseason, and Addison, along with Ward, is the only two members from this class left on the squad. For what it’s worth, Ward may start in 2026 if Harrison Smith doesn’t return, so he isn’t an utterly failed pick.

2024 Rookies: 0 Games Started in 2024

The Class:

Of all classes from the last five, including 2026, this was probably the most exciting (at the time) from a fan’s standpoint. The result? Zero games started by any of these men as rookies.

McCarthy tore his meniscus in August 2024, disqualifying himself from a roster competition with Sam Darnold. On Turner, he had Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel in front of him on the depth chart. Jackson tragically passed away a couple of months after Minnesota drafted him.

Reichard is a stud, but kickers don’t technically start on Sundays.

2025 Rookies: 15 Games Started in 2025

The Class:

Jackson started 14 games last season, battling an injured wrist that held him out of the lineup thrice. Generally speaking, Jackson has the makings of a draft hit — or at least a more bankable commodity than most of Adofo-Mensah’s picks.

Ingram-Dawkins started one game in 2025 and is now buried on the depth chart behind 2026 rookies Caleb Banks and Domonique Orange. Felton is the team’s WR4. The Vikings oddly dropped King in December. Bartholomew spent most of 2025 on injured reserve.

This class probably needs Jackson to turn into a Pro Bowler to make it worthwhile.

The Year’s Hopefuls

Which brings us to the post-Adofo-Mensah era. To give you an example of how low the bar is right now, if each of these rookies started six games in 2026, the class would smash the previous four batches in one swoop.

Folks will spend the summer wondering if Banks will start; he’s battled back-to-back foot injuries that worried draft pundits leading into April.

Almost every other non-Banks rookie has a path to playing time — if one assumes the era of poor drafting is over. Zone Coverage‘s Zac Scholl recently noted specifically about Orange, “Given that the Vikings struggled against the run more this past season, Orange will be able to see the field early.”

“Add in that the defensive line room is missing some established talent, and Orange could immediately be a staple in Brian Flores’ defense. Expect projected starting linebackers Blake Cashman and Eric Wilson to be very happy about that.”

Based on sheer probability — it’s actually challenging to draft so many poor players in four years — the Vikings are due for a reversal of fortune, which could arrive as early as September from the 2026 crop.

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