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One of the names that was constantly emerging for the Minnesota Vikings in mock drafts heading into the 2026 NFL Draft was former Oregon Ducks safety Dillon Thieneman. Minnesota does have the uncertainty surrounding Harrison Smith, so the expert’s reasoning made sense.
Nonetheless, when the time came at No. 18, the Vikings decided to pass on Thieneman and instead select defensive tackle Caleb Banks. Moreover, Minnesota will be seeing a lot of Thieneman, given that the Chicago Bears selected the player at No. 25.
Minnesota did draft a
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