The 2026 NFL Draft will take place in Pittsburgh this week, in a city where the Vikings could select the next star they add to their roster in hopes of righting the proverbial ship. In the final days and moments ahead of the selections starting on Thursday, there is still plenty of mock drafts to sort through.

NFL Media's Eric Edholm recently released the latest 2026 NFL mock draft of the cycle, which has the team going in the defensive direction with a pick we have seen a time or two. He has them drafting Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman, in a selection that seems to be the one we shall see come Thursday night, based on the countless projections we have seen.

Edholm explains the Thieneman pick, writing, "The connection between this highly touted DB and the safety-needy Vikings has seemed obvious since early in the pre-draft process, and I don't see a stronger option. Maybe if this were a better DT class, I’d have considered someone from that position."

This pick continues to make just too much sense, given how many draft analysts we have projecting the same thing.

This article originally appeared on Vikings Wire: NFL Mock Draft: Vikings get defensive help from Eric Edholm