Which prospects are best fits for Brian Flores?

The Vikings need help on defense through the draft. Who might they target?

Photo courtesy Minnesota Vikings

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By Matthew Coller

The NFL Draft is on the way and the Minnesota Vikings have a good case for adding on the defensive side in the first two days of the draft. So let’s have a look at players whose profiles make sense with Brian Flores…

Tennessee, CB, Jermod McCoy

Why he’s a fit:

Assuming that McCoy’s medicals check out after missing 2025 with an ACL tear, the Volunteers’ cornerback has all the physical traits to add a different element to Flores’ dynamic system. Compared by Daniel Jeremiah to Stephon Gilmore, McCoy has the size (6-foot-1) to play more physically at the line of scrimmage than we have seen most Flores corners play in recent years but also has the natural coverage instincts to play in zones.

The way the Vikings have played defensively under Flores since 2023 is always hunting splash plays (pressures, sacks, interceptions, fumbles). McCoy picked off six passes between 2023 and 2024 and had 16 passes defended.

Even with a player like McCoy needing development, the possibility of starting him right away on the outside to battle with some bigger receivers and bumping Byron Murphy Jr. inside more often has to be enticing if McCoy is on the board at 18.

Clemson, CB , Avieon Terrell

Why he’s a fit:

The brother of AJ Terrell has a smaller stature but he plays like a guy that would get Flores fired up. NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein calls it “competitive energy.” He has a high motor in coverage and isn’t afraid to throw his hat in the mix when it comes to run defense (85.2 PFF run defense grade). He’s also another corner who can get his hands on the football with 21 passes defended and eight fumbles forced over the last two years. He only had two picks since 2024 but had his chances.

The thing that stands out from scouting reports most about Terrell is his football IQ. At any position on the Vikings’ defense, the ability to handle a heavy load mentally is required.

“Terrell projects as an early starter thanks to his polish, ball skills and coverage versatility,” Zierlein wrote on NFL.com.

San Diego State, CB, Chris Johnson

Why he’s a fit:

It feels like if Johnson went to Alabama and not San Diego State that he’d be talked about as a lock for the first round. Per PFF, he allowed only 18 completions on 43 targets and had four interceptions in 2025. Where he thrived the most was in zone coverage, which the Vikings play more than any other team in the NFL.

At the NFL Combine, he produced the No. 1 athleticism score by NFL.com, running a 4.4 40-yard dash and bench pressing 17 reps. NFL.com’s comparison to him: Byron Murphy Jr.

The only thing lacking is length. That might hurt him against some bigger receivers, as it does for Murphy Jr., but Johnson’s ball skills and patience in coverage him him a chance to be an excellent fit.

Oregon, S, Dillon Thieneman

Why he’s a fit:

Since the entire universe is mocking Thieneman to the Vikings, maybe it’s a Captain Obvious move to put him on the list but let’s dive into why everyone sees the Vikings taking him in the first round.

First is his athleticism. Thieneman ranked No. 1 among safeties on NFL.com’s Athleticism score coming out of the combine. Speed, explosiveness, leaping ability, strength. He has it all.

He checks the playmaking/production box as well. The Oregon standout had eight interceptions over the last three years and 306 tackles. PFF gave him a 91.1 coverage grade.

Playing the role of Harrison Smith is something that takes years to master but Thieneman was the quarterback of Oregon’s defense and saw his role shift over his three college seasons. At Purdue, he was purely a free safety but last year in the Pacific Northwest he had 434 snaps in the box, 118 in the slot and 247 as a free safety, per PFF. NFL.com even compares him to former Flores draft pick Jevon Holland. You can’t draw it up much better than that.

Toledo, S, Emmanuel McNeil-Warren

Why he’s a fit:

You might argue that McNeil-Warren’s quality of competition was not as high as a player like Thieneman but he has been a dominant player for Toledo, racking up nine career forced fumbles and five interceptions over the last three seasons and he graded 92.0 in coverage in 2026, giving up just six receptions into his coverage all year.

McNeil-Warren is considered more of a box safety than a free safety but he has the long speed to play anywhere on the field and the aggressiveness and instincts to be an instant-impact playmaker. While he isn’t quite the same level athlete as Nick Emmanwori, we have seen the value of a lanky, rangy player that roams the box or secondary versus NFL offenses that are often throwing quick passes and running the football.

There are some parts of his game that have questions, like whether he can hang one-on-one with blazing fast receivers but this is also a defensive scheme that has had a safety in his late-30s over the last three years and Flores has worked the scheme around him. The Vikings need a difference maker and McNeil-Warren has that capability.

Arizona, CB/S, Treydan Stukes

Why he’s a fit:

Back in the day if somebody got labeled as a slot corner, they were mostly type casted as a backup. These days, with teams playing nickel packages in a high percentage of snaps and with many offenses lining up top receivers on the inside or in condensed splits, being a nickel cornerback isn’t an insult.

Last year Stukes played 380 snaps as a slot corner and 197 as a box safety. That might give you the impression that he wasn’t a top-notch athlete but he proved that idea wrong at the NFL Combine when he ran a 4.33 40-yard dash.

Even if his skillset isn’t man-to-man coverage vs. top receivers and instead its closing windows and making plays on the football (4 INTs last year), that works within the construct of what Flores likes to do.

Stukes is also known as a student of the game — a necessity for B-Flo’s room.

TCU, S, Bud Clark

Why he’s a fit:

There might not be a top-100 ranked prospect in the draft who was used in a more versatile role than Clark. He played 313 snaps in the slot, 250 as a box safety and 160 as a deep safety. Over his last four years, Clark has 15 interceptions, two touchdowns and he even blocked a kick. His versatility could allow him to project at any of the three positions in the NFL or move around on a play-to-play basis.

The TCU product isn’t a freak athlete but posted good enough numbers at the NFL Combine to belong on the field and allow his instincts to take over. Clark was also a team captain each of the last three seasons.

South Carolina, CB/S, Jalon Kilgore

Why he’s a fit:

Kilgore put on a show at the NFL Combine, with a 4.4 40-yard dash, and 10’10’’ broad jump, ranking him as NFL.com’s fourth most athletic safety in the 2026 draft. Those numbers along with 33-inch arms and 210-pound frame make him a potential difference maker right off the bus.

In college he played as a nickel corner and box safety and showed impressive playmaking instinct with seven interceptions over the last two years and 15 PBUs since 2024.

Kilgore does not exactly profile as a Harrison Smith replacement, rather a Josh Metellus type big nickel player who can make plays against the run, cover the new wave of freaky tight ends like Sam LaPorta, Tucker Kraft and Colston Loveland and cause problems as a blitzer.

Ohio State, DT, Kayden McDonald

Why he’s a fit:

The No. 1 run stuffer in the draft is massive at 326 pounds has the ability to displace blockers with his strength and has some shake and quickness to him in bursts.

McDonald doesn’t exactly fit with the way the Vikings have set up the defensive line since Flores arrived. They have largely had players closer to 300 pounds who could jump from gap to gap or run stunts rather than a big ole dude taking up two blockers. But that might change this year considering that the Vikings struggled to stop the run last year when they had Hargrave/Allen in the mix and McDonald might open up Jalen Redmond and blitzers for pass rush opportunities.

Clemson, DT, Peter Woods

Why he’s a fit:

Woods doesn’t have the sack/pressure production that you’d like to see from a first-round defensive tackle but he is a powerful body mover who can push the pocket. His skillset reads similarly to Harrison Phillips but with more potential pass rush upside. He does a lot of little things, like beating reach blocks with quickness or splitting a double team. Those aren’t exactly going to be highlighted on SportsCenter but they do matter on a team that needs more strength on the defensive line.

The question facing Woods is where he is going to end up in the draft. Mock Draft Database’s consensus mock has him going 22nd but NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah has him out of the top 32 players in the draft.

Georgia, DT, Christen Miller

Why he’s a fit:

Miller is a run-stuffing defensive tackle but he isn’t your typical nose tackle. He lined up in both the A and B gaps regularly at Georgia and used his strength and explosiveness to move bodies.

Flores’ system has not usually had a 0-technique DT and has instead opted for run defenders who can hold the point of attack and rarely get pushed around one-on-one. In this defense, defensive tackles help to create lanes for linebackers to rush the passer or blow up run plays as we have seen from Blake Cashman, Ivan Pace Jr. and Eric Wilson over the last three years. That’s a Miller specialty.

Oklahoma, DT, Gracen Halton

Why he’s a fit:

What if the Vikings had two Jalen Redmonds?

The undersized three-technique has a unique ability to get into gaps an make plays, which is evidenced by his 86.9 PFF run stopping grade despite his lack of girth. Halton ranked just above Peter Woods in run-stop percentage and he’s also been able to get into the backfield for 8.5 sacks over the last two seasons.

Halton’s energy and effort are also notable as well.

The DT position is the one that Flores has been most willing to rotate in previous years, so there could be a spot for a situational player who can make a difference doesn’t fit the perfect size specs.

Auburn, ED, Keldric Faulk

Why he’s a fit:

The big question surrounding Faulk is: What do you do with him? He’s 6-foot-6, 276 pounds and has 34-inch arms and is only 20 years old. Is he a large edge rusher? An undersized interior player?

Flores has shown in the past that he isn’t afraid to work with players that don’t exactly fit into a perfect box. In 2024, he turned a player with similar size Jihad Ward into an inside rusher on passing downs. The fact that Faulk is so young and moldable could mean that Flores could decide on a role, possibly a five-technique type spot in the 3-4 defense, and then develop him.

Faulk’s character marks are also reportedly high, which has shown to matter a lot to Flores.

UCF, ED, Malachi Lawrence

Why he’s a fit:

The 6-foot-4, 253-pound edge rusher lit up the NFL Combine with the second best NFL.com athleticism score of any pass rusher at the event. He ran a blazing 4.52 40-yard dash and posted a 40-inch vertical. On the football field, Lawrence looks like a carbon copy of Jonathan Greenard. He doesn’t blow opponents away with power but he has quickness, a bag of pass rush moves and a high motor. Because he is on the lighter side, there will be questions about how he handles the run and edge setting

Lawrence had 7.0 sacks this year and was First Team All-Big 12. He posted an elite 19.2% pass-rush win rate and 89.5 PFF pass rush grade.

Oklahoma, ED, R Mason Thomas

Why he’s a fit:

There is a good chance that Thomas will drop in the draft because he doesn’t fit the typical outline of an edge rusher. He’s small at 6-foot-2, 240 pounds and is lacking in wingspan or hand size but he’s high on twitchiness and production. He was first-team All-SEC this year with 6.5 sacks and had 9.0 sacks in 2024. By PFF metrics, he had a 90.3 pass rush grade and eye-popping 20.3% pass-rush win rate.

If Flores can find a way to get Eric Wilson 37 QB pressures and 6.0 sacks last season by rushing him in a lot of different ways, why not a player like Thomas? Flores has often leaned into the idea of natural football players being more effective than NFL Combine freaks.