Dillon Thieneman, S, Oregon
Right off the bat, I’m sorry. What a boring pick. Go find a mock draft site, look up their latest first round mock, and they have Thieneman going to the Vikings at 18. Other than Fernando Mendoza to the Raiders, this has to be the most common pick for mock drafters. The reasons why are pretty easy to identify:
Maybe Downs slides and the Vikings can nab him, but Thieneman seems like a safe pick for them. He’s a smart ball-hawk with excellent college production in all three years. He’s on the smaller side for a safety but he’s quite agile, particularly running downhill (a 4.35 40 yard dash). I’d go on, but this pick’s analysis has frankly been done to death. What follows is a random aside about how snake-bitten a franchise the Vikings are, but feel free to skip to the end if you’re not interested.
Pity the Vikings fanbase. They root for a model franchise in the regular season and a perennial loser in the postseason. Seriously, the Vikings have the third-best regular season record (517-395-7, .566 W%) in the Super Bowl era behind only the Steelers and Cowboys and just ahead of the Dolphins and Patriots*. The next best regular season team without a Lombardi trophy are the sixteenth-ranked Chargers at 444-469-6, .486 W%. Their team lore, per Wikipedia, is just as sad:
Of the eleven lore pages there, three are positive for the Vikings, one where they’re a passenger in someone else’s story (the Santa Claus incident**), one is just weird (Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy), and seven are incidents Vikings fans probably want to forget. Even of those three positive events, only one came in the postseason, and the good feelings from that game (thankfully) only lasted a week.
*: Always nice to give the Patriots an asterisk. In the Super Bowl era, the Patriots’ regular season record is 507-411-1. Ties are rare in the NFL, but every other team in the NFL has tied at least twice in the last 60 seasons. The Patriots’ last tie? Week 3 in 1967, when they were still the Boston Patriots.
**: Until writing this article, I legitimately thought the Eagles were playing the Bills during the Santa Claus incident. Since the Bills were in the AFL in ’68, I guess this was impossible. The more you know!
2026 BGN Mock Draft Order
Raiders (Mailata_in_a_Miata): Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana
Jets (Dr.MidnightGreen): Arvell Reese, EDGE, Ohio State
Cardinals (grantspectations): Spencer Fano, OT, Utah
Titans (DrBubbles): Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame
Giants (ablesser88): Sonny Styles, LB, Ohio State
Browns (kjb304): Olaivavega Ioane, OG, Penn State
Commanders (Jerry Robinson 56): Carnell Tate, WR, Ohio State
Saints (VetStadiumSection358): David Bailey, EDGE, Texas Tech
Chiefs (Hoosinole): Caleb Downs, S, Ohio State
Bengals (chuckelberryfinn): Francis Mauigoa, OT, Miami
Dolphins (phillyfan): Jordyn Tyson, WR, Arizona State
Cowboys (ejdubya): Rueben Bain Jr., EDGE, Miami
Rams (All_Hail_Howie): Mansoor Delane, CB, LSU
Ravens (215T1LL1D1e): Monroe Freeling, OT, Georgia
Buccaneers (pascofljoe): Makai Lemon, WR, USC
Jets (Euegene11): Ty Simpson, QB, Alabama
Lions (BCHaas): Blake Miller, OT, Clemson
Vikings (The Player Formerly Known as Mousecop): Dillon Thieneman, S, Oregon
Panthers (jaynase)
Cowboys (Cravin’ LeBlanc)
Steelers (iam4theBirdz)
Chargers (Aint1stULast)
Eagles (Philly21)
Browns (FierceDisc65)
Bears (jazztafari)
Bills (PhillyTexan)
49ers (granthill7)
Texans (CrackTheEaglesNut)
Chiefs (z)
Dolphins (Booth12)
Patriots (Niels Rosenquist)
Seahawks (J. Wil)
2026 BGN Community Consensus Mock Draft
Now it’s YOUR TURN to vote for who you think should be selected with this pick.
Raiders: QB Fernando Mendoza
Jets: EDGE Arvell Reese
Cardinals: OT Francis Mauigoa
Titans: RB Jeremiyah Love
Giants: LB Sonny Styles
Browns: WR Carnell Tate
Commanders: EDGE David Bailey
Saints: EDGE Rueben Bain Jr.
Chiefs: S Caleb Downs
Bengals: CB Mansoor Delane
Dolphins: WR Jordyn Tyson
Cowboys: CB Jermod McCoy
Rams: WR Makai Lemon
Ravens: OT Monroe Freeling
Buccaneers: TE Kenyon Sadiq
Jets: OG Olaivavega Ioane
Lions: OT Spencer Fano
Vikings: