The Minnesota Vikings‘ struggles in the NFL draft, particularly in the late rounds, appear to be continuing even after the team moved on from former general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah largely because of his continued misses on prospects over a four-year stretch.
In fairness to new GM Nolan Teasley, he was not part of the organization when the Vikings headed into the 2026 draft in April. Still, interim general manager Rob Brzezinski and head coach Kevin O’Connell look as though they missed on sixth-round running back Demond Claiborne, who has struggled with injury in recent days and has a fatal flaw that could render him “unplayable,” according to Judd Zulgad of SKOR North.
“I had [Claiborne] chartered with at least three dropped passes,” Zulgad said during a podcast episode that aired on Thursday, August 6. “He missed a couple of practices [with injury], came back yesterday, and I’m gonna tell you right now — the drops were awful. Like, it’s unplayable.”
Vikings Now Likely to Run Back 2026 With Jordan Mason, Aaron Jones
GettyRunning back Demond Claiborne of the Minnesota Vikings.
Claiborne was an important pick for Minnesota, despite coming off the board at No. 198 overall, because the Vikings came into the offseason with a mandate to juice up the offensive backfield.
Jordan Mason, who the team acquired ahead of the 2025 campaign, is on track to be the primary rusher of the football, but he does not fit in the pass game particularly well, either.
Meanwhile, veteran Aaron Jones is back on a one-year deal, but he is entering his 10th NFL season, during which he will turn 32 years old.
Claiborne produced north of 2,500 rushing yards over his final three seasons at Wake Forest (34 games played) and ran a 4.37-second 40-yard dash at the NFL combine in February. But that is not going to be enough to get him on the field in Minnesota, according to Zulgad.
“He’s got great speed. I think we all question the blocking aspect. That’s fair to question. That you don’t really know until you see it at game speed,” Zulgad explained. “But catching the football, which I think should be a prerequisite for your ability to play, he simply dropped the ball. And they were bad drops, and they were a variety of drops.”
“I’ve gone from projecting [him] on the [53-man roster] to … Demond Claiborne replaced by Zavier Scott,” Zulgad continued. “I do not see [Claiborne] making the 53.”
Kevin O’Connell Attempting to Overhaul Vikings’ Run-Game Approach This Season
GettyHead coach Kevin O’Connell of the Minnesota Vikings.
Regardless of what looks like a miss on Claiborne, Minnesota is still optimistic about revamping its run game in 2026 with the same primary duo it fielded last season.
The reason, per Alec Lewis of The Athletic, is a long-game approach from O’Connell to shift how the team approaches its rushing attack.
“This spring, after years of internal and external dissection, head coach Kevin O’Connell attempted to overhaul the Vikings’ run game,” Lewis wrote Thursday. “Staff changes preceded alterations in teaching philosophies. Coaches conveyed new training methods to players. In the last week, the Vikings have installed new elements of the playbook featuring refined personnel groupings, bespoke motion and a detailed focus on a couple of staple run concepts.”
Whether coaching and scheme will be enough to shift the Vikings’ run game meaningfully in 2026 or not remains to be seen, though a speedy Claiborne on the roster certainly would be of help, if he can turn things around in the coming weeks.
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