While the 2026 Minnesota Vikings have a lot to worry about on the offensive side of the ball, Brian Flores and the defense also have their fair share of concerns.
The offense always gets the headlines. The Vikings must figure out what to do with J.J. McCarthy. They just signed Kyler Murray, and C.J. Ham and Adam Thielen recently retired. Still, the silence over the defense has spoken volumes.
Flores is a defensive guru, and the fact that he isn’t a head coach somewhere could be seen as an injustice. (He’s still suing the NFL.) The Vikings have re-signed him, but they haven’t done anything in free agency to help him, which is crazy.
The team needs to help their defensive magician, because their current neglect of that side of the ball could leave the Vikings playing short-handed come preseason. Whether this has to do with the cap, the current GM situation, or something completely different is unknown.
After a relatively quiet postseason on defense before the 2025 season, Flores still led the team to the top five in sacks and yards allowed. Can the defensive guru pull another rabbit out of his hat if the Vikings decide to stay silent past the 2026 draft?
Defensive free agents still available
The Vikings haven’t added much on defense yet, but there are still some relatively big names available if the team feels they can swing it. Joey Bosa, Trevon Diggs, and D.J. Reader are three interesting options.
While all three free agents come in with massive injury questions, Bosa, Diggs, and Reader are looking for chances to redeem themselves. That creates an opportunity for the Vikings to potentially exploit the system by buying low and selling high if the team falls apart this year.
The team needs depth throughout. The Vikings are in a contract dispute with Jonathan Greenard. They also lack skill in the defensive backfield, especially if Harrison Smith retires, and they recently parted ways with Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave. Therefore, Bosa, Diggs, and Reader could be plug-and-play guys for one of the most talented defensive coordinators in the business.
If the Vikings stand pat before draft day, what should fans and Flores expect out of the front office based on the past? And how can Flores’ time with draft classes impact the future?
Flores and the drafts
Flores has been an integral part of six different draft classes. Three were as a head coach with the Miami Dolphins and three as the defensive coordinator for the Vikings.
In Flores’ three with the Dolphins, he selected at least one defensive player in each of those first-round picks. He took three defensive players after having six first-round draft picks. In his three seasons with the Vikings, Dallas Turner is the only of the four first-round picks who plays on defense.
Give Flores draft ammo, and he turns it into talent. He found Andrew Van Ginkel in the fifth round when Flores was with the Dolphins, and Dallas Turner is starting to look worthy of a first-round pick.
The same can’t be said of the Vikings’ defensive selections over the past 10 draft years. Only Josh Metellus, Minnesota’s sixth-round pick in 2020, has consistently made an impact.
Fans should not hold their breath when it comes to striking gold on defense in the draft. So that just leaves us one final question.
Can he make it happen?
If the Vikings choose not to make any more free-agent signings or focus on defense in the draft, expectations should be low.
Yet, if anyone has shown that they have what it takes, it would be Brian Flores. He’s the perfect defensive magician to pull a rabbit from what would be an otherwise indescript hat.
The only problem, as of this writing, could be the depth. If the front office grabs even one of the free agents already mentioned, it at least gives off the illusion that the Vikings are trying to play for more than just jobs.
Brian Flores is one of the best defensive coordinators in the league because he does a lot with a little. Still, if he does the impossible with an otherwise no-name defense, he could become a Vikings legend.
