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It's Halloween weekend, and many people will likely dress up as their favorite Vikings players and coaches while attending parties or going house-to-house for a sweet treat while trick-or-treating.
The 2026 NFL season has been pretty sweet for the Vikings so far. Minnesota is the only undefeated team in the league through seven weeks, but that streak is on the line Sunday when the team travels to the Motor City to face the rival Lions for the first time this season.
This spooky time of year is a reminder that sometimes the scariest things happen when things seem to be going extremely well. That's why many horror movies start with what seems to be a perfect family living a perfect life, only to devolve into chaos with each scene.
This season might appear perfect for the Purple and Gold, but it could give fans a false sense of security. Many questions surround the team's future, but one area of staying competitive is more terrifying than most.
Like the cheerleader struggling to stay alive in a slasher film, the Vikings have struggled with turning their draft picks into major contributors. Minnesota has drafted 37 players over the last five years, and only 17 are still on the roster.
Of those 17, there are five starters:
Minnesota hired former Seahawks personnel expert Nolan Teasley to be the team's new general manager after Kwesi Adodo-Mensah was relieved of his duties. Hopefully, Teasley will have better success in the draft than his predecessor, especially when he finally gets to participate in his first one with the Vikings next April.
But what if he doesn't?
Another struggling draft class could be like getting candy corn at every house where you trick-or-treat. Minnesota isn't exactly built for a sustainable future since they don't have a franchise quarterback, several major contributors are set to become free agents after this season (such as Andrew Van Ginkel, T.J. Hockenson, Blake Cashman and others), and defensive coordinator Brian Flores is bound to get another head coaching opportunity soon.
While the future might be creeping up on the Vikings like a zombie from "Night of the Living Dead," Minnesota can avoid that fate by doing due diligence on draft prospects. The team must ensure that each draft class has good fits that will help the team succeed in the present and future.
It feels good to be on top of the NFC North right now, but it is scary to think about what the franchise will look like if it continues to struggle to build the roster with young talent from the NFL Draft. Without quality talent, each week could feel like a recurring horror movie when the Vikings are on the field, whether it's Halloween weekend or not.