Vikings Sign Second-Round LB Jake Golday, Wrap Up Draft Class

May 19, 2026

The Minnesota Vikings announced they have signed second-round LB Jake Golday to a contract.

Golday is the final Vikings’ draft pick to sign their rookie deal. Here’s a look at Minnesota’s draft class:

Rd	Pick	Player	Pos.	Note
1	18	Caleb Banks	DE	Signed
2	51	Jake Golday	LB	Signed
3	82	Domonique Orange	DT	Signed
3	97	Caleb Tiernan	T	Signed
3	98	Jakobe Thomas	S	Signed
5	159	Max Bredeson	FB	Signed
5	163	Charles Demmings	CB	Signed
6	198	Demond Claiborne	RB	Signed
7	235	Gavin Gerhardt	C	Signed

Golday, 22, was a no-star and was unranked in the 2021 recruiting class out of Arlington, Tennessee. He committed to Central Arkansas and played there for three years before transferring to Cincinnati for his last two years, where he earned First Team All-Big 12 honors in 2025.

Dane Brugler of The Athletic has Golday as the fourth-best linebacker in the class with a second to third-round grade.

In his two years at Cincinnati, Golday appeared in 24 games and recorded 163 total tackles, 13 tackles for loss, five sacks, five passes defended, one fumble recovered and three forced fumbles.