The Vikings have eight draft picks on the 53-man roster heading into Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season. Having so much youth available is great, but it also creates uncertainty in games due to their lack of experience.Only one member of the Vikings' draft class isn't on the 53-man roster to start the season. Center Gavin Gerhardt, a seventh-round pick, was signed to the Texans' practice squad on Tuesday after being released by Minnesota.With so many draft picks ready to step on the field against the Packers on Sunday, determining each player's role and how much playing time they will get is a huge challenge, especially since the official depth chart has not been released yet. However, predicting the number of snaps they will play is possible.Caleb Banks, DL—Estimated snaps: (10 defensive)Expectations for the Vikings' top pick in the 2026 NFL Draft need to be tempered. The first-round pick won't be played heavily in the season opener since he struggled in the preseason ,with a 30.4 Pro Football Focus Grade in Week 1, and admits that he has areas he needs to work on.Despite that, Caleb Banks will work his way on the field as a rotational player to keep Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins fresh and allow the rookie to continue developing against NFL competition. Be patient with the big man since he won't be part of a ton of defensive snaps.Jake Golday, LB—Estimated snaps: 34 (25 defensive)The toughest player to predict among all of Minnesota's draft picks is Jake Golday. Knowing how much he will fill in for Eric Wilson or Blake Cashman is hard enough, but the rookie will also sneak in some reps on the edge and likely play special teams, boosting his snap count to look huge.That said, Golday should have the most defensive snaps of any Vikings draft pick this year. Despite not starting, the team sees him as a hybrid player who can contribute at multiple positions on defense as well as on special teams.Domonique Orange, DL—Estimated snaps: 26 (20 defensive)Like Banks, Domonique Orange isn't expected to be a starter in Minnesota's defense. The six-foot-two, 322-pound defender should be the primary backup for Levi Drake Rodriguez in the Vikings' season opener.Vikings fans could see a fair amount of Domonique Orange in Week 1. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectExpect to see Orange rotate in for Rodriguez often in this game. Keeping the big men in the middle of the defensive line fresh will be important against Green Bay to keep the Packers from getting chunk yardage up the middle.Caleb Tiernan, OL—Estimated snaps: 0The Vikings used a third-round pick on Caleb Tiernan, but he is a candidate to be inactive on game day due to being the second backup offensive tackle behind free-agent signing Ryan Van Demark, who formerly played for the Bills.Even if Tiernan isn't inactive, it would be surprising for him to enter the game unless Minnesota sees him as a special teams blocker when punting. For that reason, he isn't expected to play against Green Bay in Week 1.Jakobe Thomas, S—Estimated snaps: 18 (all special teams)The recent return of Vikings' veteran safety Harrison Smith will put a damper on Jakobe Thomas's potential snaps on defense, but Snuth gives the 23-year-old defensive back a potential Hall of Fame teammate to look up to during the season.Thomas should still get plenty of action on special teams against the Packers, but may struggle to see the field on defense with the likes of Smith, Josh Metellus, and Theo Jackson ahead of him on the depth chart, Max Bredeson, FB—Estimated snaps: 35 (20 offensive)The only current expected starter among the Vikings' draft picks, Max Bredeson, is in line to pick up the work that C.J. Ham did during previous seasons. Last year, Ham played in 11 games for Minnesota, where he played 184 offensive snaps and 182 special teams snaps.With Ham averaging 33 snaps played per game, with 17 of those being on offense, Bredeson could easily match those numbers. But let's hope Minnesota isn't punting ot returning kickoffs as often as last year, so let's settle his estimate around 30 snaps.Chuck Demmings, CB—Estimated snaps: 8 (4 defensive)Hearing all the praise for Charles "Chuck" Demmings during training camp might have fans excited to see what the small-school prospect offers the Vikings during the regular season. Reports of him having sticky coverage throughout practices and never giving up on a play could earn him some time on the field, especially if Minnesota views him as one of their top backups.What can Vikings fans expect Chuck Demmings's workload to look like in Week 1? | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectDemmings should be able to earn a spot on the field on defense as well as have a spot on special teams. Much like Dwight McGlothern last year, he will see action when the starters need to leave the field or when Minnesota plays in a look with extra defensive backs.Demond Claiborne, RB—Estimated snaps: 20 (5 offensive)A great comparison from last season for Demond Claiborne is Ty Chandler. Like Claiborne, Chandler's speed makes him a good contrast to starting running backs Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason. Where this gets complicated is that Chandler played only two games for the Vikings last season, logging just 42 offensive snaps and 27 special teams snaps.Chandler playing 69 total snaps in two games seems lofty for Claiborne to match. Predicting 35 snaps between offense and special teams seems high, so tapering those numbers down to 20 for a smaller role on offense makes sense.Get Vikings On SI straight to your inbox: sign up for our free newsletter here.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow