Golday's Role in 2026

I don’t think it’s a given that he’ll play Ginks role.  Probably have to see how his pass rush is in the NFL.  I think short term he’ll probably backup all 4 LB positions and then probably replace Eric Wilson whenever his contract expires or he outplays him, but given the age of all the non-turner LBs he’ll probably have a home at any of them not too far into the future.

medaille wrote:

I don’t think it’s a given that he’ll play Ginks role.  Probably have to see how his pass rush is in the NFL.  I think short term he’ll probably backup all 4 LB positions and then probably replace Eric Wilson whenever his contract expires or he outplays him, but given the age of all the non-turner LBs he’ll probably have a home at any of them not too far into the future.

Nothing's a given. But I don't think it's just a coincidence that Gink and Golday are mirror images of each other. Both in terms of size and their roles in college. I think if you want to get the best 11 on the field, Wilson might be the weakest link. And yeah, if Golday takes over that spot he might just stay there a while, especially if we end up extending AVG after this season.

Lets see how long Cashman can stay on the field this year ;)

Gink missed lots of time with that neck injury and it's a difficult role. I hope the rook gets some playing time there, at least in pre-season.

I hope next year is not AVG's last here.

MaroonBells wrote:

I think it's a modest assumption that Jake Golday will take over for Van Ginkel at edge when his contract expires after the 2026 season. But where is he going to play this year? He might be too talented to sit on the bench. Is he our 3rd edge? Does he stay at ILB and compete Eric Wilson? Or will he join his fellow Bearcat on special teams for now?

Depends on who misses time first and how quickly Golday can pick up the D. Playing his last couple years in a 3-3-5 D should give him a good jump on playing multiple positions.

Gun to my head, I think he pushes Wilson back to the bench by October.

purplefaithful wrote:

Lets see how long Cashman can stay on the field this year ;)
Gink missed lots of time with that neck injury and it's a difficult role. I hope the rook gets some playing time there, at least in pre-season.
I hope next year is not AVG's last here.

Forgot Cashman's in a contract year too. Vikings are probably going to have to pick the most indispensable one between Cash and Gink and extend him. Maybe by that time, Flores will know where Golday's forever home will be. Betcha I know where he wants it to be. The difference in money is obscene. Either way, it's nice to have continuity with Flores. Hope it continues.

I think a 2nd round pick has to start or at least play significant minutes, the timing of taking him with the Greenard trade makes me feel as though he will be rotating at the edge.

Cashman is a lot cheaper than AVG and slightly younger. I think AVG is gone after this year and Golday is the hopeful successor while Cashman gets another 2-3 year deal.

Versatile. Very versatile.

MaroonBells wrote:

Nothing's a given. But I don't think it's just a coincidence that Gink and Golday are mirror images of each other. Both in terms of size and their roles in college. I think if you want to get the best 11 on the field, Wilson might be the weakest link. And yeah, if Golday takes over that spot he might just stay there a while, especially if we end up extending AVG after this season.

I think immediately he’s a more natural ILB fit and will help cover the Cashman role that we struggle to fill when he’s injured or provide two Cashmans if they slot him in over Wilson.  I think he has the possibility of growing into the OLB role someday, but I don’t think we’re really in any hurry to move on from Gink or Turner, but I do think he could provide short term coverage for that position, although I don’t think I really feel great about him covering for Turner if Turner goes down with an injury.

RS_Express wrote:

Cashman is a lot cheaper than AVG and slightly younger. I think AVG is gone after this year and Golday is the hopeful successor while Cashman gets another 2-3 year deal.

I think we saw how valuable Gink was to the team last year. Or how much of a hole was left when he missed time. Not sure Golday is going to be ready to assume that role after 1 year.

In my mind, Golday makes his own spot in the Flores D. Imagine having two Gink type players on D.

#Vikings 2nd Round LB Jake Golday is VERSATILE 🧩 Here’s his snaps by alignment last season, per @PFF

— Vikes\/erified @VikesVV Apr 29, 2026

𝕏 X / Twitter — Vikes\/erified @VikesVV

#Vikings 2nd Round LB Jake Golday is VERSATILE 🧩 Here’s his snaps by alignment last season, per @PFF

View on X

I’d expect those ST snaps to expand greatly.

Role? Destroyer.

Modern day Karl Mecklenberg.

Not his finest moment

JustInTime wrote:

https://twitter.com/heykayadams/status/2036185549409767796Not his finest moment

Wow, you can really hear that Ozark accent. But a Packer fan? Oh hell no. Is it too early to cut him?

MaroonBells wrote:

Wow, you can really hear that Ozark accent. But a Packer fan? Oh hell no. Is it too early to cut him?

So was Greenway. That went pretty well 😏

MaroonBells wrote:

Wow, you can really hear that Ozark accent. But a Packer fan? Oh hell no. Is it too early to cut him?

I don't think that's Ozark, he's just from Tennessee.

MaroonBells wrote:

Wow, you can really hear that Ozark accent. But a Packer fan? Oh hell no. Is it too early to cut him?

Trade him to the Bears!

StickierBuns wrote:

I don't think that's Ozark, he's just from Tennessee.

It's pretty Ozark. He's from a town in Tennessee that borders Arkansas and he spent three years at Central Arkansas. A cunning linguist might argue his accent is a mix of Ozark, Delta and Appalachia.