This Vikings rookie has game-changing speed. Here’s what it could mean for the offense.

Sixth-round pick Demond Claiborne was one of the fastest running backs measured at the NFL combine in the past few years.

Demond Claiborne can still remember the moment he realized he was faster than just about anybody else on a football field.

He was a sophomore at King William High School in Virginia, fielding a punt with a habit he’s long since ditched.

“Now, if I let a punt drop out of the sky, that’s a big no-no,” said Claiborne, selected by the Vikings in the sixth round (198th overall) in the 2026 NFL draft. “But in high school, I kind of had a habit of letting it drop in front of me, picking it up and maneuvering. I let it bounce twice and I took it 90 yards to the crib. It was make two guys miss and run to the edge, Forrest Gump-style.”

Claiborne scored 37 total touchdowns that season. That spring, he joined the track team for his only year of high school sprinting. He won the Virginia Class 2 state title in the 100-meter dash by nearly three-tenths of a second.

“That was the year I realized the speed was a little bit different,” he said.

That speed helped make Claiborne a four-star recruit who committed to Wake Forest. He joined the Demon Deacons after scoring 47 touchdowns and leading King William to a state championship his senior year.

Claiborne’s speed followed him to the NFL combine. He hit 23.71 mph while running the 40-yard dash in 4.37 seconds. His speed at the 20-yard mark — 21.79 mph — was the fastest NFL Next Gen Stats had measured for a running back in four years.

Early in Vikings training camp, Claiborne’s speed has been impossible to ignore.

“You can see it,” running back Aaron Jones Sr. said. “Right away, just getting in and out of the cuts. He’s a special back in this league. I get to mentor him up and show him the way. I told him I want him to be successful, I want to see him go on and get paid and those kinds of things. He’ll be playing in this league as long as he wants to, but just got to lock in here and take care of the business.”

Demond Claiborne adjusts to NFL with help from Aaron Jones

Claiborne’s task in camp is learning how to translate that speed to the NFL. The Vikings’ evolving running game could give him an intriguing opportunity to do it.

Claiborne’s speed evokes memories of the explosive backfield new Vikings assistant head coach Frank Smith worked with as Miami’s offensive coordinator. In 2023, Raheem Mostert and De’Von Achane helped the Dolphins lead the NFL in total offense while combining to average a league-best 5.1 yards per carry.

Kevin O’Connell hired Smith this offseason, and the Vikings are incorporating more of Miami’s wide-zone concepts into a running game that has relied more heavily on mid-zone and power runs.

Wide-zone runs work best when all the pieces of the offense move in concert. Offensive linemen need to work together to take on defenders. Running backs are meant to follow a predetermined path off the tight end’s hip, pressing wide and stretching the defense before surging upfield.

“If we can get the tracks right, if we can get the read right, at least the start of the play is right,” offensive coordinator Wes Phillips said. “If we’re setting up blocks for those O-linemen on the second level, and then making the proper cuts and pressing the line of scrimmage, that’s really what you’re looking for.”

Those runs demand precision from running backs. Claiborne has been asking Jones, who is entering his 10th NFL season, for impromptu quizzes to make sure he knows the details of different plays.

Jones, for his part, reminds Claiborne not to be too hard on himself. Even veterans can make mistakes.

“Like, you see the hole, you go over and turn your helmet, and as soon as they see that, they know you’re [cutting] back,” Jones said. “It happens to all of us where, your eyes are going to one side, and you want to take it right now, but you’ve just got to remember what you’re trying to accomplish on that play.”

Why Demond Claiborne’s speed fits the Vikings’ new run schemes

For Jones, the wide-zone scheme is a return to what he ran in Green Bay after the Packers hired Matt LaFleur in 2019. For Claiborne, it could be a catapult to a successful pro career.

“Being able to get that ball outside on the perimeter, even just being able to see the hole, put my foot in the ground and get vertical, has definitely been something that I can see myself [doing] in this offense,” Claiborne said. “My biggest thing is, just keep my mouth shut and work. Whenever the opportunity comes my way, I just want to be able to grasp it full speed.”

Speed is what attracted the Vikings to Claiborne. If he can bring it to life on the field, Jones thinks it could change the offense.

“I was the same way when I first came into the league; I was hard on myself because if you didn’t know the play, you can’t play fast and play comfortable,” Jones said. “So he’s really picked it up. You see him playing faster — and he’s already fast.”

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