TicketsPITTSBURGH – Cincinnati linebacker Jake Golday was selected Friday by the Minnesota Vikings with the 51st overall pick in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Golday’s selection marks Cincinnati’s 11th consecutive year with a draft pick.
“I’m thrilled for Jake and his family,” Cincinnati head coach Scott Satterfield said. “We knew early on he had a chance to play at the next level because he was pound-for-pound one of the best athletes we’ve been around. What’s set him apart, though, is his work ethic. That’s what turned him into a second-round pick. He led by example every day and was a joy to coach. I wish we could’ve had him here longer than two years, but I’m excited to watch him on Sundays. The Vikings are getting an instinctive linebacker who plays with elite speed and toughness, and he’s just scratching the surface of what he can become.”
The call Jake has waited his whole life for.#NFLDraft | @prolinkworks pic.twitter.com/tDwqSnEr8W
— Cincinnati Football (@GoBearcatsFB) April 25, 2026
He is the Bearcats’ highest-drafted player since Sauce Gardner was selected in the first round by the New York Jets in 2022 and the first linebacker drafted since Darrian Beavers went in the sixth round that same year.
He joins Alex Gordon (No. 42, 1987) and Mike Wright (No. 52, 1978) as UC linebackers selected in the second round.
The Vikings now have three Bearcats linebackers on their roster, as Golday will be on the roster with UC alums Ivan Pace and Eric Wilson in Minnesota.
The 6-foot-4, 240-pound standout from Arlington, Tenn., is the first Cincinnati player selected by the Vikings since wide receiver Robert Tate in 1997.
The Bearcats have now had 19 players selected since 2021 and 52 since 2000.
Golday earned First Team All-Big 12 honors and Phil Steele All-America honorable mention recognition in 2025. He led UC with 105 tackles, ranking third in the Big 12 at 8.75 tackles per game. He was a two-year starter after transferring from Central Arkansas.
Golday becomes the latest in a growing line of NFL-ready defenders developed at Cincinnati.
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