Demond Claiborne Fantasy Stats

The Minnesota Vikings have selected Wake Forest running back prospect Demond Claiborne with the 198th overall pick in the sixth round of the 2026 NFL Draft. The Vikings traded up to select Claiborne, acquiring the 198th pick from the New England Patriots in exchange for the 234th pick and a 2027 sixth-round selection. A multi-year contributor in the ACC, Claiborne tallied 1,956 rushing yards, 394 receiving yards, and 23 touchdowns over his last two seasons at school. With Aaron Jones Sr. presumably getting closer to his retirement, adding a young, depth running back makes sense for the Vikings. Claiborne and Zavier Scott will presumably compete to be active as the Vikings' No. 3 running back behind Jones and Jordan Mason in 2026.

Wake Forest running back Demond Claiborne weighed in at 188 pounds at the NFL Combine, putting him in the 3rd percentile among Combine-invited running backs historically. The saving grace is that he ran a 4.37-second 40-yard dash; however, that game-breaking speed did not always show up on his collegiate tape. Claiborne's 6.1% rate of runs resulting in 15+ yards ranks in the bottom half of this year's draft class and is well below the historical average among backs who weighed in below 200 pounds at the Combine. Claiborne's is an archetype that has largely survived on explosive plays, but without seeing such explosiveness on his college tape, a late-round bet in rookie drafts is one that he can become a rare outlier.

Wake Forest University running back Demond Claiborne showed off his high-end speed at the 2026 NFL Draft combine this past weekend, running the third-fastest 40-yard dash among running back prospects at 4.37 seconds. Across 12 games for the Demon Deacons in 2025, Claiborne rushed for 907 yards and 10 touchdowns on 178 carries and hauled in 28 receptions for 140 yards. NFL.com's Lance Zierlein describes Claiborne as a "twitched-up, elusive slasher" but notes that his down-to-down consistency leaves something to be desired. Claiborne projects as a mid-round pick in the upcoming draft and appears unlikely to shoulder an RB1 workload immediately upon his arrival in the NFL. However, his combine results improve his long-term fantasy outlook in dynasty formats, and could be indicative of high-end upside if he can fine-tune certain aspects of his game.