Donovan Jackson Paves the Way For J.J. McCarthy

I almost can’t bring myself to type the words. It feels crazy to say.

How many times over the last decade and a half of Minnesota Vikings football have fans and analysts lamented the offensive line woes above all else? How many times have you seen the comment Can he play guard? under any free-agent signing or draft pick?

Well, Donovan Jackson can indeed play guard, and he might have just cemented a top-five offensive line in all of football.

The organization entered this offseason with a crystal-clear vision: To get bigger, stronger, tougher, and nastier on both sides of the line of scrimmage.

After having their Cinderella season fall apart, watching Sam Darnold revert to a pumpkin in the final two games of the season due to the failure of the offensive line — plus witnessing their defensive front get bullied over against potent Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams rushing attacks — it became abundantly clear that this team had to rebuild the offensive and defensive interior from the ground up.

No more skating by with Garrett Bradbury and a washed-up Dalton Risner. No more moneyballing the spot next to Harrison Phillips. If this team were to contend with the big boys, they would need their big boys to match.

It began with setting the table in free agency.

Ryan Kelly and Will Fries provided a stable floor in Kelly and a high ceiling in Fries, with the comfort of knowing these two developed chemistry in Indianapolis. There’s clear proof of concept for them being an excellent tandem that is well worth the money, and they were immediate upgrades on the likes of Garrett Bradbury, Ed Ingram, and Risner. Minnesota did the same on defense, adding juice to their interior rush with Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave.

But while this offseason was centered around getting tougher up front, I’d argue their true goal was beyond that. This organization has made every move with a singular purpose.

Give J.J. McCarthy the pocket protection, running game, and defense he can develop and thrive with the best possible chance of success. Minnesota invested dollars and limited draft capital to ensure they successfully established this vision, and that’s commendable.

While I agree with the organizational philosophy and applaud them for it, it’s not without risk. This team only has three more selections in this draft. This roster had plenty of free money to spend this offseason, but many chickens begin coming home to roost starting next March when their 2026 cap is far more strapped with expensive veteran contracts.

The conventional wisdom with the Vikings had them seeking a trade-back scenario to accrue more capital so they could invest in young, cheap assets for the future. Based on what happened with picks 25 and 26, it’s reasonable to assume Kwesi Adofo-Mensah had the opportunity to move back if he wanted.

Despite all the talk that no one was interested in trading up in this flat draft class, that wasn’t the case in Minnesota’s neighborhood. The New York Giants traded up for pick 25 to select quarterback Jaxson Dart. With the next pick, the Atlanta Falcons moved up to select edge rusher James Pearce Jr. at 26.

Many Vikings fans unfamiliar with the name Donovan Jackson from their perusal of mock drafts this offseason may be confused as to why Adofo-Mensah would turn down offers like that to pick a player mildly above his consensus ranking.

As Arif Hasan points out, it wasn’t far above consensus, and Donovan was a player with little variance in his evaluation. Taking the crowd’s wisdom for whatever it’s worth would imply that Jackson is seen as a safe pick. That is significant for a draft with as much perceived volatility among consensus as this one.

However, when calculating Jackson’s value at No. 24, we must also include the opportunity cost of the two trades after him, which likely could’ve been negotiated.

There were opportunities here. The Vikings could’ve slid back to the second round and had their pick among the next tier of corners, a young safety, or even kept their fingers crossed that Jackson would still be on the board. A slide back where you select a young, athletic corner would have felt like a good value. But would those scenarios have sacrificed putting the exclamation point on this clear organizational vision?

Donovan Jackson solidifies that vision. He has good athleticism, tackle and guard experience, and has faced top competition. Nick Saban raved about him on the ESPN broadcast, praising his athleticism and toughness.

We’re talking about a guard that’s a nice fit in Kevin O’Connell‘s movement-heavy scheme run, with legitimate skills in pass protection inside and outside. That positional versatility may serve this team well should star left tackle Christian Darrisaw need a few extra weeks coming off the injury to start this season. While Jackson’s primary job will be to beat out Blake Brandel at left guard, he also has experience as a spot starter at tackle.

This season is about winning games and competing in a tough division. Most importantly, it’s about successfully launching McCarthy’s career because he’s their quarterback of the future. Coming off the injury last preseason and with the success of other quarterbacks from his class like Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, and Bo Nix, McCarthy’s early success is going to be paramount. He has doubters outside the Vikings bubble to prove wrong, giving him every opportunity.

Nitpick the process or the pick of Donovan Jackson, but you must respect the philosophy. This organization knows its priorities, and they all revolve around McCarthy. Now, all McCarthy needs to do is return the favor to this front office and coaching staff by paying back this debt with execution on the field. Now he’ll have a top-five offensive line protecting him, the best collection of pass catchers in the NFL running routes, and a talented stable of veteran running backs in the backfield behind him.

We can all see the vision. Now make it a reality.