An upgrade on the offensive line
The pick is in for the Minnesota Vikings at #24 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft, and they’ve chosen to make a move to help upgrade their offensive line.
With the 24th pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, the Minnesota Vikings have selected Donovan Jackson from Ohio State University.
Jackson was a three-time First Team All-Big Ten performer for the Buckeyes, including this season as they won the National Championship. He was also a First-Team All-American this past season. He started all 40 games over the past three seasons in Columbus, with 31 of those starts coming at left guard and the other nine at left tackle. He played nearly 2,600 snaps for the Buckeyes in his career and allowed just five sacks during that time. Guess that will get you recognized, yeah.
Dane Brugler of The Athletic has Jackson as the #6 offensive tackle in this year’s draft class and the #48 overall on his Big Board. Seems a bit strange to me that he would have Jackson listed among the offensive tackles when he made the majority of his starts at guard, but he’s the draft expert and I’m not. He was rated ahead of all but two of the guards in his overall Top 100. In any event, here’s what Brugler has to say about Jackson:
A three-year starter at Ohio State, Jackson played both left tackle and left guard in former offensive coordinator Chip Kelly’s diverse run game (gap/zone, pin-pulls, counters, etc.). Highly recruited out of Texas, he didn’t ascend to meet some of his sky-high expectations at left guard, but he was the unsung hero of the Buckeyes’ 2024 national championship run after kicking out to left tackle to replace an injured Josh Simmons for the final nine games. Following a rough first start against Abdul Carter and Penn State, he played at a high level the rest of the way, including an impeccable playoff run.
Long considered an interior prospect by NFL teams, his left tackle tape was better than what he showed at left guard, forcing NFL teams to reevaluate his best positional fit. Though not an overpowering drive blocker, Jackson moves well out of his stance with the flexibility/length/strength combination to latch and occupy defenders with his hands. His processing gradually improved each season, and he didn’t look like a fish out of water in space. Overall, Jackson’s sustain and recovery hiccups must be addressed by an NFL coaching staff, but his athletic traits and play strength should translate well to the next level. He projects as an NFL starter, and his tape shows a player with true tackle-guard versatility
While Brugler has Jackson listed as an offensive tackle, it seems pretty obvious (to me, at least) that the Vikings envision him as a guard who will, at the very least, compete with Blake Brandel for the starting left guard spot this year and could, potentially, be a long-term fix at tackle depending on how long Brian O’Neill wants to keep going on.
Welcome to Minnesota, Donovan Jackson!
You can keep up with all of the picks and other moves the Vikings make tonight on our Minnesota Vikings Draft Tracker, so be sure to keep refreshing for the latest!