The 2024 season for the Minnesota Vikings was surprisingly successful, even if it ended on a sour note. At the start of the season, most analysts and football fans wouldn’t have predicted a 14-win season and playoff berth for the Vikings.
Still, that sour note lets the team and fans know that there’s still a lot of work to be done if the Vikings want to win a Super Bowl. That likely means that the team that takes the field in 2025 will look a lot different than the one we saw this past season.
Some of those changes awillcome through free agency. The Vikings figure to have a lot of salary cap space to spend, and they will likely have many holes that need to be filled, particularly on defense. But they won’t be able to fill all of those holes in free agency. That’s where the NFL Draft comes in.
The NFL Draft is still several months away, but with the Vikings eliminated from the playoffs, the full focus has turned towards the preeminent offseason event. In preparation for the NFL Draft, the team over at PFF has identified one “perfect” prospect for each team in the 2025 NFL Draft. For the Vikings, they have chosen former Ohio State defensive tackle Tyleik Williams.
The Vikings certainly need to improve upon the defensive line that took the field in 2024. According to PFF, the team’s defensive line “consistently graded below average against the run,” and none of their defensive linemen had a pass rush win rate over 10%.
Williams isn’t likely to help the Vikings’ defensive line in the pass rush department, but he does figure to be one of the better defensive linemen in the class against the run. According to PFF, Williams graded positively on 29.1% of all run plays in 2024, which was good for fifth in the nation among defensive linemen.
The Vikings have limited resources in the upcoming NFL Draft, so it’s going to be important for them to use those resources wisely. Williams could come in and immediately play a big role in the Vikings’ defense, and should be available when the Vikings pick at 24th.