The Vikings were busy adding up front in free agency, and that has continued via the draft. Minnesota has selected Ohio State guard Donovan Jackson at No. 24.
Only entering the draft with four picks, the Vikings nevertheless used their top 2025 draft asset to complete an interior O-line overhaul. After signing ex-Colts Ryan Kelly and Will Fries in free agency, Minnesota is adding Jackson, who played both guard and tackle at Ohio State last season. In the NFL, however, Jackson is expected to line up inside.
Set at tackle, in rostering Brian O’Neill and a recovering Christian Darrisaw, the Vikings changed up significantly inside. They traded benched guard Ed Ingram, a 2022 second-round pick, to the Texans. Dalton Risner, a two-year stopgap of sorts, has not re-signed. It should be expected Jackson will usurp Blake Brandel at one of the guard positions, while Fries mans the other spot after the Vikes won a free agent derby to land one of this year’s top available blockers.
Jackson gave the Vikings plenty of tape to study. He started at guard throughout the 2022 and ’23 seasons, at a program known for churning out O-line talent, and slid to left tackle after Josh Simmons suffered a patellar tendon tear last season. Despite this Buckeyes nucleus’ profile rising thanks to the late-season charge to the national title last season, Jackson was already on the NFL radar after earning first-team All-Big Ten acclaim in 2022 and ’23 as a guard. He repeated that feat last season, helping Ohio State (and transfer QB Will Howard) to a championship.
The Vikes having Jackson also should help them from a roster-building sense, as Darrisaw is on a top-five LT contract while O’Neill is attached to an upper-crust RT deal. The team also gave Fries top-10 guard money to commit to the Twin Cities, while Kelly is signed to a short-term deal at a mid-market center rate.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.