Which is the weakest position group on the Vikings?
Which position groups are the weakest on the Vikings and which one should they look to target in next year’s draft? I am going to start with defensive tackle. The team only has Jaquelin Roy under contract for 2025 unless you want to count Levi Drake Rodriguez and a couple of other UDFAs.
Harrison Phillips, Jerry Tillery, Jonathan Bullard, and Jonah Williams are all free agents next year. The free agents in 2025 (right now) are Kenny Clark, Maliek Collins, Davon Godchaux, D.J. Jones, Alim McNeal, and many others but none besides McNeal and Clark are inspiring right now and neither one may make it to free agency. The year still has to play out but it might be tough to fill via free agency.
I think DT might be high on the list next year and one player to keep an eye on this year is …
Deone Walker DT Kentucky 6’6” 348
Early 2025 NFL Mock Drafts have Deone Walker as a top-20 pick
ESPN’s Jordan Reid dropped his first 2025 mock draft, and Walker goes No. 19 to the Los Angeles Rams. Here’s what the analyst wrote on Walker.
“Even after they drafted Kobie Turner and Braden Fiske along the interior in back-to-back drafts, I’d still like to see the Rams bring in a true gap-eater inside. Interior defenders who are 6-6 and 348 pounds almost never move as well as Walker, who is nimble-footed for his size. He collected 7.5 sacks last season, and 30 of his 39 pressures came while aligned as a defensive tackle. Walker has quick hands and a wide array of moves as a pass-rusher, but his pad level has to improve,” Reid noted.
Russell Brown of Fantasy Pros has Walker going 10th overall to the Seattle Seahawks.
“Plenty of eyes will be on Deone Walker this fall. He’s listed at 6-foot-6 and 348 pounds, with good lateral movement skills for a player of his size. His length presents mismatches on the interior as he can split double teams and win in one-on-one matchups. Last season, he had 51 pressures, leading all interior defensive linemen. He could do that and a whole lot more this season,” Brown wrote.
…
Top 10 2025 NFL Draft DT Rankings: Deone Walker, Walter Nolen Lead the Pack
Considering the size of the linemen the Vikings currently have, a dude like Walker sure would help out a lot.
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Aaron Jones Gets Honest About Joining Vikings After Being Cut by Packers
The Green Bay Packers cut the Pro Bowler after signing former Las Vegas Raiders back Josh Jacobs. Jones signed a one-year, $7 million pact with the Vikings in free agency
Jones agreed when asked if his experience has validated his decision to stay in the division.
“Yes sir. God doesn’t make mistakes,” Jones told reporters on May June 5. “It’s not by any chance that I’m here; it’s God’s plan. This is a great place to be. great teammates great Community um the city’s very welcoming and I love it here”
“I’ve played with a number one receiver, and now being here with a No. 1 receiver and then – two No. 1s if you ask me,” Jones said. “Three number ones. Sorry, let’s keep going. You throw T.J. [Hockenson] in there. It’s just like, who are you gonna guard? You want to double this guy? Okay, you got three more guys out there, four more guys.
“I just think the matchups that we can get against the defense are always pretty much going to be in our favor. And I think it’s going to be it’s going to be something hard to stop.”
Vikings legend Jared Allen has no issue with team moving on from Kirk Cousins
During the offseason, Cousins signed a four-year, $180 million deal with the Atlanta Falcons, with $100 million of it guaranteed. With the Vikings needing to pay Justin Jefferson, which they did, and a top pick in the NFL (which they used on J.J. McCarthy), it is easy to see why Minnesota moved on.
And Jared Allen is all good with it.
“It shooked out how it should’ve shooked out. I would have moved on, just because, nothing personal from the standpoint of Kirk, but you have to look where the future is gonna be. Even if you get two or three great years out of Kirk, for that kind of money, you’re setting yourself behind getting a good draft pick and in the right direction,” Allen said to OutKick’s “Don’t @ Me with Dan Dakich” on Tuesday.
However, Allen first made mention of Sam Darnold, whom McCarthy will be battling in training camp, saying the 2018 No. 3 overall pick has “shown signs to be able to be capable in the league, at times.”
“I think with the coaching staff you have there, you make the right decision – you invest more in the young guys, you invest in the guys around the offense, especially now that you have McCarthy… I think they did the right thing.”
Allen also said Cousins simply is not the guy to take them over the hump.
“And at the end of the day, especially from a quarterback standpoint, you’re judged by wins and losses and Super Bowl, playoff wins. That’s why they get the big money. … We were no closer to winning a Super Bowl investing all that money into Kirk – we went to the NFC Championship Game with Case Keenum, and we never got back there.”
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