Tyler Forness discusses the Minnesota Vikings selection of Ohio State offensive guard Donovan Jackson in the 2025 NFL Draft!
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00:00The Minnesota Vikings have made their choice at 24th overall,
00:03and they believe it's going to be an impactful player for a long time.
00:06Let's talk about it.
00:11Minnesota Vikings have made their choice at 24th overall,
00:13taking Ohio State offensive lineman Donovan Jackson.
00:17Now, it's really interesting because when Cuesito Fomensa
00:19had its pre-draft press conference,
00:21the whole idea was they wanted an impactful player for right now.
00:25And who that impactful player was going to be
00:27really felt like he was going to be at a position you couldn't get in for agency,
00:31a star defensive tackle, an edge rusher,
00:35guys you normally don't see hit the market.
00:38Well, the defensive tackles dried up
00:41as Derek Harmon was the last one off the board
00:43at 21st overall to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
00:46He's likely going to be that Cam Hayward replacement,
00:50and he can be impactful from day one in multiple ways
00:53for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
00:55But with those guys gone, what were they going to do?
00:58And it felt like offensive line was their actual destination from day one
01:03based on the comments that we heard after the pick was made.
01:06They believe that Donovan Jackson's a guy
01:09and that he is going to elevate to that room from day one.
01:13Now, at Ohio State, he was a dominant left guard
01:15who actually kicked out and played left tackle in a pinch
01:19after Josh Simmons went down with a torn patella injury.
01:22Now, that insanity run actually had people thinking,
01:26hey, maybe this guy can play tackle.
01:28And if this guy can play tackle, you know, how high can you take him?
01:31And it was a really interesting dichotomy
01:33when we were having those discussions during the lead up to the draft.
01:36But the Vikings wanted to improve the interior,
01:39and they did a great job of it over the course of free agency.
01:42Ryan Kelly, Will Fries, and now Donovan Jackson.
01:45I really didn't think they were going to replace
01:47all three guys on the interior this offseason.
01:49They proved me wrong, and they did.
01:54And you still have to worry about center long-term,
01:56but if Kelly can stay healthy for two years,
01:58you have a mauling center for two years,
02:01and you feel really good about that.
02:03Now, is Donovan Jackson worth it?
02:05Let's take a look at Rifa San's consensus board,
02:07where Donovan Jackson was 36th overall,
02:10and 36 feels like a little bit of a reach,
02:13but let's also be real.
02:14This draft from 12 to 50 in that range,
02:18it's hard to know who's actually going to be a guy,
02:22because those guys are very samey.
02:26They're very similar.
02:28So maybe the Minnesota Vikings got themselves a steal.
02:33Either way, they have a mauler next to Christian Derrissan,
02:37and they're going to move mountains
02:39for the Minnesota Vikings this next year.
02:40I'm Tyler Fronis with ADC Sports.
02:43Skull Vikings.