{"id":52436,"date":"2025-05-15T15:48:16","date_gmt":"2025-05-15T15:48:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/52436\/"},"modified":"2025-05-15T15:48:16","modified_gmt":"2025-05-15T15:48:16","slug":"vikings-nail-crucial-offseason-objective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/52436\/","title":{"rendered":"Vikings Nail Crucial Offseason Objective"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"TrainingJun 11, 2019; Eagan, MN, USA; A Minnesota Vikings helmet sits on the field at TCO Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Harrison Barden-USA TODAY Sports\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, the Minnesota Vikings and all other franchises released their schedule<\/a> for the 2025 season. The purple franchise has made the requisite moves to be a competitive team in Kevin O\u2019Connell\u2019s fourth season. <\/p>\n

Vikings Nail Crucial Offseason Objective<\/p>\n

Part of those investments surely is the rebuilt offensive line that features three pricey newcomers. <\/p>\n

\"vikings\"Ohio State Buckeyes offensive lineman Donovan Jackson (74) holds the trophy following the 34-23 win over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to win the College Football Playoff National Championship at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Jan. 21, 2025.<\/p>\n

The final puzzle piece was Donovan Jackson, Ohio State\u2019s guard, who was selected with the 24th overall pick. He reportedly signed his rookie contract. <\/p>\n

Tom Pelissero reported<\/a> Wednesday night: \u201cThe Vikings have agreed to terms with first-round pick Donovan Jackson. Minnesota\u2019s entire rookie class is now under contract.<\/p>\n

KPRC2\u2019s Aaron Wilson added<\/a> some details: \u201cVikings signed first-round pick Donovan Jackson to fully guaranteed $17.177 million deal that includes $9.422 million signing bonus, plus training camp roster bonuses 2026 to 2028 of $615,775, $1.281 million, and $1 million.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Vikings had previously signed the other four draft picks. Last year\u2019s first-rounders waited<\/a> almost until training camp to agree to their deals. Rookie contracts are almost entirely non-negotiable, besides some minor language details, and when the payments will be made. <\/p>\n

Donovan Jackson<\/p>\n

\"\"Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (4) celebrates with offensive lineman Donovan Jackson (74) after a touchdown catch against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the first quarter during the College Football Playoff National Championship at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on January 20, 2025.<\/p>\n

Jackson\u2019s selection sparked a debate among those who wanted the club to trade down and regenerate some additional draft capital and those who were happy with the selection. Only time will tell who\u2019s right, but the blocker has all the tools to be a successful player at the pro level. <\/p>\n

He started 40 games for the Buckeyes, 31 at left guard and nine at left tackle following Josh Simmons\u2019 torn ACL last season. Jackson moved to the outside and helped Ohio State capture the national championship.<\/p>\n

After the draft, head coach Kevin O\u2019Connell said<\/a> about his new protector: \u201cLove everything about his play style, his size, he\u2019s got length, he\u2019s got power. And then the little things that sometimes jump out at you about a player. Willingness to jump over to the left tackle spot, and the very next week, he\u2019s blocking the third pick in tonight\u2019s draft (Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter) and competing his tail off. Didn\u2019t necessarily need to do that in a year where he was going to be drafted and evaluated the way he was. A lot of things that we\u2019re very excited about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Competition<\/p>\n

\"\"Nov 10, 2024; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Minnesota Vikings guard Blake Brandel (64) before the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

But Jackson won\u2019t be handed a starting job; he has to earn that. Blake Brandel, last year\u2019s starter, is still in the building, and he won\u2019t just concede. <\/p>\n

Brandel entered the league as an offensive tackle in 2020, and the Vikings have kept him around in backup tackle duties for a few seasons. In 2023, he moved to backup guard, and he got the starting nod last offseason. His lone year as a full-time starter was up-and-down, with a solid start but a shaky end. Christian Darrisaw\u2019s injury certainly didn\u2019t help. <\/p>\n

While surely no superstar, Brandel is a capable NFL blocker, and it remains to be seen whether Jackson can unseat him this summer. <\/p>\n

New Offensive Line<\/p>\n

\"vikings\"Indianapolis Colts guard Will Fries (75) and center Ryan Kelly (78) enter the field before the game against New Orleans, Sunday., Oct 29, 2023, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis
\nRobert Scheer\/IndyStar-USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n

If he did, however, Minnesota\u2019s line would look intriguing for the first time in a while. <\/p>\n

At the two tackle positions, the club employs Darrisaw and Brian O\u2019Neill, two of the best in the business. Darrisaw might need some extra time to return from his severe knee injury, but once he\u2019s back, the Vikings have an elite duo of tackles. <\/p>\n

The inside has been completely revamped. Garrett Bradbury, Ed Ingram, and Dalton Risner are gone. Ryan Kelly and Will Fries were signed in free agency, and the two former Colts should provide another significant boost. <\/p>\n

From left to right, the line could look like this: Darrisaw, Jackson, Kelly, Fries, O\u2019Neill. <\/p>\n

J.J. McCarthy and Aaron Jones will be happy about their new front. <\/p>\n

\"Vikings<\/a>\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jun 11, 2019; Eagan, MN, USA; A Minnesota Vikings helmet sits on the field at TCO Performance Center.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":29962,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2073],"tags":[1490,7,233,259,2529,6,234],"class_list":{"0":"post-52436","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-minnesota-vikings","8":"tag-donovan-jackson","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-minnesota","11":"tag-minnesota-vikings","12":"tag-minnesotavikings","13":"tag-nfl","14":"tag-vikings"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114512639513468680","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52436"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52436\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29962"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}