The Vikings draft Donovan Jackson with the 24th Pick in the 2025 NFL Draft!

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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.

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