Should the Vikings pick a DT despite signing two big names?

Would the Vikings considered loading up at a position that already has stars?

© Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

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By Matthew Coller

You can make a pretty good argument by looking at the Minnesota Vikings depth chart that they need a safety, left guard and cornerback more than anything else. Last year Blake Brandel was among the league leaders in QB pressures allowed at left guard, starting safety Cam Bynum left in free agency and the cornerback unit lost Stephon Gilmore and Shaq Griffin and only signed Isaiah Rodgers and maybe Jeff Okudah as replacements.

So why would the defensive tackle position even get a shout out in comparison when the Vikings spent huge dollars on Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave, two of the most accomplished interior pass rushers in the NFL?

The argument begins with the age and contracts of those veteran defensive tackles. As much as everyone in their 30s (ahem!) would like to believe age is just a number, there are realities to the NFL at every position. Out of the top 30 defensive tackles in terms of QB pressures in 2024, only six of them were 30 or older.

Both Allen and Hargrave are coming off seasons in which they suffered significant injuries and both players have contracts that are short terms. Allen’s deal is technically three years but he can be released after two with less than $5 million in dead cap and Hargrave’s is for two years. That’s not to mention that defensive tackle Harrison Phillips has one more year on his deal and then can be released for under $2 million dead cap in 2026.

It’s altogether possible that the Vikings could have the Allen, Hargrave, Phillips D-line for many years to come — certainly 39-year-old Calais Campbell, who is still playing in 2025, would argue for that — but in terms of long-term planning it’s tough to look too far down the road at that spot.

The other thing about having veteran DTs is that they are probably going to be at their best when used as part of a rotation. Only 20 defensive tackles were on the field for more than 700 snaps in 2025 while there were 60 DTs who played between 400 and 700 snaps. The Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, for example, played superstar Jalen Carter over 800 snaps and then had three other interior D-linemen between 350-500. There is plenty of room for defensive tackle cooks in the kitchen.

When we look at the defensive tackle contract landscape, it becomes even more clear why a player at that position would be enticing with the 24th overall pick. There are 25 DTs who make at least $13 million per year. Here is the distribution of draft status among those players: 13 first-round picks, 4 second-round picks, 7 third-round picks, zero fourth, one fifth, zero sixth, zero seventh rounders, one UDFA.

Here are their contracts, via OverTheCap.com:

Are all positions like this? Mostly, yes. However, the cornerback spot has five players of the top 25 who were picked after the fourth and some other positions see players leave in free agency more often. Fourteen of the top 25 edge rushers are not playing for their original team whereas only nine of the top 25 DTs were signed in free agency. If teams nail a DT pick, they tend to keep that big fella for a long, long time.

Part of the reason for that is top-notch pass-rushing DTs are rare. Last year there were only 19 DTs out of 85 who played at least 400 snaps that registered more than 40 QB pressures. There were 42 edge players to reach that number.

The rarity of pass-rush talent inside leads to a part-time player like Milton Williams landing a $26 million per year contract with the Patriots after racking up 40 pressures. Long story short: If you land an elite defensive tackle, it’s worth its weight in gold.

It so happens that this year’s draft has prospects with the potential to become elite. The interesting thing is that they come in different shapes and sizes.

Michigan’s Kenneth Grant, for example, is a 320-pound beast who produced the eighth best PFF grade in run defense of any DT in college football last year. Despite not producing big sack numbers, he still managed 27 QB pressures and a respectable 75.3 pass-rushing grade (19th best among starters). His athleticism may allow for some upside as a rusher (think Linval Joseph or Dalvin Tomlinson) but even if he never becomes Dexter Lawrence there is an increasing value to the gap-stuffing beast. Last year only 17 DTs graded above 70 by PFF against the run. Teams are looking to emphasize their running games with opponents playing lighter boxes and deeper safeties, putting more stress on the interior linemen. Grant could be a valuable solution, even if he isn’t the Aaron Donald prototype.

There are big boys who get after the passer who could be available at No. 24 though. Oregon’s Derrick Harmon has been mocked between the 15th and 30th pick consistently. Last year he ranked No. 2 in college football in pass-rush win rate (17.6%) and had the most total QB hurries. South Carolina’s TJ Sanders had the sixth highest pass rush grade by PFF and Toledo’s Darius Alexander and Ole Miss’s Walter Nolen also ranked inside the top 20.

The ancillary value of picking one of these guys for the Vikings is that the presence of Allen and Hargrave could have a positive impact on these rushers. A study by PFF showed that defensive tackles don’t usually dominate right away and even megastars like JJ Watt and Aaron Donald needed a year of experience before they started to reach their potential. A player like Harmon or Nolen could rotate into the mix, learn the ropes from the best and then get ready to take on a bigger role in 2026. And in the best-case scenario, that draft pick eventually becomes like Allen and Hargrave, two players that have brought immense value to their franchises over the years.

Will the Vikings forego other positions of need to take a swing at one of the most valuable and hard-to-replace spots on the field? We’ll see….

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