Vikings draft the final piece to revamped O-line in Donovan Jackson
The Vikings elected to stick and pick an Ohio State lineman who keyed their championship run
By Matthew Coller
When Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said following his team’s playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams that they needed to bolster the interior of the offensive line, he was not messing around. By using the 24th overall pick on Ohio State guard Donovan Jackson, in addition to adding free agents Will Fries and Ryan Kelly, the Vikings have not only solidified the interior this offseason but potentially created one of the most complete offensive lines in the entire NFL.
“The idea of Donovan walking into that O-line room that now has some pretty impactful players across the board there — something that was a goal, and I think tonight really put a stamp on a plan that we set out to accomplish,” O’Connell said following the pick on Thursday night.
The Vikings’ new left guard started for the Buckeyes over the last three years, though last season he moved over the left tackle because of a teammate’s injury. Despite the adjustment, Jackson adapted quickly and gave up just one QB pressure in battles against Oregon, Texas and Notre Dame during the college football playoff.
“I just love everything about his play style, his size; he's got length, he's got power, and then the little things that sometimes jump out at you about a player: willingness to just jump over to the left tackle spot in the very next week,” O’Connell said.
That move from guard to tackle in the middle of the season after having no experience or training at tackle stood out to everyone around him, including his offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, who talked during the college football playoff about Jackson’s willingness to slide over even with the possibility that it could bring his draft stock down.
“I was really happy for him because that goes back to the selfless thing. There's a lot of guys that say, ‘Hey, well, this could hurt my draft stock,’ but I don't think Donnie's concerned with his draft stock. I think what Donnie's concerned with is leaving a lasting legacy here,” Kelly said.
It appears the Vikings were sold on Jackson’s personality being a fit with the four veteran players who currently make up the offensive line. However, that shouldn’t overshadow the physical element of it.
Jackson made Bruce Feldman’s “Freaks List” going into the 2024 season and he proved deserving of that when he worked out at the NFL Combine. At nearly 6-foot-4, 315 pounds, he did 32 bench reps (93rd percentile) and posted a vertical jump of 32.5 inches (97th percentile). Per the site Relative Athletic Score, he lands in the 90th percentile of athletic testing among guards. He also has an 88th percentile wingspan.
Experience might also have been a factor for the Vikings as they are entering a season where they will have high expectations. He played over 2,500 college snaps at Ohio State and should be penciled in as the Day 1 starter rather than needing a long time to develop. Over his two years at guard there were some ups and downs as he graded below average in pass protection in 2022 but made big strides in that area in 2023 with a 72.7 PFF grade and only 10 pressures allowed. Still, that wasn’t quite in the ballpark of top-picked guard (12th overall) Tyler Booker, who had an 86.0 pass blocking grade last year.
Still, if Jackson wins the job, he will take over the role from Blake Brandel, who gave up the third most QB pressures among guards in the NFL and graded 55th of 59 overall last season by PFF. Reducing the amount of pressure on the quarterback and adding to the run blocking quality could have a profound effect on the offense.
“I think it has a chance to be one of the better O-lines in football,” O’Connell said. “There's something to be said for where our division is, and how we've learned over time how people defend us, and the ability to win consistently at the line of scrimmage is going to be something that I think bodes well for not only our ability to run the ball, but our ability to throw the football, as well.”
The Jackson pick carries with it a potential trickle-down effect. We can’t judge the selection in a vacuum because it matters that they now have a group of five with the potential to be dominating and intimidating to other teams rather than either just surviving from week to week or being competent at best. Last year, there were only six quarterbacks who even cleared an 80.0 QB rating when pressured but there were 18 QBs who posted over a 100.0 rating when they were kept clean. You don’t have to look too far to find top teams like the Bills, Eagles and Ravens toward the top of the PFF pass blocking rankings.
Picking Jackson gives the Vikings a chance to significantly improve the weak link on their O-line and that has a direct effect on JJ McCarthy’s performance.
Earlier this offseason, Purple Insider looked at the trend of interior pressure increasing around the NFL and found that the value of good guard play is going up. That is also reflected in guards like Fries and Aaron Banks landing huge contracts in free agency. You don’t have to look much farther than the Super Bowl to see the impact that D-lines are having on offenses by creating interior pressures. Jackson is part of the solution to fight back.
In terms of the ground game, Jackson’s mobility gives the Vikings a chance to stick with their typical zone running scheme. Last year RBs Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason both ran more in zone than they did gap schemes. The Vikings desperately needed to field a better run blocking O-line after struggling for several straight years since O’Connell arrived to create a consistent push, especially in short-yardage situations. Jackson’s power and strength gives them a chance to be a run threat on third-and-goal from the 2-yard line. They also want a run game to work play-action off for McCarthy.
Everything about adding a prospect of Jackson’s caliber — from his physical traits to personality to the makeup of the O-line room seems like a very good fit.
The biggest questions about draft night won’t be about whether Jackson has a chance to be a good player or whether he has a chance to take the O-line from good to really good. Instead it will be about how the board played out.
Right after the Vikings chose to stick and pick at 24, the Houston Texans moved back in a trade with the New York Giants and picked up the 99th pick and a third-round selection in 2025. And then the Falcons pulled of a wild move up with the Rams, sending a 2026 first-rounder to L.A. in order to select DE James Pearce.
It’s hard to assume that the Vikings could have made those same exact trades but both had to have been enticing to some extent considering the draft board still had safety Malaki Starks and a number of cornerbacks like Maxwell Hairston, Will Johnson and Trey Amos.
“People had called. It really didn't get heated up until before our pick, but we had gone through these kind of simulation exercises with Donovan [Jackson], and what if we got offered X or Y?” GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said. “In those moments, we wanted to really like the player, and we were really happy with what we were getting. I'm not going to say what people called.”
In terms of theoretical draft pick value, the Vikings might have been able to squeeze out more than what the 24th overall pick is typically worth. However, if they wanted to pick another guard, they wouldn’t have been able to grab one until the 97th overall pick. At that point, it’s a lot less likely that they would be able to grab a Day 1 starter / a player with the ceiling of Jackson.
Getting the player they wanted, in this case, was more important than being able to pick up a couple late Day 2 picks. We might never know if the Falcons offered them the same type of compensation they sent to the Rams, but that did require L.A. to move way back (46th) in this draft in order to say yes.
We always need a “what-if” in ever single draft. This one won’t be about the guys they passed on but rather the extra picks they passed on. Of course, if Jackson slots into the Vikings’ O-line as he’s expected to do and shines quickly, you won’t ever heard about the trade-back possibilities again.
The bottom line on the Jackson pick is that the Vikings went into this offseason with a very clear goal of creating the best possible environment in front of McCarthy possible and they achieved that.
The selection also represents the final step to building an entirely new roster that O’Connell and Adofo-Mensah sought to construct when they arrived in 2022. The plan was to emulate teams like the Eagles and 49ers, who give their QBs every chance to succeed with the supporting cast. They appear to have accomplished that goal and their 2025 first-round pick could end up being a major part of that bigger plan.
I’ve been higher on Jackson than many, certainly than Coller, who I’ve felt knocked him unfairly several times throughout this process until the end (ripping him for his game against Penn State to Sikkema stands out. His first in moving to Tackle. Against Abdul Carter. Yeah, that could be a struggle). Zabel, Grant, Jackson, Amos. I wanted one of those four with the first pick so I'm happy with this selection.
As Coller said, there was a big drop off after Jackson to the next Guard with potential to produce anything in year one. Yes, reaching for need is bad, but picking for immediate value is good. Tarzan said that. There are a bunch of DTs who can provide rotational value in the 90-140 range, but there weren't any Guards coming in to do that.
Would I have rather had Zabel? Yes, but nearly everyone had him going to Seattle so I didn’t expect him to be available at 24. I liked Jackson more from a Zone scheme perspective than Booker. For what it’s Jackson’s grades (71.9) at G last year are better than Booker’s (66.5). Jackson doesn’t have the highs of either of them—not as fast as Zabel or as strong as Booker, but he also has things over each—stronger than Zabel and a much better mover than Booker. So Jackson is Goldilocks, just right.
The “reaches” comments over and over from Coller and others last seem out of touch with the research and data he’s provided before and effectively reiterates in this article. When you see 3 guards in Booker, Zabel, and Jackson, ranked 31, 33, and 36 respectively on Arif’s Consensus Board all go between 12 and 24 maybe the media is out of touch with the value of the position. Dane Brugler said a few hours before the draft that what people “in the league” were telling him was that O-line would be drafted heavily in the first round and higher than draftniks were predicting. Yep.
Last, I believe the noise that Houston wanted Jackson so moving back with NY takes him out of the equation. And trading back with Atlanta cost the Rams their 101st pick, meaning the Vikings likely depart with pick 97 so yep, they’d have a likely mid-first round pick next year, but they’d have 46, 139, and 187 this year. I’ll take what they did over that.
Great breakdown. This revamped OL should also help time of possession, which seemed like an issue last season when they were a poor short-yardage running team. They couldn’t sustain drives as often as desired to keep opposing offenses off the field and give the D more of a break. I’m optimistic this will be less of an issue now, even if it means JJ isn’t making the number of explosive pass plays Sam produced. They should feasibly be a better overall offense in ‘25, and that starts with the line. Course, I wonder how far they could’ve traded back and still gotten Jackson.