The Vikings put some finishing touches on an offseason plan when they selected Ohio State guard Donovan Jackson with the No. 24 pick in the draft. Jackson, a 6-foot-4, 315-pound guard, was the final piece of the team's "offseason vision" heading into the 2025 season, according to general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.
Speaking to KFAN's Paul Allen on Friday morning, Adofo-Mensah echoed his message from late Thursday about the team's plan to improve in the trenches.
"It's not really just his ability to road-grade," Adofo-Mensah said of Jackson. "I think he is a talented pass protector. That was one of the things that really jumped out to me when you watch him at guard. You don't always get to see the big space movements and have to recover versus college interior rushers. Then you saw him go out to the edge and you saw the big space movements and you saw him be able to function in there. That was what really sold it for a lot of us in the building. We're excited about him.
"Then you get to learn about the kid, and he's not just your 'in your face' o-lineman. He's more studious, cerebral, but you see the nasty come out when he gets between the white lines, which is the type of football player we want."
As the picks were announced and Minnesota's time on the clock neared, several prospects who had been linked the Vikings at No. 24 were flying off the board. That led to even more speculation that a trade back could be in the works for Minnesota, who entered the evening with just four picks in the entire draft. According to Adofo-Mensah, they were "always considering" the possibility of moving down but they're not too concerned about the lack of picks.
"We prepared for these scenarios. We kind of knew what was going to be available to us and we said going in, 'Hey, if we don't get this, we're going to stick-and-pick, and here's why.' Partly because of the offseason approach we took. There's not that many likely 53-man spots available, so you can add all the picks you want but the first thing you want for your draft picks is to make your team. And I don't know that we have eight spots available on the roster, in my humblest of humble opinions," Adofod-Mensah told Allen.
"That's not to say the roster is perfect. Far from it. Just rosterable, 53-man spots though, we don't have a ton of, so I don't know that going into the draft, even though obviously you'd want to have more than four picks, I don't know that amassing picks was this priority of ours. It was really about maximizing the impact on this team short and long term."
Ultimately, Minnesota landed a player they hope is the final piece to an offensive line that can rank among the best in the league. More importantly, they now have more comfort that they can protect their prized asset, the No. 10 overall pick in last year's draft, quarterback J.J. McCarthy.
