A Draft Prospect from Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s Alma Mater Visits the Vikings
With the 2023 NFL Draft just a week away, Wednesday was the final day for prospects to have top-30 visits with teams ahead of the event. On this deadline day, we saw a draft prospect from Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s alma mater visit with the Minnesota Vikings. That prospect, as reported by Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, is OL Henry Byrd from Princeton.
Pelissero’s tweet also included a tidbit that Byrd is an accomplished tap dancer, meaning he will be very nimble on his feet for an offensive lineman that stands at 6’5 and 310 pounds.
Throughout his career at Princeton, Byrd was a very accomplished player at offensive tackle in the Ivy League. He was named first-time All-Ivy in each of his last two seasons and All-ECAC in 2022.
Prior to the 2022 season, Byrd did an interview with NFL Draft Diamonds, and when asked what an NFL team would get in him, this was the answer:
“As far as my skills as a lineman, I have good feet and I’m quick out of my set and off the ball. I do a good job with tracking and picking up blitzes too. I also really enjoy the process of putting in the work in the weight room, watching film, etc.”
The Vikings have two stalwart starters at tackle, and Brian O’Neill is trending towards being ready to go for training camp following his partially torn Achilles suffered during Week 17 of the 2022 season.
However, both O’Neill and Christian Darrisaw have missed time with injury in the past season, so extra depth at offensive tackle does make some sense for the Vikings. Behind the two starters, Minnesota also has Blake Brandel, Vederian Lowe, and Oli Udoh as depth pieces.
Heading into the draft, the Vikings own five selections: Nos. 23, 87, 119, 158, and 211. The 2023 NFL Draft is set to begin on Thursday, April 27th.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.