Kevin O’Connell Explains the Surprising Draft Strategy
In the lead-up to the NFL Draft, it was widely expected that the Minnesota Vikings, a team with only four picks and no second-rounder, would be an obvious trade-down candidate. Yet, the purple franchise stayed at 24 and selected Ohio State’s blocker, Donovan Jackson.
Kevin O’Connell Explains the Surprising Draft Strategy
That decision drew some criticism. Seth Walder, ESPN, noted on social media right after the pick: “Three ways to lose at the NFL Draft: 1) Reach for players before they are likely to be selected. 2) Draft low value positions early. 3) Trade up and/or fail to trade down. Anyway just thinking about the Vikings.”
On Wednesday, head coach Kevin O’Connell appeared on the Rich Eisen Show. Eisen wanted to know about the details, and O’Connell explained:
“I think Kwesi was doing a great job. And Rob (Brzezinski) and our folks in there, kind of, we kind of knew we’d be right in the mix there of potentially a team either wanting to come up and maybe select a quarterback, maybe another position.”
Indeed, the Falcons and Giants gave up some draft capital to pick right behind the Vikings, and the Eagles reportedly had wanted to trade up long before they ultimately selected Jihaad Campbell 31st overall, too.
O’Connell continued: “But we also have identified some players in a cluster there at certain spots, that if one of those guys were there, it was going to take a certain amount of capital via the trade to even be thinking about moving, and we fielded some calls. We had some conversations and some good dialogue. And ultimately decided to pull the card and draft Donovan Jackson. He was one of those players that we kind of went into the draft hoping he would be there, and really see a role fit for him and our team that we’re really excited about.”
Among those players were likely a few guys who had been selected prior to Minnesota’s pick. Potentially, cornerback Jahdae Barron or defensive tackles Kenneth Grant and Derrick Harmon could’ve been options there.
The Vikings pretty much said they would rather pick the one player they know will be a fantastic contributor rather than a couple of guys they don’t feel as good about. Only time will tell whether that was a good or a bad decision, primarily based on Jackson’s development.
Jackson started 40 games for Ohio State, 31 at left guard and nine at left tackle. He moved to the outside last season after tackle Josh Simmons suffered a knee injury, and his backup was out, too. The Buckeyes asked him to do it, which could’ve hurt his draft stock as a natural guard, but with the national title in mind, he accepted.
Field Yates, one of Walder’s colleagues at ESPN, recently called him his favorite draft selection in the entire 2025 Draft, writing: “Guard Donovan Jackson to the Vikings (No. 24). Jackson was 20th overall on my board, as I am extremely bullish on his positional versatility, power, toughness and overall play temperament. The Vikings began this offseason saying they would get their trenches in order and have done it.”
The offensive guard has to unseat incumbent starter Blake Brandel before starting for the Vikings. They wouldn’t have spent a first-rounder on him if they weren’t confident he could do that rather quickly.
Prior to choosing Jackson, the Vikings had already addressed the offensive line by signing Will Fries and Ryan Kelly in free agency. Both should be massive upgrades over their predecessors and provide an excellent pocket for J.J. McCarthy.
For the first time in years, the Vikings are expected to have a top-tier offensive line.
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