Vikings Quietly Made the New Deal Official
Last offseason, it turned out to be an extended storyline when neither quarterback J.J. McCarthy nor defender Dallas Turner had signed their rookie deals and were among the very last first-rounders without contracts. They then signed right ahead of July’s training camp.
Vikings Quietly Made the New Deal Official
This year’s first-rounder, Donovan Jackson, didn’t have any interest in comparable shenanigans and has already signed his contract.
The first reports arrived around the time the schedules were released, so nobody cared too much. A day later, the Vikings confirmed the signing.
They wrote on their website: “The Vikings on Thursday announced they have signed first-round pick Donovan Jackson. The offensive lineman from Ohio State was selected with the 24th overall selection of 2025. He has joined the rest of Minnesota’s five-player draft class in signing. Receiver Tai Felton, defensive lineman Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins, linebacker Kobe King and tight end Gavin Bartholomew finished their deals before last week’s rookie minicamp.”
Jackson was drafted 24th overall. Many expected the Vikings to move down the board to accumulate more draft capital, but they liked Jackson and picked him.
Kevin O’Connell said a couple of weeks ago, “I think Kwesi was doing a great job. And Rob (Brzezinski) and our folks in there, 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. 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.”
Ahead of the first year with J.J. McCarthy taking snaps under center, Minnesota has finally fixed the interior offensive line after years of struggles. The outside, of course, is already excellent with Brian O’Neill and Christian Darrisaw taking care of the edges.
The first move was the acquisition of veteran center and four-time Pro Bowler Ryan Kelly. He is no longer in his prime and will turn 32 this month. However, his experience of 121 career starts will help the young passer with the protection calls, and he can still play. Subsequently, the Vikings said goodbye to former first-rounder and starting center since 2019, Garrett Bradbury. He has since signed with the Patriots.
At guard, Kelly helped recruit his Colts teammate, Will Fries. Viewed as the crown jewel of guard play in free agency, the Vikings got the nod and hope he can return to his pre-injury form. Fries fractured his tibia last season, but played at a Pro Bowl level prior to the incident, and therefore, earned a huge contract. His arrival marked the end of Ed Ingram’s tenure in the Twin Cities. The former second-rounder was traded to Houston for a pick that helped facilitate the trade for Jordan Mason.
Finally, Jackson was drafted to complete the new interior line. He will compete with last year’s starter, Blake Brandel, for the job, but considering his draft pedigree, he should be favored entering the summer. Brandel started off solid last year, but his play dropped off as the season went on.
After the draft, head coach O’Connell said about his new protector: “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 jump over to the left tackle spot, and the very next week, he’s blocking the third pick in tonight’s draft (Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter) and competing his tail off. Didn’t necessarily need to do that in a year where he was going to be drafted and evaluated the way he was. A lot of things that we’re very excited about.”
Jackson will get onto the field with the veteran teammates for the first time later this month.