In a historically weak offensive line class, it seemed likely that the Minnesota Vikings would be on the outside looking in as the rare highlight linemen would be snapped up before the second round began.
Instead, two of the top four offensive linemen (per the Consensus Big Board) remain as front offices scramble to position themselves for the second round. Both of those linemen are in the top 32 of the consensus rankings.
One player, Forrest Lamp, has tackle-guard versatility and is coming off of an incredible season as a left tackle, having shut down first-round pick Jonathan Allen and other Alabama prospects like Ryan Anderson and Tim Williams. In Pro Football Focus’ grades, Lamp graded out as a top five tackle in the FBS for three straight years.
Though his length and size is an issue for projecting him to tackle, his strength and quickness makes him an ideal positional convert for guard—or he could stay at tackle for a team willing to take that chance.
The other top lineman (ranked 24th) is Cam Robinson, is a huge human somewhat along the lines of former Vikings right tackle Phil Loadholt. Though he’s been given knocks for his relative rawness as a tackle and his tendency to play high, he showcases a lot of anchor and has improved significantly throughout his career. According to Nolan Nawrocki, many scouts thought he would go in the top fifteen.
He needs better footwork and awareness, but his movement skills overall and ability to technically execute a variety of run blocks make him a viable offensive lineman for a lot of schemes.
Aside from that, the Vikings could also potentially go after Dan Feeney, a guard from Indiana who demonstrates first-round talent but has serious injury concerns in the form of a concussion that sidelined him for 18 quarters as well as a lisfranc injury in 2013. He’s ranked 49th on the Consensus Big Board.
The Consensus Board also ranks a glut of linemen between picks 64 and 66 in the form of Taylor Moton, Pat Elflein or Dion Dawkins—all of whom could fill a role in the Vikings’ thin offensive line corps.
If they value Lamp or Robinson, expect to see some moves early tomorrow in order to secure that spot—that is, if the Green Bay Packers don’t take their favorite player at number 33.
