The Minnesota Vikings drafted Donovan Jackson in the first round this year, and he’ll start his career in a situation many young offensive linemen only wish they had. He looks like a Week 1 starter, and he will be playing for one of the more dynamic teams in the NFL, one with championship ambitions.
Jackson has been the sixth offensive lineman Minnesota has drafted in the first two rounds since 2018. When we look back at other O-linemen Minnesota has selected in the first two rounds, is Jackson walking into the best situation a Vikings rookie offensive lineman has entered in the past seven years?
The others include Brian O’Neill, Garrett Bradbury, Ezra Cleveland, Christian Darrisaw, and Ed Ingram. The Vikings drafted them between 2018 and 2022; Bradbury and Darrisaw were the only first-round picks.
Jackson is a potential starter between Darrisaw and newly acquired four-time Pro-Bowler Ryan Kelly. Will Fries and two-time Pro Bowler O’Neill will be the other two to join him on the 2025 offensive line. Now that we know where Jackson will fit in, where does his situation stack up with those five other early-round selections?
Brian O’Neill joined a team with championship aspirations
Coming off the 2017 playoff run, the Vikings selected O’Neill in the second round in the 2018 draft. That year, the Vikings also grabbed Rosemount native Tom Compton from the Chicago Bears during free agency.
Compton only played one season in Minnesota. However, he started 14 games, the only season in his career when he started over 10.
O’Neill joined three other players from Minnesota’s starting offensive line in 2017.
A year later, the Vikings selected Garrett Bradbury in the first round. Bradbury joined O’Neill as an instant starter for a physical offensive line that added Super Bowl XLIX champion Josh Kline.
Kline only played one season in Minnesota and retired in 2021 after not playing in the 2020 season. In 2019, Kline was the Vikings’ only offensive lineman with Super Bowl experience or a Pro Bowl selection that they would bring in until signing Kelly this offseason.
Minnesota’s offensive line helped it reach the playoffs. However, after beating the New Orleans Saints in the Wild Card game, the San Francisco 49ers beat them in the trenches a week later.
The Vikings got mixed results from Ezra Cleveland but landed Christian Darrisaw
In 2020, the Vikings took Cleveland in the second round. They added Dakota Dozier as a free agent in 2019, but he had more of an impact a year later. He played three seasons for the Vikings but was only a regular starter in 2020.
After the season, the Vikings released mainstay left tackle Riley Reiff. Since then, Reiff has been bouncing around the NFL and last played in 2023.
The Vikings selected Darrisaw in the first round a year later. Darrisaw has become a mainstay at left tackle, successfully replacing Reiff in Minnesota’s offense. Darrisaw is considered one of the better offensive linemen in the league, if not the best.
Oli Udoh, a 2019 sixth-round draft pick, also had a productive year in 2021. However, it was the only season he started more than one game.
However, Udoh battled legal problems, and the Vikings released him after the 2023 season. After playing with the New Orleans Saints last year, he signed with the Tennessee Titans in free agency.
Ed Ingram didn’t live up to his draft pedigree
Ingram was Minnesota’s latest early-round offensive lineman before they took Jackson. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah selected him in the 2022 draft, his first as a general manager. The 2022 class has since been seen as a flop and a potential reason for ownership hesitating to re-sign the general manager.
In 2022, the Vikings started all their early-round picks from the past five years on the offensive line. Minnesota’s O-line helped them reach the playoffs, where they fell to Daniel Jones and the New York Giants in the Wild Card round.
However, last year, the Vikings benched Ingram in favor of Dalton Risner, showing their lack of faith in their right guard.
Between 2022 and the projected 2025 starting offensive line, Risner and Brandel are the only players the Vikings didn’t draft highly who have seen meaningful starts.
Cam Robinson also stepped up last season after Darrisaw suffered a knee injury in Week 8. However, he was never part of Minnesota’s long-term plans.
Where are Minnesota’s early picks now?
Darrisaw and O’Neill are still with the Vikings and are projected to be Week 1 starters entering the 2025 season.
Garrett Bradbury’s tenure with the Vikings ended after they acquired Kelly. After six seasons in Minnesota, Bradbury has joined the New England Patriots.
After a frustrating few years, the Vikings traded Cleveland to the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2023 for a 2024 sixth-round draft pick. He has since re-signed with the Jaguars on a three-year deal. The Vikings used the pick to select tackle Walter Rouse.
Ingram split time with Risner last season. Earlier this offseason, the Vikings traded Ingram to the Houston Texans for a 2026 sixth-round pick.
Jackson should benefit from his situation in Minnesota
Jackson is Minnesota’s first early-round offensive lineman picked since Ingram in 2022. The Vikings hope he’s the final piece missing in a line with its fair share of struggles, especially in the interior. They are bringing him into a situation that will help him thrive, especially with two Pro Bowlers and two other dynamic blockers lining up with him.
Of the linemen Minnesota has drafted in the early rounds, Jackson enters the best situation. He joins the league trying to help the Vikings bring home their first-ever Lombardi Trophy.
