Minnesota Vikings star makes a return to his old stomping grounds for a special NFL Draft presentation
Every year, the NFL brings legends or current players to the NFL Draft, and the Minnesota Vikings’ selection has unique ties to this year’s location.
The NFL Draft is now seven days away and the excitement is palpable. The Minnesota Vikings are going to be a team to watch for mutiple reasons. The entire course of the first round could shift once the Vikings are on the clock.
There are a lot of offensive linemen who could be available that other teams could trade up for, and that could get the Vikings another pick on day two.
Brian O’Neill to announce pick at NFL Draft
The NFL announced on Thursday that each team will have a player representative of some kind announce a day two selection for them. The representative for the Vikings will be right tackle Brian O’Neill.
O’Neill is one of the few current players that will be announcing a selection, joining Joey Porter Jr. of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Jeffery Simmons of the Tennessee Titans, and James Conner of the Arizona Cardinals. He’s also one of many players from the University of Pittsburgh, which has seven total alumni at the event.
O’Neill was on campus at Pitt over four seasons, redshirting in 2014 and moving from tight end to offensive tackle before his redshirt freshman season. He started every game over the next three seasons at left tackle before the Vikings selected him at 62nd overall in the 2018 NFL Draft.
Since then, O’Neill has been a stalwart player for the Vikings at right tackle, taking over for Rashod Hill in Week 2 of his rookie season and never relinquishing the starting job. He made the Pro Bowl in both 2021 and 2024, and has thrived in every situation thrown at him.
The theme of celebrating Pittsburgh will be at full force with O’Neill announcing a draft pick, especially with him being selected on day two.