Minnesota Vikings land massive steal who is a perfect Kevin O’Connell scheme fit to develop into an eventual starter down the road
Don’t look now, but the Minnesota Vikings may have the best offensive line they have had in a very, very long time. After the acquisitions of Will Fries and Ryan Kelly in free agency, the team decided to draft former Ohio State standout Donovan Jackson to come in and compete for the other starting guard […]
Don’t look now, but the Minnesota Vikings may have the best offensive line they have had in a very, very long time. After the acquisitions of Will Fries and Ryan Kelly in free agency, the team decided to draft former Ohio State standout Donovan Jackson to come in and compete for the other starting guard spot. Combine that with offensive tackles Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill returning, and you have arguably the best line in the entire NFL heading into the 2025 season.
While that starting lineup is pretty solidified, the Vikings staff was still interested in continuing to add talent to that offensive line room. One very interesting addition came agree the 2025 NFL Draft when Minnesota signed former Kansas right tackle Logan Brown as an undrafted free agent. Brown is a talented player who is a little rough around the edges, but offers plenty of upside.
The 6-6, 311-pound offensive tackle was originally a member of the 2019 recruiting class for the Wisconsin Badgers. Brown was rated as a five-star player in that class, and a top ten overall player by various of the major recruiting class. Unfortunately for Brown, his career in Madison didn’t play out the way he would have liked.
In four years with Wisconsin, Brown managed to play in just 26 games due to injury and failing to hold down a starting job. Brown decided to transfer to Kansas prior to the 2023 season, but only played in two games before being lost to injury. The talented offensive tackle was able to put it all together last season, starting 11 of the 12 games for the Jayhawks.
From a talent perspective, it was pretty easy to see why Brown was rated so highly as a recruit. Brown is a very gifted athlete, excelling with his ability to work laterally and to the second level. His anchor will need to get a lot stronger, but if it does, there is some real developmental upside. It wouldn’t be shocking to see Brown eventually start games in the NFL down the road.
His fit with the Vikings is extremely interesting. With his lateral mobility, Brown is an ideal wide zone offensive lineman, doing his best work on the move. There aren’t many clearer fits as a run blocker than working under head coach Kevin O’Connell.
You have your starting offensive tackles already in place with Darrisaw and O’Neill but the depth is much more of a question. Brown will have to battle with the likes of Walter Rouse and Justin Skule as swing tackles. If Brown is able to make the team, there should be a lot of excitement for him continuing to develop, and possibly compete to play long term.
If not for the durability issues, there is a good chance that Brown would have been drafted. The value is there for this to be a huge steal.
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