The Vikings Could Further Bolster the Trenches By Targeting Deone Walker On Day 2
The Minnesota Vikings successfully revamped their defense over the last offseason. Almost every addition, no matter how big or small, turned Minnesota’s defense into a feared unit, something they haven’t been since the middle of Mike Zimmer’s tenure.
Although they added significant pieces at almost every position, from edge rusher to linebacker and cornerback, they don’t seem to have a long-term solution at defensive tackle. We know the Vikings tried to bring in Christian Wilkins, and they still need a young defensive tackle.
Recently, we have seen a shift in how teams value interior pressure. After extending Harrison Phillips in the middle of the year, the Vikings solved one-half of their problems. Still, despite the impressive play of guys like Jerry Tillery, Jihad Ward, and Jalen Redmond, the team could look to add a solid starting-level guy at this position while working in rotational pieces.
They have been active in the defensive tackle market in free agency, bringing in Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen. While these two players are great short-term fixes, the Vikings could still inject some youth into the defensive tackle room and have a rookie learn from these two decorated veterans.
Luckily for them, this draft might be one of the deepest at defensive tackle in recent memory. While they don’t have any chance of landing a player like Mason Graham, there are still plenty of potentially game-wrecking guys on the interior in Minnesota’s range.
Kentucky’s Deone Walker is one such player the Vikings could look to target in the third round.
At 6’6” and just under 350 lbs., Walker has NFL defensive tackle size, but his athletic profile makes him unique. Most defensive tackle prospects have either the size or the athletics, but Walker seems to have both.
We have seen how Brian Flores and Minnesota’s defense have thrived on their ability to give quarterbacks unique looks at the line of scrimmage. They take advantage of their athletic front seven by playing almost positionless football and lining up in different spots. Although his size indicates he could only play one position, Walker has lined up as a stand-up edge rusher multiple times as a Wildcat.
While his size would already make him useful for a defensive line that sorely lacks in that department, how he uses that size in conjunction with his athleticism makes him such an impressive prospect.
Because of his size, Walker would draw double teams on passing and running plays, giving his edge rushers favorable one-on-one matchups with tackles on the outside on true passing sets. That would make it harder for athletic guards and centers to pull and get to the second level, allowing his linebackers to make plays unimpeded.
Walker uses his size and strength to convert it well to power and force offenses to double-team him to contain him. Despite this, he still seems to win at an astounding rate, recording 51 pressures in 2023 with a 12% win rate and 7.5 sacks. He was less productive last year, with his win rate dropping to 9% and his sacks falling to 1.5. However, that’s partially due to teams game-planning ways to neutralize him.
