Vikings Put Starter on Alert With Projected $17 Million Champion Addition

The Minnesota Vikings entered the 2025 draft with a league-low four picks. After Day 1, the Vikings are in a similar boat after potentially passing on trade opportunities to draft former Ohio State guard Donovan Jackson.

A three-year starter, Jackson helped the Buckeyes win the College Football Playoff National Championship.

His arrival could be bad news for starting left guard Blake Brandel, a 17-game starter in 2024.

Jackson played left guard and left tackle while in college. The Vikings signed right guard Will Fries to a five-year, $87.7 million contract in free agency this offseason. Brandel, a sixth-round pick in 2020, is entering Year 2 of a three-year, $9.5 million pact.

There is no guaranteed money on Brandel’s contract after the 2025 season. The Vikings can cut him with a post-June 1 designation and save $3.5 million with $666,668 in dead money.

Brandel received the lowest grade of any returning Vikings OL in 2024 from Pro Football Focus.

In his “The Beast” draft guide published on April 9, The Athletic’s Dane Brugler ranked Jackson as the OT6 and the No. 48 overall prospect. Spotrac projects the former Buckeye will earn $17.1 million over four years on his rookie scale contract with the Vikings as the No. 24 draft pick.

Vikings May Have Passed on Trade Opportunities to Draft Donovan Jackson

The draft’s first trade of the night occurred before the Vikings’ time. The Jacksonville Jaguars traded No. 5 overall to the Cleveland Browns for No. 2. They were joined by the Houston Texans and Los Angeles Rams, who traded with the New York Giants and Atlanta Falcons, respectively.

ESPN’s Kevin Seifert speculated that the Vikings may have had trade opportunities, too.

“After the Vikings picked Donovan Jackson at No. 24, the Texans traded out of No. 25 and the Rams traded out of No. 26,” Seifert posted on X on April 24. “That suggests the Vikings had a chance to trade down as well. We’ll see what Kwesi Adofo-Mensah says about that here in a bit.”

Seifert called the Vikings’ draft slot a potential “prime” target for a trade down. He noted that Adofo-Mensah’s comments about it suggested otherwise.

“If it’s going to be four picks at four positions that we really want, four great people, four skill sets we require, let’s go do that, and we’ll figure everything else out,” Adofo-Mensah told reporters on April 24, per Seifert. “That’s the mindset we’ve tried to approach and take.”

The Vikings’ next draft selection is not until the third round at No. 97 overall, barring a move.

Vikings Building Physical Group to Support Young QB

Jackson is the latest addition for the Vikings, who added four new players to their starting lines before the draft.

The Vikings signed Fries and fellow former Indianapolis Colts OL Ryan Kelly in free agency. On defense, they signed Javon Hargrave from the San Francisco 49ers and Jonathan Allen, formerly of the Washington Commanders.

Minnesota also acquired running back Jordan Mason in a trade with the 49ers.

Mason will team with Aaron Jones, who had a career year in 2024, in the Vikings’ backfield in 2025.

Ahead of Draft Day 2, the Vikings are trending toward another strong year from the defense, bolstered by strong trenches and a renewed running attack to take pressure off presumed starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy, Minnesota’s first-round draft pick in 2024.