Vikings get Ohio State guard Donovan Jackson in NFL draft with 24th pick

The Minnesota Vikings were never more determined to fix their blocking problems than were this spring, after a 14-win season was ultimately torpedoed by too much interior pressure.

Donovan Jackson became the final piece of the upgrade.

The Vikings made the Ohio State guard the 24th selection in the NFL draft on Thursday night, completing an offseason overhaul of the interior of their offensive line after ignoring an opportunity to trade down and add to their small number of picks.

The 6-foot-4, 315-pound Jackson, who was the third guard taken behind Alabama’s Tyler Booker at No. 12 and North Dakota State’s Gray Zabel at No. 18, was a second-team Associated Press All-American for the national champion Buckeyes.

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“He’s got size. He’s got length. He’s got power,” Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said. “A lot of things that we’re very excited about.”

Jackson was a three-year starter at left guard who moved to left tackle midway through his senior season after an injury at that position, even though the switch posed a potential risk to his draft stock.

“I just wanted to win,” said Jackson, who allowed only five sacks in 1,293 pass blocking snaps in his college career, according to Pro Football Focus analysis.

After struggling for several years to stabilize their offensive line, the Vikings finally got aggressive and signed center Ryan Kelly and right guard Will Fries in free agency — both away from Indianapolis — for a combined, guaranteed total of more than $53 million.

Now they’ll likely have three new starters in the middle between standout tackles Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill. Center Garrett Bradbury was released and signed with New England. Right guard Dalton Risner became a free agent. Left guard Blake Brandel, who was drafted as a tackle, could become a versatile backup.

“The ability to have a collection of five guys up front playing as one with the type of skill sets and physical ability we have now gives me really good feelings about what we can be,” O’Connell said, “not only this year, but beyond.”

The timing couldn’t be better, with the offense about to be turned over to quarterback J.J. McCarthy, whose preseason knee injury last year prevented him from playing as a rookie.

The Vikings have only three picks remaining in this draft, one in the third round on Friday and one each in the fifth and seventh rounds on Saturday.

Because of that and their lack of a glaring need, unlike last year when they drafted McCarthy, they were a prime candidate to move down.

There were two trades made right behind them, with the New York Giants and Atlanta Falcons swooping in to pick at No. 25 and 26, but general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said the Vikings were too enamored with Jackson to be tempted to slide down with the risk he’d go elsewhere.

For years, the tackles were the biggest-money positions on the line, but the guards have been catching up in importance — and salary.

“I think you’ve seen in the market the value that’s been assigned to it,” Adofo-Mensah said.

Jackson considered declaring for the draft a year ago, so the Vikings have had a close eye on him for awhile. When he made his recent pre-draft visit to team headquarters, he met McCarthy, a Michigan product who won the national championship the year before Ohio State.

The time for rivalry-fueled animosity, though, has passed.

“We’re going to leave that in college,” McCarthy told Jackson then.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL