The Mock Drafts have been running for months and most commonly predict the Vikings to use their first-round pick on the defensive side of the ball. But if there's one thing that's certain about the NFL Draft … it's that nothing is certain. So in leading up to this year's three-day event that begins with Round 1 on April 23, 2026, we're previewing prospects by position groups (all except quarterback, where the Vikings have four players on the roster, and specialists, where the Vikings have a trio of All-Pros). This draft prospect series will include rankings by national outlets, stats and background information for a bounty of prospects. Our first three installments focused on running backs, wide receivers and tight ends.
Next up is offensive line, a position the draft community sees as being strong early on at tackle and deeper later on in the interior. Interestingly, there doesn't seem to be a center that will be picked Day 1, but there are a slew of starting-caliber ones that could fly off the board as early as the second round and into Day 3, according to the experts. Many pundits are projecting tackles Spencer Fano, Monroe Freeling, Francis Mauigoa and Kadyn Proctor, as well as guard Olaivavega Ioane as candidates for the first round.
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Vikings status at offensive line
There are currently five tackles on Minnesota's roster, including a pair who are generally viewed as two of the best in the league manning their posts: left tackle Christian Darrisaw and right tackle Brian O'Neill.
Darrisaw, the 23rd overall pick in 2021, tore the ACL and MCL in his left knee in Week 8 of the 2024 slate. He tried to bookend Minnesota's line in 2025, returning in Week 3 (10 months after his surgery), but never regained his top form or his full health. He was shut down with four games remaining. O'Neill's luck wasn't much better; he was knocked out of the loss to Pittsburgh in Ireland after a teammate fell on him while protecting for a field goal and sprained his MCL. In total, he missed three games with injuries.
The talented tackles will be 27 and 31 years old, respectively, by mid-September, and their availability is one of the keys to Minnesota's success in 2026, regardless of if J.J. McCarthy or Kyler Murray emerges as the starting quarterback. While Darrisaw is more soft-spoken than O'Neill, both are locker-room leaders.
Other tackles returning are Caleb Etienne and Walter Rouse. The former was welcomed to the practice squad last December; the latter debuted on offense in 2025 and made four appearances as a substitute.
Minnesota has one new tackle that was signed in free agency, Ryan Van Demark, who joins the team from Buffalo, where he signed as an undrafted free agent in 2022 and started six games for the Bills since 2024. Van Demark fills the swing tackle void held last year by Justin Skule, who returned to Tampa Bay.
On the interior, the Vikings are bringing back seven players — Blake Brandel, Henry Byrd, Will Fries, Joe Huber, Donovan Jackson, Michael Jurgens and Vershon Lee — and five of them made at least one start last season.
Before free agency opened, four-time Pro Bowl center Ryan Kelly retired. He started eight games for the Vikings after 121 for the Colts, but his impact in the 2025 season was reduced by a series of concussions.
Brandel was the lynchpin of the line, logging starts at left guard (1), center (7) and right tackle (1) because of a rash of injuries. Fries, who was likened to a giant redwood tree by Offensive Coordinator Wes Phillips, was the common denominator of 26 unique groupings and showed some good stuff across 17 starts at right guard after rehabbing a broken leg that he sustained in 2024. Huber wasn't drafted but impressed in training camp, made the roster and started the game against Cleveland in London in place of Jackson, who missed three games due to injuries but otherwise fit well in the left guard role after he was selected 24th overall in 2025. Jurgens (seventh round, 2024) started thrice at center in Kelly's stead.
Byrd and Lee served the "look" team as members of the practice squad and logged their first NFL snaps in special teams capacities (Week 3 and 5 for Byrd; Week 5 for Lee).
Overall, the Vikings OL flashed promise a year ago, but instability caused by injuries stopped the group from attaining the kind of chemistry that transforms trench battles into a line dance. With better health in '26 plus someone dropping anchor at center — Brandel and Jurgens are options, but might not be the only ones competing — Minnesota may be a heckuva lot closer to attaining Diamond Medallion status up front.
In other words, the Vikings offense could really benefit if its starting five can stick together for more than the 83 snaps the intended starting five played together in 2025.
View the best photos of the Vikings offensive line and defensive line from the 2025 season.
Line leaders
Minnesota opted not to renew former offensive line coach Chris Kuper's contract when it expired after the 2025 season, and he was hired by the Eagles in the same position. Minnesota's new line leader, Keith Carter, was promoted from assistant offensive line coach. Next season will be Carter's second with Minnesota and 14th in the NFL. He also has eight seasons of college coaching experience under his belt.
The unit will be supported by new assistant o-line coach Derek Warehime, a 20-plus-year coaching veteran in the college ranks who was previously named Kentucky's run game coordinator in December of 2025 following three seasons (2023-25) leading Coastal Carolina's offensive line and run game strategy.
Additional run-game expertise will be implemented by new Assistant Head Coach Frank Smith, who was Mike McDaniel's right hand man in Miami and the Dolphins offensive coordinator the past four seasons.
Expert Rankings
Although anything is possible once the Vikings are on the clock, it seems unlikely at the moment that they will choose one of the college linemen mentioned in our intro with the 18th overall pick because 80 percent of their starting five is solidified on paper with Darrisaw, Jackson, Fries and O'Neill. Therefore, we're bypassing the first-round options and highlighting 15 others that may be targeted later in the draft.
To help present the big fellas, we have included data from analytics site Pro Football Focus, as well as rankings by position from The Athletic's Dane Brugler, and an overall ranking from ESPN’s Matt Miller.
Note: Heights and weights are from each player's profile on NFL.com (linked for each player's name).
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School: Miami (after Holmes Community College) | Age: 21 | Ht: 6-foot-9 | Wt: 346 pounds | GP (career Division-I games played): 28 with 21 starts (at Miami)
2025 PFF Grades/Stats (Regular and Postseason)
Overall: 72.1 | Pass blocking: 83.5 | Run blocking: 66.0 | Sacks & pressures allowed: zero; 15
Dane Brugler position rank: T10
Matt Miller overall rank: 118
Can't teach reach: Obviously a large human, Bell's wingspan is absolutely remarkable. Since at least 1999, his arm length of 36 3/8 inches is tied for the fourth longest for a tackle prospect, per MockDraftable. Guys with greater measurements are D.J. Fluker (36 3/4), Luke Lucas (36 3/4) and Julién Davenport (36 1/2). And the three players equal to Bell are Jarriel King, Tyron Smith and Dawand Jones.
School: Texas A&M | Age: 21 | Ht: 6-foot-5 | Wt: 315 pounds | GP: 36 with 35 starts
2025 PFF Grades/Stats
Overall: 62.4 | Pass blocking: 70.7 | Run blocking: 62.7 | Sacks & pressures allowed: one; 12
Dane Brugler position rank: G2
Matt Miller overall rank: 51
By way of the Garden State: Before Bisontis was a 13-game starter and Freshman All-American for the Aggies, he was the 2022 New Jersey Offensive Player of the Year — atypical and awesome recognition for an offensive lineman — at Don Bosco Preparatory, which has produced the likes of 2017 first-round pick Jabrill Peppers, former Packers running back Ryan Grant and current Bears running back Kyle Monangai.
School: Alabama (after Washington) | Age: 22 | Ht: 6-foot-2 | Wt: 289 pounds | GP: 42 with 42 starts
2025 PFF Grades/Stats
Overall: 65.6 | Pass blocking: 75.6 | Run blocking: 60.0 | Sacks & pressures allowed: one; 14
Dane Brugler position rank: C7
Matt Miller overall rank: 177
'SagU' ties: Brailsford has something shiny in common with Vikings cornerback Byron Murphy, Jr.; both players helped lead Saguaro High School in Scottsdale, Arizona, to state championships. Murph' collected a ring his senior year in 2015, and Brailsford did as a senior in 2021 under the same coach, Jason Mohns.
School: Memphis (after Gardner-Webb and Florida International) | Age: 23 | Ht: 6-foot-9 | Wt: 325 pounds | GP: 47 with 46 starts
2025 PFF Grades/Stats
Overall: 84.5 | Pass blocking: 81.5 | Run blocking: 84.2 | Sacks & pressures allowed: three; 13
Dane Brugler position rank: T9
Matt Miller overall rank: 81
Gigantic growth spurt: A nugget from Brugler's draft guide "The Beast" revealed that Burke grew 10 inches to 6-foot-6 between his freshman and junior seasons in high school. Burke can be chalked up as a late bloomer, considering Brugler also noted he was viewed as "a 'low money' free agent prospect over the summer by NFL scouts" and is largely being discussed by experts, now, as a target in the third round.
School: Indiana (after Notre Dame) | Age: 23 | Ht: 6-foot-5 | Wt: 311 pounds | GP: 46 with 42 starts
2025 PFF Grades/Stats
Overall: 78.0 | Pass blocking: 84.0 | Run blocking: 75.3 | Sacks & pressures allowed: zero; 10
Dane Brugler position rank: C10
Matt Miller overall rank: 247
Rose Bowl rarity: Coogan, and not presumptive No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza or any of the Hoosiers' five touchdown scorers in their Rose Bowl shellacking of Alabama, was named Offensive MVP afterward. Mind you, Coogan plays center. He's the first o-lineman to collect the award since USC's Norm Verry in 1944. Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy received the same honor as Coogan in 2024, by the way.
School: Iowa | Age: 22 | Ht: 6-foot-5 | Wt: 319 pounds | GP: 48 with 38 starts
2025 PFF Grades/Stats
Overall: 82.0 | Pass blocking: 77.3 | Run blocking: 80.0 | Sacks & pressures allowed: two; 10
Dane Brugler position rank: G5
Matt Miller overall rank: 93
Iowa folk hero: Adored for his red mullet and moustache and likened to a modern-day Paul Bunyan, Dunker was a back-to-back champ in Iowa's Solon Beef Days hay bale toss, a three-year starter at right tackle for the Hawkeyes (he projects to kick inside at the next level) and is the kind of guy you can't fully believe until you read up on him. We recommend this 2023 story from The Athletic's Scott Dochterman.
School: Michigan State (after Wake Forest) | Age: 23 | Ht: 6-foot-4 | Wt: 305 pounds | GP: 51 with 34 starts
2025 PFF Grades/Stats
Overall: 82.6 | Pass blocking: 87.8 | Run blocking: 81.9 | Sacks & pressures allowed: two; five
Dane Brugler position rank: C8
Matt Miller overall rank: 191
Moving company: Gulbin didn't stay put in college, making double-digit starts at all three interior positions. He broke into the starting lineup at Wake Forest in 2023 as the Demon Deacons right guard, and he slid down the line to left guard in 2024 before anchoring at center upon his transfer to Michigan State. Gulbin overlapped with Jurgens at Wake Forest (2021-23); they were the starting guards in 2023.
School: Kansas State | Age: 23 | Ht: 6-foot-4 | Wt: 303 pounds | GP: 42 with 25 starts
2025 PFF Grades/Stats
Overall: 80.3 | Pass blocking: 79.6 | Run blocking: 77.7 | Sacks & pressures allowed: zero; seven
Dane Brugler position rank: C2
Matt Miller overall rank: 89
Code number 007: A former walk-on in Manhattan, Hecht was the epitome of dependable in 2025. Across 759 snaps, Hecht steered clear from a single penalty, and across 392 pass-blocking snaps, he gave up zero sacks and seven pressures, hence the corny nickname we're giving him — "Double-O-Seven."
School: Iowa | Age: 24 | Ht: 6-foot-3 | Wt: 299 pounds | GP: 52 with 51 starts
2025 PFF Grades/Stats
Overall: 79.0 | Pass blocking: 90.7 | Run blocking: 73.0 | Sacks & pressures allowed: one; three
Dane Brugler position rank: C3
Matt Miller overall rank: 96
Local interest: Long before Jones won the Rimington Trophy in 2025 as the nation's top center and garnered First-Team All-American and All-Big Ten honors, and well before he switched gears from playing as a reserve along the Hawkeyes defensive line to unbelievably filling the shoes of Tyler Linderbaum, who recently became the highest-paid center in NFL history, without a hitch, Jones was extended a scholarship offer — his first — from the Minnesota Gophers after camping with them in summer 2017.
School: Auburn | Age: 20 | Ht: 6-foot-3 1/2 | Wt: 310 pounds | GP: 31 with 25 starts
2025 PFF Grades/Stats
Overall: 67.6 | Pass blocking: 71.9 | Run blocking: 64.9 | Sacks & pressures allowed: two; four
Dane Brugler position rank: C4
Matt Miller overall rank: 94
Time on his side: Lew tore his left ACL in October last season, but the setback hasn't derailed consensus that he can be a good pro. His age doesn't hurt either. Lew is one of seven prospects who will be just 20 years old on draft weekend, per Mike Renner. That bunch includes fellow linemen Mauigoa and Proctor.
School: Duke | Age: 22 | Ht: 6-foot-5 | Wt: 309 pounds | GP: 40 with 33 starts
2025 PFF Grades/Stats
Overall: 85.5 | Pass blocking: 83.4 | Run blocking: 83.9 | Sacks & pressures allowed: three; 20
Dane Brugler position rank: C6
Matt Miller overall rank: 128
Back to his roots?: Hailing from the Midwest — Cincinnati, Ohio — Parker is regarded as one of the top center prospects in the 2026 class after handling nearly 2,500 college snaps, but, amazingly, none at center or guard! Parker played both tackle spots for the Blue Devils (primarily right) but is bound to kick all the way inside, which is where he mostly starred at football factory St. Xavier High School, in the NFL.
School: Oregon (after Wyoming and USC) | Age: 24 | Ht: 6-foot-4 | Wt: 314 pounds | GP: 52 with 51 starts
2025 PFF Grades/Stats
Overall: 86.7 | Pass blocking: 88.1 | Run blocking: 85.8 | Sacks & pressures allowed: one; five
Dane Brugler position rank: G3
Matt Miller overall rank: 52
A scout's take: In Lance Zierlein's write-up of Pregnon on NFL.com, an anonymous NFC regional scout is quoted as saying, "He's older, stronger and more pro-ready than most (interior lineman) you have in this class. He's [a] high floor [prospect] and can step in for you tomorrow at left guard." For what it's worth, Zierlein compared Pregnon to Rams guard Kevin Dotson, and predicts he'll be taken in the second round.
School: Florida | Age: 23 | Ht: 6-foot-5 | Wt: 303 pounds | GP: 51 with 33 starts
2025 PFF Grades/Stats
Overall: 79.3 | Pass blocking: 84.1 | Run blocking: 80.2 | Sacks & pressures allowed: one; four
Dane Brugler position rank: C1
Matt Miller overall rank: 97
Above the neck: Brugler had a couple notes in his evaluation of Slaughter that stole our attention. First, Slaughter graduated high school with a 4.46 GPA — even our modest IQ knows that's brainiac territory. Second, an NFC scout commented on the effects of Slaughter's presence changing the temperature in a room: "He's a 43-year-old in a 23-year-old body." Brugler labeled him a "determined 'do-your-job' type."
School: Northwestern | Age: 23 | Ht: 6-foot-8 | Wt: 323 pounds | GP: 52 with 43 starts
2025 PFF Grades/Stats
Overall: 70.5 | Pass blocking: 84.3 | Run blocking: 59.7 | Sacks & pressures allowed: three; 13
Dane Brugler position rank: T8
Matt Miller overall rank: 61
Touching the sky: Tiernan tied for the 10th-highest vertical jump by an offensive lineman at the combine since at least 1999, according to MockDraftable. His leap of 35 1/2 inches was three inches shy of the top rung reached by Garret Greenfield in 2024. For what it's worth, Buccaneers five-time Pro Bowl tackle Tristan Wirfs jumped 36 1/2 inches in 2020, and Seahawks Super Bowl guard Grey Zabel ascended to that height in 2025. Brugler noted in "The Beast" that although Tiernan exclusively played tackle in college and offers swing tackle ability in the NFL, he may be best off long-term as a guard due to a lack of length.
School: Texas A&M | Age: 23 | Ht: 6-foot-6 1/2 | Wt: 312 pounds | GP: 54 with 50 starts
2025 PFF Grades/Stats
Overall: 72.7 | Pass blocking: 96.8 | Run blocking: 59.7 | Sacks & pressures allowed: two; 10
Dane Brugler position rank: C5
Matt Miller overall rank: 106
The SEC's elite: Zuhn was a co-winner of the 2025 Jacobs Blocking Trophy, which goes to the greatest offensive blocker in the SEC. He shared the recognition with Alabama's Proctor. The ACC has its own Jacobs Blocking award, and it went this past season to Miami's Mauigoa. That's elite company for Zuhn.
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