In the leadup to the 2023 NFL Draft, Vikings.com is taking a look at prospects who have garnered a range of attention from national outlets. The series will include rankings by those national outlets, stats and background information for multiple prospects.
Vikings status at edge rusher
NOTE: Vikings Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores is likely to run an adaptive defensive scheme with a 3-4 base, meaning Minnesota's edge defenders are outside linebackers. For pre-draft purposes, several experts combine defensive ends and outside linebackers in an EDGE category.
The Vikings currently have the following outside linebackers on their roster: Danielle Hunter, Za'Darius Smith, Marcus Davenport, D.J. Wonnum, Pat Jones II, Kenny Willekes, Luiji Vilain, Curtis Weaver and Benton Whitley.
Davenport signed with Minnesota last month as a free agent. The 14th overall draft pick in 2018, he spent the past five seasons with the Saints. Davenport started 32 of 63 games for New Orleans, totaling 21.5 sacks, 142 tackles (78 solo), 25 tackles for loss, seven forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and four passes defensed.
Smith, who joined the Vikings last spring as a free agent, started his debut season in Minnesota ablaze, and Hunter adjusted to a new defense and different responsibilities as the Vikings implemented a 3-4 base for the first time since 1985.
View the best photos of the Vikings outside linebackers, ZaDarius Smith, Danielle Hunter, D.J. Wonnum, Patrick Jones II and Luiji Villian during the 2022 season.
Minnesota Vikings vs. Chicago Bears January 8, 2023 Soldier Field, Chicago, IL
Smith finished with 10 sacks, and Hunter led the team with 10.5, becoming the first set of Vikings teammates to record double-digit sacks since Kevin Williams (11.5) and Lance Johnstone (11) in 2004.
Though Hunter and Smith were the Vikings anchors on the edge, Minnesota did rotate younger players through the position.
Wonnum appeared in 16 games with one start and played 582 of 1,161 defensive snaps (50.1 percent), and Jones appeared in 16 games and played 306 of 1,161 defensive snaps (26.4 percent).
Vilain played just 34 defensive snaps in his rookie season.
Expert rankings
NFL.com's Daniel Jeremiah currently has nine edge rushers in his overall Top 50: 2. Will Anderson, Jr., 4. Tyree Wilson, 14. Lukas Van Ness, 18. Nolan Smith, 23. Myles Murphy, 26. Will McDonald IV, 28. Keion White, 32. Felix Anudike-Uzomah and 35. BJ Ojulari.
ESPN's Mel Kiper, Jr., has five edge rushers, which he classified as outside linebackers or defensive ends, in his overall Top 25: 3. Anderson, 13. Smith, 20. McDonald, 21. Wilson and 23. Murphy
Rankings for edge rushers by Jeremiah, his NFL Media counterpart Bucky Brooks, Kiper, analytics site Pro Football Focus and The Athletic's Dane Brugler are listed below.
Prospects
Note: Heights and weights are from each player's profile on NFL.com (linked for each player's name).
School: Alabama | Year: Junior | Ht: 6-foot-3 ½ | Wt: 253 pounds
Experts' Position Rankings
Daniel Jeremiah: EDGE1
Bucky Brooks: EDGE1
Mel Kiper, Jr.: OLB1
Pro Football Focus: EDGE1
Dane Brugler: EDGE1
2022 stats: 13 games; 51 tackles (24 solo), 10 sacks, 17 TFL, 1 INT, 1 pass defensed
Youngest of 6: Anderson has five older sisters, whom he jokes has "bullied" him most of his life, even putting him in a dryer as a youngster.
School: Texas Tech (after Texas A&M) | Year: Redshirt Sr. | Ht: 6-foot-6 | Wt: 271 pounds
Experts' Position Rankings
Daniel Jeremiah: EDGE2
Bucky Brooks: EDGE2
Mel Kiper, Jr.: DE1
Pro Football Focus: EDGE2
Dane Brugler: EDGE2
2022 stats: 10 games; 61 tackles (36 solo), 7.0 sacks, 14 TFL, 1 FF, 1 FR
Winging it: Wilson's wingspan is 86 inches (7 feet, 2 inches).
School: Iowa | Year: Redshirt Soph.| Ht: 6-foot-5 | Wt: 272 pounds
Experts' Position Rankings
Daniel Jeremiah: EDGE3
Bucky Brooks: EDGE4
Mel Kiper, Jr.: DE4
Pro Football Focus: EDGE3
Dane Brugler: EDGE4
2022 stats: 13 games; 38 tackles (17 solo), 6.5 sacks, 11.0 TFL, 2 blocked punts
Hercules the Hawkeye: Due to his large stature and strength, Van Ness earned the nickname "Hercules" from his Iowa teammates.
School: Clemson | Year: Junior | Ht: 6-foot-5 | Wt: 268 pounds
Experts' Position Rankings
Daniel Jeremiah: EDGE5
Bucky Brooks: EDGE3
Mel Kiper, Jr.: DE2
Pro Football Focus: EDGE5
Dane Brugler: EDGE3
2022 stats: 13 games; 40 tackles (22 solo), 6.5 sacks, 11 TFL, 1, FF, 2 passes defensed
Notable names: Murphy attended Hillgrove High School (Georgia), an alma mater he shares with Bradley Chubb, Evan Engram and Kenyan Drake.
School: Georgia | Year: Senior | Ht: 6-foot-2 | Wt: 238 pounds
Experts' Position Rankings
Daniel Jeremiah: EDGE4
Bucky Brooks: Not Ranked
Mel Kiper, Jr.: OLB2
Pro Football Focus: EDGE4
Dane Brugler: EDGE5
2022 stats: 8 games; 18 tackles (14 solo), 3.0 sacks, 7.0 TFL, 1 pass defensed
Showed his speed: Smith's 40-yard-dash time of 4.39 seconds was the 16th fastest among any position and led all edge defenders at this year's NFL Scouting Combine.
School: Iowa State | Year: Redshirt Sr. | Ht: 6-foot-4 | Wt: 239 pounds
Experts' Position Rankings
Daniel Jeremiah: EDGE6
Bucky Brooks: Not Ranked
Mel Kiper, Jr.: OLB3
Pro Football Focus: EDGE6
Dane Brugler: EDGE8
2022 stats: 12 games; 36 tackles (23 solo), 5.0 sacks, 7.5 TFL, 1 FF, 1 FR, 4 passes defensed
All-around athlete: McDonald attended Waukesha North High School (Wisconsin), where he was the Division I state track & field discus champion with a toss of 179-9. He placed third in the high jump (6 feet, 4 inches). McDonald also played basketball and then added football for his final two prep seasons.
School: LSU | Year: Junior | Ht: 6-foot-2 | Wt: 248 pounds
Experts' Position Rankings
Daniel Jeremiah: EDGE9
Bucky Brooks: Not Ranked
Mel Kiper, Jr.: OLB4
Pro Football Focus: EDGE8
Dane Brugler: EDGE6
2022 stats: 11 games; 58 tackles (34 solo), 5.5 sacks, 8.5 TFL, 1 FF
Royal family: Ojulari is the grandson of a Nigerian prince, also a world-famous painter and musician who toured the globe by the name of Prince Twins Seven-Seven (passed away in 2011 after a stroke). BJ's mother, Bolanle, grew up in a palace before moving to the United States in 1996. His brother, Azeez, was selected in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft by the Giants.
School: Georgia Tech (after Old Dominion) | Year: Redshirt Sr. | Ht: 6-foot-5 | Wt: 285 pounds
Experts' Position Rankings
Daniel Jeremiah: EDGE7
Bucky Brooks: EDGE5
Mel Kiper, Jr.: DE3
Pro Football Focus: Not Ranked
Dane Brugler: EDGE10
2022 stats: 12 games; 54 tackles (29 solo), 7.5 sacks, 14 TFL, 1 pass defensed
Top speed: According to Bruce Feldman, White's speed has been measured at 21 mph by GPS.
Vikings status at defensive tackle
The Vikings currently have nine defensive linemen on their roster: Harrison Phillips, Dean Lowry, Ross Blacklock, Jonathan Bullard, Sheldon Day, James Lynch, Esezi Otomewo, T.J. Smith and Khyiris Tonga.
Minnesota signed Lowry, who spent the previous seven seasons in Green Bay, as a free agent last month.
"I'm excited," Lowry said. "There's already a strong foundation in place, and I'm looking forward to joining a great thing."
The Vikings added Phillips during free agency last spring, and he ended up being the only member of the team's defensive line to start all 17 regular-season games and the Wild Card matchup.
The Vikings started Bullard in seven of the 12 games he played for Minnesota during his first season in purple, and they also rotated in 2020 fourth-round selection Lynch for certain game situations.
Minnesota during the preseason acquired Blacklock from the Texans via trade, and in October the team signed Tonga from the Falcons practice squad. Blacklock played in 11 games and notched his third career sack when he took down Patriots QB Mac Jones on Thanksgiving. Tonga's contributions may not have been splashy, but he quietly proved to be a strong addition; he recorded four pass breakups after having none as a rookie in Chicago last season.
Otomewo was drafted out of the University of Minnesota last April.
View the best photos of the Vikings defensive line during the 2022 season.
Expert rankings
NFL.com's Daniel Jeremiah currently has five defensive tackles in his overall Top 50: 5. Jalen Carter, 27. Calijah Kancey, 37. Bryan Bresee, 41. Mazi Smith and 47. Keeanu Benton
ESPN's Mel Kiper, Jr., has just one defensive tackle in overall Top 25, with Carter topping the list at No. 1.
Rankings for defensive tackle by Jeremiah, his NFL Media counterpart Bucky Brooks, Kiper, analytics site Pro Football Focus and The Athletic's Dane Brugler are listed below.
Prospects
Note: Heights and weights are from each player's profile on NFL.com (linked for each player's name).
School: Georgia | Year: Junior | Ht: 6-foot-3 | Wt: 314 pounds
Experts' Position Rankings
Daniel Jeremiah: DT1
Bucky Brooks: DT1
Mel Kiper, Jr.: DT1
Pro Football Focus: DT1
Dane Brugler: DT1
2022 stats: 13 games; 32 tackles (16 solo), 3.0 sacks, 7 TFL, 2 FF, 3 passes defensed
Sapp sequel: Carter attended the same high school as Warren Sapp (Apopka, Florida) and has been compared to him since he was a freshman. Both played tight end and defensive tackle in high school.
School: Pittsburgh | Year: Redshirt Jr. | Ht: 6-foot-1 | Wt: 281 pounds
Experts' Position Rankings
Daniel Jeremiah: DT2
Bucky Brooks: DT2
Mel Kiper, Jr.: DT2
Pro Football Focus: DT2
Dane Brugler: DT9
2022 stats: 11 games; 31 tackles (17 solo), 7.5 sacks, 14.5 TFL
Decorated DT: Following the 2022 season, Kancey earned First-Team All-American honors from The Associated Press, First-Team ACC recognition and was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year.
School: Clemson | Year: Redshirt Soph.| Ht: 6-foot-5 ½ | Wt: 298 pounds
Experts' Position Rankings
Daniel Jeremiah: DT3
Bucky Brooks: DT3
Mel Kiper, Jr.: DT3
Pro Football Focus: DT3
Dane Brugler: DT2
2022 stats: 10 games; 15 tackles (9 solo), 3.5 sacks, 5.5 TFL, 2 passes defensed
Honored his sister: Bresee's sister Ella lost her battle with an aggressive form of brain cancer in September 2022 at the age of 15. "Ella Strong" became a credo for Clemson in 2022, and Florida State painted that slogan on a wall near the Clemson end zone when the teams played each other in October.
School: Michigan | Year: Redshirt Jr. | Ht: 6-foot-3 | Wt: 323 pounds
Experts' Position Rankings
Daniel Jeremiah: DT4
Bucky Brooks: DT4
Mel Kiper, Jr.: DT5
Pro Football Focus: DT4
Dane Brugler: DT4
2022 stats: 14 games; 48 tackles (23 solo), 0.5 sacks, 2.5 TFL, 1 FF, 1 FR
Part of history: Smith's grandfather, Carl, started a Black freedom movement newspaper called The Organizer in the 1960s and eventually worked for the Michigan Department of Civil Rights.
School: Wisconsin | Year: Senior | Ht: 6-foot-4 | Wt: 309 pounds
Experts' Position Rankings
Daniel Jeremiah: DT5
Bucky Brooks: Not Ranked
Mel Kiper, Jr.: DT8
Pro Football Focus: DT5
Dane Brugler: DT6
2022 stats: 12 games; 35 tackles (20 solo), 4.5 sacks, 10 TFL, 2 passes defensed
Heavyweight success: Benton was a two-time state qualifier in wrestling at Joseph A. Craig High School (Janesville, Wisconsin). As a junior, he finished as the Division I runner-up at 285 pounds with a 48-2 record.
School: Baylor (after LSU) | Year: Senior | Ht: 6-foot-3 | Wt: 335 pounds
Experts' Position Rankings
Daniel Jeremiah: Not Ranked
Bucky Brooks: Not Ranked
Mel Kiper, Jr.: DT10
Pro Football Focus: DT6
Dane Brugler: DT3
2022 stats: 12 games; 24 tackles (10 solo), 2.0 TFL, 2 passes defensed
Long-lasting nickname: Ika is called "Apu," after the monkey in Disney's Aladdin, by most of his friends and family. The nickname was given to him as a baby by his older sister and stuck.
School: Northwestern | Year: Senior | Ht: 6-foot-2 | Wt: 282 pounds
Experts' Position Rankings
Daniel Jeremiah: Not Ranked
Bucky Brooks: DT5
Mel Kiper, Jr.: DT4
Pro Football Focus: Not Ranked
Dane Brugler: Not Ranked
2022 stats: 12 games; 38 tackles (27 solo), 5.0 sacks, 9.0 TFL, 2 FF, 1 pass defensed
Nigerian heritage: Adebawore's parents were born in Nigeria and moved to the United States in the 1990s. His younger brother, Adepoju, plays defensive end for the Oklahoma Sooners.
