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.
Despite his size, Walker has good foot speed and quickness relative to other players around his weight. That makes him stout against the run. Not only can he plug lanes and occupy double teams, but he can also move laterally and disrupt the gaps on the outside that running backs love to exploit.
Walker won’t stuff the stat sheet; his impact is more felt than seen. Still, when he gets his hands on running backs, he can overwhelm them with his strength and power, bringing them down almost immediately.
While Walker relies on power as a pass rusher, he has good hands and can push away guards looking to engage with him and get past them with either power or finesse. He also has a spin move in his arsenal that he uses expertly to get past interior linemen. Walker also possesses a swim move that he uses in both the pass and run game to disrupt players in the backfield.
He also has a counter for this. He can fake his swim move and force interior offensive linemen to overextend their arms and create too much separation, allowing him to use his hands to push them away and get past them.
Walker’s versatility stands out in this draft class. While I don’t think he will get any snaps as a stand-up edge rusher in the NFL, he can easily fit in anywhere from a 0-tech to a 5-tech in the NFL. He’s even good in coverage for his size.
While there is a lot to like about Walker, there are things he needs to improve on at the next level. He will need to learn to play more balanced, as he sometimes plays too tall and lets blockers get inside his frame and wash him out. He will also hone his current pass-rush moves and be more precise with them.
Most importantly, he must adapt to play an NFL-level load of snaps at a high level. Often at Kentucky, he wouldn’t follow the play once he was washed. At the pro level, he must consistently show a high motor on every play to see the field.
If Walker is available when the Vikings are drafting, they should bring him in as a potential future starter.