Three reasons the Vikings should take an offensive tackle in the first round of the draft

The Vikings have some options in the first round. One of them the team should consider is drafting a tackle.

The Vikings offensive line made some important strides in 2019.

After the team struggled a bit in preventing pressure in 2018, the offensive scheme shifted to one that emphasized play-action passes and rollouts.

That scheme helped the offensive line improve. Pro Football Focus ranked the Vikings offensive line as the 29th best in the NFL for 2018. In 2019, the team moved up to 19th on PFF.

Running back Dalvin Cook also rushed for 1,135 yards and 13 touchdowns, both of which were career highs.

However, the Vikings could always use more help on the offensive line. Minnesota released guard Josh Kline this offseason. That, plus the current offensive line draft class, makes one thing certain: Minnesota shouldn’t shy away from taking an offensive lineman early.

Here is the case for the team to take a tackle with one of the first two picks:

It’s a very good tackle class

Similar to the case for taking a corner, the Vikings can do so without having to be too aggressive in the draft, meaning Minnesota doesn’t need to trade up in order to find value.

The Vikings could easily land either Josh Jones out of Houston, Austin Jackson out of USC or Georgia’s Andrew Thomas. I think it’s safe to say one of those three drops to No. 22. I could see Minnesota taking one if that’s the case.