The Minnesota Vikings added one of the steals of the NFL draft when they selected offensive tackle Walter Rouse in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL draft. The Vikings took Rouse No. 177 overall.
Rouse, who started his career at Stanford, played one season with the Sooners, helping solidify Oklahoma’s offensive line. His experience and work ethic made a huge difference on a unit replacing both offensive tackles after the 2022 season.
In five seasons, Rouse played more than 3,400 snaps and was good in both the run and pass blocking schemes.
In 2023, he was a part of a Sooners offense that was one of the most efficient and explosive in college football. On 480 pass blocking snaps, he didn’t allow a sack, according to Pro Football Focus.
Rouse will be remembered for his awareness and effort at the end of the Red River Showdown. Down three in the final seconds of the game he blocked two Longhorns, giving Dillon Gabriel just enough time to find Nic Anderson in the corner of the end zone to beat the Longhorns.
Now, Rouse gets the opportunity to compete for snaps with another explosive offense in Minnesota.
Sooner Magic ✨#OUDNA | 📺 ABC pic.twitter.com/g46vRAJngI
— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) October 7, 2023