Knowing the Vikings Prospects: Defensive Tackle
NFL Christmas is coming, with the Draft roughly two weeks away. With the first and second waves of free agency way behind us, all of the attention is on what will happen in Green Bay later this month. With that in mind, I wanted to briefly discuss some players the Vikings could target in the Draft.
Knowing the Vikings Prospects: Defensive Tackle
I’m far from an expert, but between watching tape and reading/watching analysis from people I trust, I think I can paint you all a picture of some players.
As I said, I’m not an expert, so this won’t feature a late day 3 player that few people have heard about – like Levi Drake Rodriguez from last year. I also want to keep this somewhat realistic, focusing on players with a good chance of being available when the Vikings are on the clock, so you won’t see players like Mason Graham and Ashton Jeanty here.
The idea here is to spotlight players the Vikings could draft in the Top 100-ish of the Draft, being only the two picks they currently have in this range, be it more with a trade down. So, even though the Vikings don’t currently own a second-round pick, we will talk about a few second-round prospects.
With everything out of the way, let’s discuss options to get younger in the trenches.
Walter Nolen, Ole Miss
Walter Nolen was one of the best high school players in the country a few years ago, listed as the 2nd-best player overall on the 247Sports ranking in 2022. After transferring from Texas A&M to Ole Miss in 2024, he got a better opportunity to show why he was sought after.
Nolen is a great, very strong athlete who won most of his reps with strength and bend. He improved his technique in 2024, but there’s still room to grow in hand usage and pass rush plan. His 6 sacks and 25 hurries last season showcase his potential as an interior pass-rusher, and Ole Miss used him this way a lot, with 432 of his snaps as a 3-technique.
If he can clean up a couple of things, he could be a special player in the league. With a good trio of Harrison Phillips, Jonathan Allen, and Javon Hargrave, Nolen could be a rotational pass rusher as a rookie while he develops behind a very experienced trio.
Kenneth Grant, Michigan
The easiest way to describe Kennet Grant is to say he’s big. At 6’4 and 331 lbs, Grant has that true nose tackle size. However, he also has the quickness to be a penetrating 3-technique defensive tackle. As a prospect, Grant is kind of the opposite of Nolen. While Nolen can contribute right away against the pass but improve against the run, Grant has a high floor as a run stopper but can improve his pass-rushing skills.
Grant is very athletic for his size, with impressive speed and quickness for a guy who weighs 331 lbs. While he – likely – won’t be able to chase someone down 1-v-1 in the open field, the play he ran down Kaytron Allen went viral, so he has the speed to go back and clean the play.
Just like with every other prospect here, Grant would benefit from an improved Vikings defensive line, giving him time to develop fully as a player.
Derrick Harmon, Oregon
One of the most productive pass rushers in all of college football last season, Harmon ended up with 43 hurries, 7 QB hits, and 5 sacks. Harmon wins with quick feet and hands, violent hand usage, a good arsenal of moves, and intelligence to set up a pass-rushing plan.
Another trait that I love about Harmon is his motor and willingness. He won’t stop playing until he hears the whistle. His biggest knocks are that he plays with a higher pad level and has just one year of consistent production, even though he had 450+ snaps in 2022 and 2023.
Harmon has the ideal size to move around the defensive line and the IQ to understand the why of the playcall and scheme. He does need refinement against the run but would come in as a very interior pass rusher.
Darius Alexander, Toledo
There’s a gap after the three players above. While Nole, Grant, and Harmon have clear areas to improve, they can be every-down players immediately. The fact that they would benefit from starting as rotational players while they develop does not mean they can’t be effective from day 1 (think Dallas Turner). From now on, the players will either have injury/age red flags, or they will be more limited to specific roles as of right now.
The biggest knock on Alexander is his age, as he will turn 25 before his rookie season. With his production taking a massive leap in 2023, it begs the question of whether he indeed improved or if he was just 5 years older than most other players. Playing in a smaller school (Toledo) doesn’t help his case, although he impressed during the Senior Bowl.
Darius Alexander has the body, power, and twitchiness to be an effective player against the run and pass in the league. He may be one of the most polarizing players on this list, with some analysts having him as a late-first/early-second round pick and others having him as a mid-third rounder. If he were able to put it together sooner, there’s little doubt that he would be on the same tier as the three players above.
T.J. Sanders, South Carolina
A basketball player in high school, Sanders’ body type is indeed different from most defensive tackles we see in the NFL, with really long arms and rare quickness and first step for a defensive tackle. Although not technically sound, he does show a couple of pass-rushing moves, but he needs to improve his hand placement.
Another area of improvement is his ability to finish plays. He sometimes does everything right to get by the blocker, only to miss the tackle, usually by going too low. He’s not weak by any means, but he can get washed away by double teams and better offensive linemen against the run, leaving him more suited as a situational pass rusher.
Sanders is a freak athlete as a defensive tackle and, if developed correctly, has the tools to be a great 3-technique player.
Tyleik Williams, Ohio State
A second-team All-American in 2023, Williams was expected to take a jump in his senior year. A couple of injuries forced him to miss a few games in 2024, and he didn’t quite develop as most analysts hoped. Still, there’s a lot to like about William’s tape.
Big and strong, he has the body type to align either as a nose tackle or a 3-tech, but initially, he is more suited as a run stuffer. Williams explodes off the snap but lacks an arsenal of moves in pass rush and relies on his bull rush. If he doesn’t win quickly with power, he doesn’t show the technique to win with finesse later on the play.
Alfred Collins, Texas
Collins was unfortunate in 2023 because he had the best defensive tackle duo in front of him, with Byron Murphy II and T’Vondre Sweat wreaking havoc in 2023 and continuing to display their talents in the league last year.
Replacing Sweat in 2024, Collins showed he, too, can be a nasty nose tackle, using every bit of his 6’6, 332 lb frame to stop the run. The biggest problem is that, with how big he is, he sometimes can be outleveraged by offensive linemen, especially when double-teamed. He will have to learn to play with a lower pad level in the league and a higher level of urgency.
A five-star recruit, Collins is a sure tackler and would immediately contribute on early downs and run situations. However, he has rarely shown the ability to be a consistent pass rusher, which will limit his ability to contribute in the NFL.
Deone Walker, Kentucky
It’s very easy to see Walker and fall in love with what he can become. He’s 6’7 and 331 lbs with a wingspan of 84 7/8”, which is rare. Also a former basketball player, he has very quick feet for someone this big. His athletic profile is the “one in a million” kind, which easily draws attention to him as a prospect.
Walker was a monster as a sophomore, with 51 pressures, 7.5 sacks, and 12.5 tackles for loss. As a junior, though, he managed only 21 pressures, 1.5 sacks, and 5 TFLs. Turns out he had a back injury called spondylolysis, a crack or fracture in the bone connecting two vertebrae. According to Walker, this is an old injury, but it affected him pretty much throughout the 2024 season.
If his medicals signal that he’s fine and this injury shouldn’t keep affecting him, there’s little reason to doubt he can return to the 2023 form that earned him All-SEC honors.
Is the injury the only knock on him? No, he should try to add weight to his lower body, and he plays with a high pad level. But he’s also a player who was voted team captain as a sophomore, played through a nasty injury because Kentucky lost other defensive players, and has the versatility to play inside and outside. He should be great on stunts and loops (something Brian Flores loves to do).
The Vikings improved the defensive tackle room by adding Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave in free agency. But, with the duo already on the “wrong side” of 30 and Harrison Phillips already 29, it would be smart to add a young player to the mix, especially in a special defensive tackle class.
From everything we’ve heard from the team, the coaching staff loves Taki Taimani, Jalen Redmond, and Levi Drake Rodriguez, but, as learned with the Philadelphia Eagles, you can never have too many good players in the trenches.
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