The Minnesota Vikings selected Ohio State IOL Donovan Jackson with the No. 24 overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft.
Donovan Jackson is a three-year starter at left guard inside the Buckeyes’ 54-48 run-pass split, multiple-run scheme offense centered around zone and pin-pull with gap principles mixed in. Jackson has a well-rounded, muscular and lean build with good arm length, solid athletic ability and play strength.
Jackson is best as a downhill run-blocker, being thick and heavy on vertical double-teams with connected elbows and hips to generate displacement. He is a functional puller who can seal or kick the end man on the line of scrimmage and has a good feel on when to stay or release on zone combinations. He brings a physical presence and strains hard to finish once latched. Jackson runs into trouble against tightly aligned or head-up defenders where he tends to step out of his stance, misjudge his aiming points, and fall off of blocks quickly. He also will fail to redirect, reset, and recover from consistently compromising positions, usually being late.
In pass protection, Jackson shows good lower half mobility and pad level to sink, brace, and root his feet against the bull rush while being adept at handling basic line games and stunts. He shows notable improvement in this area and spatial awareness to maintain levels when uncovered in 2024 compared to 2023. Jackson will be tardy to redirect against high-level sub-package rushers who can set him up with stutters and hesitations, but has flashes of an effective catch hand to slow down moves across his face.
Overall, Jackson hasn’t quite lived up to the hype as the nation’s best guard coming out of high school largely due to a robotic playing style with some erratic footwork, but has the necessary build, raw strength and enough movement skills to compete for a job as a rookie and stick if he can continue to tighten up his game from the ground up.
MEASUREMENT AND WORKOUT RESULTS
— Solid play strength with flashes of more thanks to a muscular, well-rounded build, strong upper body and heavy hands.
— Can root his feet, brace and grind down the bull-rush with low pad level and tight, firm hands to help remain centered on the block.
— Quickly delivers his punch to pass off the penetrator on stunts while being firm picking up loopers.
— Is thick and heavy on vertical double-teams with the play strength to generate displacement.
— Does a nice job of securing the first-level in the zone run game before releasing, using his eyes to track second-level movement before committing.
— Notable improvement in his anchor and processing skills from 2023 to 2024
NEGATIVES
— Has a robotic playing style with mediocre redirect and recovery skills.
— Still ironing out false steps in his footwork in the run game that throw off his aiming points and lead to quick penetration, especially against tight and head-up alignments.
NOTES
— Born Dec. 4, 2002
— 5-star recruit and nation’s top-ranked guard from the 2021 class, per 247Sports
— Won the Southwest Preparatory Conference state championships in both the shot put (with a 52-foot, 3.25-inch personal record) and the discus (with a personal record of 165 feet)
— 2024: AP Second-Team All-American
— 40 career starts at left guard (31) and left tackle (nine)
GRADE: 7.5 (Potential Impact Player – 2nd Round)
OVERALL RANK: 51
POSITION RANK: IOL6
PRO COMPARISON: James Carpenter
