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Grade The Pick: Minnesota Vikings look south for a mauler on the interior next to Caleb Banks
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- Grade The Pick: Minnesota Vikings look south for a mauler on the interior next to Caleb Banks
Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores didn't get much help in free agency, but he sure is with the NFL Draft.
Going into the NFL Draft, the Minnesota Vikings had a major need on the defensive line. It was a tough one to parse out with the board not containing a lot of quality players at the position. Even so, they selected Caleb Banks in the first round, and finished off the position in the third round with Iowa State nose tackle Domonique Orange.
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Minnesota Vikings select Domonique Orange at 82nd overall
It's an interesting pick for a lot of reasons, but most importantly, it's a shift back toward the Vikings having a force at nose tackle. His write-up from our NFL Draft managing editor Travis May is a fascinating one.
"Domonique Orange, or "Big Citrus" as he was affectionately nicknamed in college, is almost exclusively an A-gap nightmare for opposing offenses. That's not typically a position that teams invest in heavily on draft day, but Orange should be a nice exception. He's extremely powerful, utilizes leverage well, and can move the entire pile up front by himself. He saw his tackle efficiency drop in 2025 as teams double-teamed and keyed on pushing him away from the play, but Orange is the kind of player teams have to gameplan around."
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Being able to utilize leverage well and occupy blockers is going to be huge for defensive tackle Brian Flores. He prioritizes that aspect from his defensive linemen. It's also one of the reasons why Javon Hargrave dunked on the tream after being cut.
It's not necessarily the best value based on the board, but it's an immediate impact player on a team that needs them. Really good use of draft capital by the Vikings.
Grade: B+
