With the 18th overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft ... ?

Rick Spielman is not on the hot seat per se. He has built an excellent roster with few holes and an elite defense with three layers of play-makers. That said, his general disdain for drafting offensive linemen has the microscope fixing pretty tightly on him this offseason. Spielman has generally avoided taking linemen early, with Brian O’Neill being the rare exception this past draft. But with the line being the Vikings’ primary weakness, and arguably the biggest reason why the Vikings did not play a postseason game, it appears the time has come to invest and invest heavily in that area.

Here is the thing that may turn some off to the Vikings drafting a lineman at 18th overall: guards remain unsexy. Minnesota seems to have both tackle spots penciled in for next year, so anyone they draft this year will ideally be competing for a starting guard spot. That inherently sounds like they would not be getting full value for the pick.

But look at the Colts. They drafted a pure guard with the sixth overall pick and now have one of the five best lines in football. Guards can make or break a line. And given that the bulk of back-breaking pressure this year came from up the middle, the line can be largely overhauled with one quality draft.

The Vikings have not drafted a lineman in round one since Matt Kalil in 2012, and everyone remembers how that ended up. That said, Kalil was a very good player as a rookie. Immediate difference-makers are available in almost any draft, and this year’s draft is strong up at the top. At last, it is time for the Vikings to pull the trigger on the hog mollies in the first round.

Now, when I say the o-line class is strong, it comes with a caveat. There is not a real consensus top player. There are no obvious Quenton Nelson types in this draft. Rather, there are a large quantity of second tier prospects who can fill a starting role right away. Almost all of them are tackles who may have to move to guard, but that certainly is not inherently a bad thing. Some of the best guards in football were college tackles.

Here, I will present five of the top prospects who could figure into the Vikings’ first round pick. These are just snap shots of each of the five, as we will go further in depth on their respective games throughout draft season. So, without further ado, here are some of the top line prospects the Vikings could and should be looking at.