Safe to say that the Minnesota Vikings want to become meaner up front. Recently, Kevin O’Connell kicked over some praise to new RG1 Will Fries for that precise ability, referring to the lineman as a “mauling” player.
According to Ryan Fowler, Minnesota’s additions to the o-line may not be done. The Vikings will meet with a large lineman who could add just a bit more muscle and meanness to the front five. Consider the word from Fowler: “The Minnesota Vikings will host Arizona OL Jonah Savaiinaea for a 30 visit, per a league source.”
Vikings Will Meet with Jonah Savaiinaea
Start off with a basic football fact: there’s no such thing as too much muscle up front.
Savaiinaea offers excellent size. A spot like PFF puts him at 6’5″ and 336 pounds, but the NFL’s scouting profile lists him at 6’4″ and 324 pounds. Regardless, he’s larger than the normal Vikings o-lineman. Even more encouraging is that he ran a 4.95 forty, suggesting he’s a pretty explosive athlete.
Consider what analyst Lance Zierlein has to say about the Arizona alumnus.
“Durable three-year starter who is built like a right guard but has valuable protection experience as a collegiate tackle,” Zierlein writes. “Savaiinaea doesn’t have the athleticism to stick at right tackle in the NFL, but can play there in a pinch with some help. He’s very wide and can engulf smaller opponents as a base blocker while sealing off double teams and down blocks. His feet often deaden on contact, creating opportunities for defenders to leak through his edges in both the run and pass games. Savaiinaea’s size works to his advantage and he could become a serviceable starting guard in time.”
And then PFF offers an assessment: “Savaiinaea’s feet and pass-blocking technique should keep him in the league for a while, regardless of his position. If he can get stronger, he has a chance to stick as a starter at right tackle or inside for a zone rushing team.”
Worth noting that O’Connell does lean on zone rushing and there’s a good chance that drafting the college tackle would involve kicking him inside. After all, that’s the path the Vikings pursued with Blake Brandel and the one they’re considering with Walter Rouse, both of whom were college tackles.
Something that Minnesota will like is that Jonah Savaiinaea has experience across multiple positions along the offensive line. In 2024, he split time between right tackle (364 snaps) and left tackle (345 snaps). He has also soaked up snaps at right guard in previous seasons.
Last year, he got dinged with allowing 4 sacks, 2 QB hits, and 9 hurries. Keep in mind that he was being moved around the line a bit, making it more difficult to keep pass rushers off of the quarterback. PFF gave him a solid 75.9 grade for his work last season.
Right now, the Vikings’ offensive line is close to set. Christian Darrisaw, if healthy, will slide into the LT1 spot; if Darrisaw needs more time in the infirmary, then Justin Skule will jump into that job for the short term. There’s then Ryan Kelly at center, Will Fries at right guard, and Brian O’Neill at right tackle.
The uncertainty rests at left guard, a spot where Kevin O’Connell has acknowledged that Blake Brandel isn’t guaranteed a starting spot. In theory, Savaiinaea could jump into a competition with Brandel and Michael Jurgens to be the Week 1 LG1.
Jonah Savaiinaea comes in at 87th on PFF’s board. Quite possibly, the lineman could end up being the Vikings’ second selection of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Keep his name tucked in the back of your mind when Day 2 of the draft gets going.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF and Sports Reference CFB helped with this piece.
K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on social media (Bluesky & Twitter). If you feel so inclined, subscribe to his Substack, The Vikings Gazette, for more great Vikings content.
