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With the NFL's pre-draft process heating up, it's a good time to get familiar with some of the players the Minnesota Vikings could target with their first pick in April. Here at Vikings On SI, we're taking a look at five players at positions of need who the Vikings should be looking at, whether with the 24th pick or after trading down a bit. Next up are the defensive tackles.
Defensive tackle is a glaring hole on this Vikings roster, particularly when it comes to players who can rush the passer from that position. Even if they sign a stud in free agency, which they should, adding another big guy early in the draft feels very possible. They have no shot at Michigan's Mason Graham, who will be a top-ten pick, but these five names make a lot of sense at 24 or after trading down.
Walter Nolen, Ole Miss
Nolen is the dream scenario for the Vikings if he makes it to 24, which seems less likely after his strong Senior Bowl performance. The 21-year-old got better in each season of his career, really breaking out last year after transferring from Texas A&M to Mississippi. He's listed at 6'4" and 290 pounds, but he moves like he weighs less than that. Nolen is an explosive, powerful interior force who had 6.5 sacks and 14 total tackles for loss in 2024. He'd be a dynamic addition to Minnesota's defensive line.
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Derrick Harmon, Oregon
Another d-tackle who has been mocked to the Vikings recently is Harmon, who transferred from Michigan State and had a huge 2024 season for the Ducks (5 sacks, 11 TFL, 4 PD, 2 FF, 2 FR). He led all interior linemen in QB pressures with 43, according to PFF. Harmon is a big dude at 6'5", 330, but he can really get after the passer in addition to being a good run defender.
Kenneth Grant, Michigan
The Vikings won't be able to get Graham, but they might just draft his teammate. Grant is a massive human being, listed at roughly 340 pounds, who has unusual explosiveness for his size. Dudes that big aren't supposed to be able to chase down running backs at the second level. His combination of size, quickness, and power make him a handful to block, whether it's a run play or a dropback pass. His bull rush is nasty. Grant had 6.5 sacks and ten batted passes over the last two seasons.
Tyleik Williams, Ohio State
The book on Williams is that he's maybe the best run defender in this DT group, but he's still developing as a pass rusher. Considering he had 11.5 sacks over his four-year Ohio State career, the ceiling seems pretty high if he continues to improve in that area. Williams uses his hands and his quickness to get off of blocks and make plays against the run (28 career tackles for loss) like few other players in the country.
T.J. Sanders, South Carolina
A bunch of players could've gone in this fifth spot, including Alfred Collins (Texas), Aeneas Peebles (Virginia Tech), and the truly gargantuan Deone Walker (Kentucky). But for me, Sanders is a bit more intriguing than those three. He had 8.5 sacks and 17 total TFL over the last two seasons for the Gamecocks, and he projects as an outstanding pass rusher at 6'4", 284 pounds. At the Senior Bowl last week, he absolutely ran over an offensive lineman in a 1-on-1. 24 might be too high for a player who can be inconsistent against the run, but Sanders would be a great target for the Vikings after a slight trade down.
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Report: Bengals draw hard line in Trey Hendrickson contract talks
Cincinnati Bengals star defensive end Trey Hendrickson has been holding out from training camp as he seeks a new contract, and it does not sound like the two sides are all that close to a deal. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler said on "SportsCenter" Monday that there has been "some progress" in negotiations between the Bengals and Hendrickson's representatives over the past week or so. The real disagreement has to do with guaranteed money, and Cincinnati's brass is not budging. "Hendrickson wants a stronger guaranteed structure, particularly later in what should be a multiyear deal. In talking to people with the Bengals they feel like, 'Hey, we've probably relented as far as we can go.' So this is a classic stare-off right now, and it's time to buckle up," Fowler said, via Andrew Peters of Bleacher Report. Hendrickson is set to earn $16M in base salary in the final year of his contract this season. He recently said he has shown a willingness to take less than market value on a new deal, but the Bengals do not want to guarantee him money beyond the 2026 season. Based on what he has said, the 30-year-old Hendrickson is not seeking to become the highest-paid defensive player in football. In order to accomplish that, he would have to top the three-year, $123M extension T.J. Watt signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers last week. Hendrickson had 35 sacks over the past two seasons, which was the most in the NFL during that span. He had 17.5 sacks each season and finished second in NFL Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2024. The Bengals took care of one major offseason issue on Sunday when they finally signed first-round pick Shemar Stewart to a rookie deal. All it will take is one side to budge in the team's ongoing stalemate with Hendrickson, but all parties seem to be dug in as training camp rolls on.
Yankees’ planned fire sale after Aaron Judge injury epitomizes roster weakness
Would the New York Yankees still be a heavyweight contender without Aaron Judge? Most fans would doubt it. What comes as a shock is that Yankees general manager, Brian Cashman, appears to agree. According to MLB insider Andy Martino of SNY, Cashman had explored the option of selling ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline (6 p.m. EST) if Judge’s flexor strain had turned out to be something worse. Martino wrote this: “[On Saturday], we relayed that the Yankees were floating some of their free-agent-to-be relievers in preliminary trade talks. We have since learned through league sources that last week the Yanks brought up Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt in talks with at least one other club.” It would be strange to see a team with a record well above .500 shop core hitters at the deadline. Both Bellinger and Goldschmidt — hitting .281/.333/.507 with 19 home runs and .283/.341/.419 with eight home runs respectively entering Tuesday — have been valuable producers for the Yankees this year. Goldschmidt signed a one-year deal with the Bronx Bombers over the offseason while Bellinger was acquired via trade with the Cubs. He is signed through 2026 but has a player option at the end of the year. Either player would bring a nice haul back to the Yankees. Of course, the reigning AL MVP’s injury doesn’t seem to be a season-altering, ‘abandon ship’ type of event. Optimistically, Judge should be back soon. But this does serve to illustrate how the team’s success is dependent on one player. Beyond Judge, the Yankees’ batting order doesn’t feature a star-caliber player, or at least a player the lineup can be built around. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, New York lacks enough solid hitters to be considered a worthy contender without Judge. The Yankees’ three bottom-of-the-order hitters — Austin Wells (.214), Anthony Volpe (.213) and newest acquisition Ryan McMahon (.223) — all own batting averages below .230 entering Tuesday. And this doesn’t include J.C. Escarra (.205), Oswald Peraza (.152) or even Ben Rice (.229). If Judge was lost for the season, selling wouldn’t have been a bad idea. He is insoluble glue holding the battered Yankees’ roster together, especially with Gerrit Cole and Clarke Schmidt gone for the year. No one on the trade market could replace him, but with Judge coming back, the Yankees might have enough firepower to at least limp to the finish line.
Oilers to Acquire a Top-Tier Goalie. An Official Trade Offer Is on the Table in a Blockbuster Deal
Vikings training camp recap, Day 6: J.J. McCarthy struggles, other notes
Coming into training camp, ups and downs were expected for Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who is essentially still a rookie. The team has high expectations for the 22-year-old, but also realizes that it's going to take some time for him to learn and grow and develop after he missed so many valuable reps due to his knee injury last season. Through the first handful of practices in camp, there had been a lot more good than bad from McCarthy. Saturday's practice, in particular, saw him put on a show for the fans in attendance with numerous impressive throws. With that said, Tuesday's practice was more bad than good. McCarthy's completion percentage — while I didn't track it down to the throw — was well below 50 percent in team periods. There were some that were narrow misses, some that were blatant misses or miscommunications, and a couple balls that were arguably drops by his targets. But the overall theme was that far too many balls hit the grass instead of being completed. In early route-running period near the goal line, McCarthy found Jordan Addison, but he couldn't secure the ball as Jeff Okudah appeared to punch it out. One play later, McCarthy threw just a touch high for Lucky Jackson, who made a great catch but was ruled to be out of bounds. He also failed to connect with T.J. Hockenson on two targets, one of which was well behind the tight end. McCarthy was better in 11-on-11 action in the middle of the field, highlighted by a pretty strike to Addison for a chunk gain. Then came another goal line period, this one 7 on 7, and the struggles resumed. He missed Addison in the back corner of the end zone. He threw another one back there to Addison, who caught it but landed out of bounds. He rifled one just high for Josh Oliver, with the ball deflecting off of Oliver's hands and then directly into the crossbar. McCarthy did throw a couple touchdowns during that period as well. The Vikings finished up with a situational period where the offense faced a third down and then transitioned into either a field goal, a punt, or a fourth-down attempt. McCarthy's first throw was a nice completion downfield to Aaron Jones, setting up a field goal try. But he then threw one way too high for Jordan Mason on a fourth down, and followed that by missing Jalen Nailor by quite a bit due to an apparent miscommunication. That caused McCarthy to put both of his hands on his helmet. It was that kind of day. To be clear, this isn't concerning or worth putting too much stock in. McCarthy has had a strong start to camp, and off days are going to happen. It wasn't a particularly long or high-intensity practice compared to some of the other ones we've seen. And in training camp, results on one day of practice — good or bad — are never all that meaningful, especially when it's still July. Lastly, the first-team offense remains without its two best players, Justin Jefferson and Christian Darrisaw. McCarthy will look to shake it off and have a better day on Wednesday, which will be the second fully-padded practice of camp. Here are a few other things I saw on Tuesday: There were plenty of vet days off today. On the defensive line, Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave sat out, which meant first-team reps for Jalen Redmond and rookie Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins alongside Harrison Phillips. At safety, it was Theo Jackson and Jay Ward in for Harrison Smith and Josh Metellus. Offensively, Michael Jurgens was at center for Ryan Kelly, while Brian O'Neill got some plays off, which meant Blake Brandel sliding out to right tackle. Will Fries pancaked backup defensive tackle Jonathan Harris on a screen pass to T.J. Hockenson, which drew some high fives from teammates. One of the things that shows up on Fries' Colts tape is his tenacity when it comes to finishing blocks. Dwight McGlothern just keeps making plays. After he had an interception on Monday and broke up a pass that created another pick, the second-year cornerback jumped a route and picked off Sam Howell on Tuesday. There are a lot of guys competing for roster spots in the Vikings' CB room, but it feels like "Nudie" (McGlothern's nickname) is going to be on the 53. It was a good day for the Vikings' depth tight ends. Ben Yurosek had one of the highlights of the practice with a leaping touchdown catch from Howell in red zone 7s, but Bryson Nesbit and Giovanni Ricci made some plays as well. With Gavin Bartholomew on the PUP list, those first three guys are competing for the TE3 role, as things stand. Will Reichard hasn't been automatic in the first couple days we've seen him kick. He hit the left upright from 53 yards out in the situational period, then later missed wide right from 46. I believe Reichard was 5 for 7 on the day, including makes from 48 and 50 yards. Rondale Moore and Silas Bolden got the first two punt return reps in the situational drill. More Vikings coverage
Yankees reportedly interested in Pirates left-hander
The Yankees have interest in Pirates left-hander Andrew Heaney, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. Heyman adds that the Yankees, and the Mets, have checked in on Joe Ryan of the Twins and MacKenzie Gore of the Nationals. However, he downplays the likelihood of anything coming from those pursuits. Similarly, Heyman mentions that the Yankees reached out to the Pirates about Oneil Cruz but says nothing is likely to come from that either.P The Yankees have been connected to plenty of starting pitchers recently. That includes some potentially notable upgrades like Dylan Cease or Mitch Keller, as well as more back-end types like Chris Paddack, who was traded from the Twins to the Tigers yesterday. Heaney is more in the latter category at this stage of his career. He’s had some tantalizing strikeout stuff in the past but that’s not the case this year. In 107 innings for the Pirates, he has a 4.79 earned run average and a subpar 17.2% strikeout rate. His season got off to a strong start but he’s been in a rough slide lately. Through his first 14 starts, he had a 3.33 ERA, though with a subpar 18.5% strikeout rate. He was getting a bit of help from his .234 batting average on balls in play and 81.8% strand rate. His FIP and SIERA were both 4.44 for that span, suggesting those metrics thought it was a mirage. They were proven correct when Heaney posted an 8.79 ERA over his next six starts. It’s not the most exciting set of numbers but the Yanks might just want a veteran to take the ball every five days. As mentioned, they were interested in Paddack, who has similar numbers to Heaney this year. Paddack posted a 4.95 ERA with a 17.6% strikeout rate before his trade. The Yankees have lost Gerrit Cole and Clarke Schmidt to Tommy John surgery but still have a strong one-two atop the rotation in Max Fried and Carlos Rodón. They have been without Luis Gil all year so far but he’s on the cusp of a return. Will Warren is having a good season on the whole. Adding a vet would allow the Yanks to perhaps move Cam Schlittler back to Triple-A or bump Marcus Stroman to long relief or off the roster. It’s been a rough stretch for the Yankees, as they have fallen into a tight Wild Card race. Entering today, they are only a game and a half ahead of the Rangers, who are the top team not currently in possession of a playoff spot. Heaney wouldn’t be in the club’s planned playoff rotation but he could upgrade the staff for the stretch run. Schlittler has just two big league outings under his belt while Stroman has a 6.08 ERA in his eight starts this year. Heaney shouldn’t cost much in terms of prospect capital and is also making just $5.25M this year. There’s now less than $1.75M of that still to be paid out. Since the Yankees are a third-time competitive balance tax payor and are over the top tier, they face a 110% tax on any additional spending. The Yankees could pursue a more impactful upgrade and it seems like they have looked into the possibility. However, all reports have suggested that a trade of either Gore or Ryan would be a long shot. Both pitchers are affordably controlled for two years after this season, making them very valuable to their respective clubs. It would likely take a massive prospect haul to pry either player loose. It’s basically the same story with Cruz, who is controlled for three seasons after this one.
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