Vikings impressive defensive line depth highlighted by day 3 NFL Draft pick with impressive pedigree

It was an intriguing move for the Vikings, as they waited until the third round in a strong defensive line class when all three of their starters will be the age of 30 by the end of the season. He comes from a school that produces a ton of NFL caliber defensive linemen, especially over the last few years with Kirby Smart as the head coach.

Kevin O'Connell praises Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins

Throughout the preseason, Ingram-Dawkins has been making plays consistently, and has done so from different positions on the defensive line. O'Connell was asked about his performance so far during training camp, and took the time to not only praise Ingram-Dawkins, but also other players who have made a lot of plays during training camp.

"I think he's been everything we had hoped he would be. We really identified him throughout the process as somebody that could be versatile along that front. Doing as many as three or four different roles, whether being an inside, early-down player, a five technique, even some edge snaps as a bigger body edge against some teams that like to attack certain parts of the formation in the run game. What I've loved seeing is just the football makes sense to him. He had a really good rush on a third down in the red zone the other day. We didn't necessarily on that one get off the field, but it was one where you the quarterback felt him. It allowed for if we were a little bit tighter with our rushing coverage tied together, maybe we're getting off the field. Then, other times, you've seen him out here and some big moments of competition, phase of practice, get a hand up and swat a ball and tip a ball and change a drill. He's got some unique traits to go along with the physical traits that we were so drawn to in the evaluation process. . .

"He’s been part of the reason why you feel so great about that D-line depth. It's not just Grave [Javon Hargrave] and JA [Jonathan Allen] and HP [Harrison Phillips]. Then, it's Levi [Drake Rodriguez] and Red [Jalen Redmond], and him and Eli [Elijiah Williams] is making a bunch of plays, Taki [Taki Timani] made a bunch of plays, Jon [Jonathan] Harris is doing everything right. T Bell [Travis Bell] shows up with effort and plays exactly how he's coached to play. I think Marcus [Dixon] has done a phenomenal job with that group. It’s not always easy. Everybody wants to have depth, but then, when you have it, you’ve got to find a way to develop all those guys and get reps where it’s required. I think Marcus and Flo [Brian Flores] and his staff have done a really good job of that."

The ability of Ingram-Dawkins to make plays from multiple spots is going to be huge for the multiple fronts that the Vikings like to run. He doesn't have the ankle flexion of a truly elite pass rusher, but he can do plenty to maximize his pass rush ability, especially with his power profile and good hand placement.

Where things have gotten interesting is that Ingram-Dawkins has been getting some work with the first team. Having him in there as a power edge could be really useful on early downs when it comes to stopping the run.

Will he be able to make an impact? That remains to be seen, but the profile is good.