With Kenneth Grant likely out of reach for the Vikings, fellow Big Ten nose tackle could be the solution

The Minnesota Vikings' defensive tackle position is incredibly important to fix this offseason. They could lose Jonathan Bullard and Jerry Tillery to free agency, leaving only Harrison Phillips with more than three starts in the National Football League.

There are quite a few different options for the Vikings to target, but one of their more popular options in Oregon's Derrick Harmon had an excellent combine and could be out of reach. They might have to take one later in the NFL Draft, but Harmon's teammate could be the secret sauce.

The latest installment of our SKOL Search series focuses on a very popular name in NFL Mock Drafts for the Vikings in Oregon DT Jamaree Caldwell.

Jamaree Caldwell

• Oregon
• Transfer from Houston, Independence Junior College, and Hutchinson Junior College
• Height: 6020
• Weight: 332
• Class: Fifth-year Senior
• Recruiting info: 0-star recruit in 2020 class per 247 Sports
• Stats: 69 tackles (36 solo), 12.0 TFLs, 6.5 sacks, 10 passes defended, 3 fumble recoveries
• Games watched: Boise State 2024, Penn State 2024, Ohio State 2024

Strengths

• Sturdy: When you have a nose tackle that has the size and girth of Caldwell, you need him to be able to hold fort and Caldwell does that. He dips his back leg to handle double teams, allowing the second level to attack downhill.
• Displacement: You are going to feel the wrath when you face off against Caldwell. He punches with force and can move blockers by torquing his hips.
• Pass Rush: For a nose tackle built like a bowling ball, Caldwell is a surprisingly good pass rusher. He's not going to be a very impactful pass rusher, but an 8.8% pressure rate is much better than you'd expect and should translate at the next level.
• Gap Control: Caldwell is going to be a star nose tackle. His power and frame allows him to play in any front and handle double teams, which he senses very well.

Weaknesses

• Athleticism: Caldwell isn't a bad athlete, but it's certainly not his calling card either. He sometimes struggles to move laterally and isn't the quickest player off the ball.
• Counters: While he's solid in rushing the passer, Caldwell doesn't quite know what to do when his first move gets stonewalled. 
• Body Control: Like his teammate Harmon, Caldwell sometimes struggles to finish in the backfield. He lets his momentum take him out of position and that lack of control can hinder his impact.

Overview

Caldwell is the fifth member of the All-Forno team and is quite an interesting prospect at nose tackle. While he's not Kenneth Grant, Caldwell is quite intriguing at nose tackle. He also has some really intriguing ability to rush the passer to make him more valuable on first and second downs.

He would also be an excellent nose tackle with the flexibility to play across the line in an odd front to maximize matchups with Harrison Phillips and the Vikings' really talented edge rushers. The run defense would be in a great spot with the addition of Caldwell.