The Minnesota Vikings had a solid defense this past season and added to it in free agency, landing Jonathan Greenard, Blake Cashman, and Andrew Van Ginkel to make up for losing Danielle Hunter and D.J. Wonnum.
One area they haven’t upgraded at is defensive tackle, and according to recent reports, they may have their eyes set on someone in the draft who can help out in that department.
Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 shared that Oregon defensive tackle Taki Taimani has a visit scheduled with the Vikings.
Oregon @oregonfootball defensive tackle Taki Taimani (6-foot-3, 330 pounds) has a 30 visit with the #Vikings per a league source. Had 22 tackles, 1 1/2 for losses and one fumble recovery last season. Ranked second among all Pac-12 interior defensive linemen with 82.3 run-defense…
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) March 30, 2024
Taimani was one of the best run stuffers in the nation last year as the 6’3″, 330-pounder ranked second among all Pac12 interior defensive linemen last season with an 82.3 run defense grade.
Harrison Phillips and the newly signed Jerry Tillery are the projected starters at defensive tackle for Minnesota, but both are free agents after this season.
There is very little depth behind those two, so Taimani would be a welcome addition to a defense looking to repeat its solid performance from last season.
During Oregon’s Pro Day, Taimani put up 19 reps on the bench press and ran a 5.31 40-yard dash.
The fact that Minnesota is using a top-30 visit on Taimani is a good sign for his draft stock, as he is currently projected by most pundits to be a Day 3 pick in the draft.
While Taimani was not a threat to get to the quarterback in college, as the sixth-year senior didn’t record a single sack in his college career, he should find a home in the NFL as a prototypical run stuffer.
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