Tyler Booker is Alabama’s 325 lb. guard and first-round draft prospect. He’s also a punisher. His magnum opus is playing through the whistle. With impressive speed for his size, running a 5.3 40-yard dash, his ability to get to the inside seal on zone concepts would benefit the Minnesota Vikings tremendously.
Minnesota’s first pick on April 24 is at No. 24. If Booker is still on the board by then, he’s the player to take.
The Vikings weren’t subtle about adding to their offensive line. They parted ways with veteran center Garrett Bradbury, a team leader, and traded former second-round pick Ed Ingram for a sixth-rounder. Right guard Will Fries and Center Ryan Kelly join an operation with Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill, bonafide bookends on the line.
Blake Brandel exceeded expectations early last season but steadily declined along with the other members of the interior offensive line. Brandel can play left guard at a subpar level, but he seems like the odd man out in Minnesota’s new, improved interior line.
Why would the Vikings stop boosting their interior offensive line now? Instead of relying on Brandel again, Tyler Booker can step in as the new kid in town with attributes that complement Minnesota’s system.
The push Booker generates in this inside duo concept is outstanding. New addition Jordan Mason is a downhill runner who can accelerate out of gaps, making the picture clear regarding improving Minnesota’s inside running concepts.
It doesn’t end with the inside.
In the same clip, at around the 23-second mark, Booker pulls to the right edge to meet his assignment in true mismatch fashion. The Vikings have needed a guard who’s a fast puller on their line for a few years.
Any NFL team that successfully runs the ball on the perimeter has quick guards who can pull to the opposite edge. The Detroit Lions and Baltimore Ravens are good examples of that. Booker can finally bring that combination of speed and power to the interior.
The power is evident, and the measurements are impressive. Breaking down offensive line tape is not the sexiest pastime. Still, it doesn’t take a particularly nuanced understanding of the subject to see the obvious with Booker.
Booker is as good a player as the Vikings will get late in the first round. The recent signings of new cornerbacks Isaiah Rodgers and Jeff Okudah, paired with Mekhi Blackmon’s return, have given Minnesota some wiggle room in selecting a non-cornerback player in late April. And who’s to say the Vikings are done making moves for a corner in free agency?
The last time the Vikings took a guard in the early, it was Ed Ingram. They can correct that by selecting Booker.
