2nd Round Pick- Brian O'Neill- OL, Pittsburgh

[Pondering Her Percy]

Vikings selected Pittsburgh OT Brian O’Neill with the No. 62 overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft.
O’Neill (6’7/297) turned pro as a redshirt junior after beginning his career at tight end, manning right tackle as a freshman and sophomore, and moving to left tackle in 2017, where he earned first-team All-ACC. PFF College credited O’Neill with the third-highest pass-blocking efficiency rating (98.3) in this year’s tackle class, and O’Neill allowed just one sack over his final 825 pass-blocking snaps at Pitt. O’Neill then crushed the Combine with 85th-percentile SPARQ results and measured in with 34 1/8-inch arms. O’Neill needs weight-room work to improve his core strength, but he offers numerous NFL left tackle traits.

[S197]

His production gives me hope but I don't see where he fits. Too tall and not enough strength for guard. Very short wingspan for a tackle. His arm length keeps getting mentioned, I have no idea why.

https://www.mockdraftable.com/player/brian-oneill

[fiestavike]

His production gives me hope but I don't see where he fits. Too tall and not enough strength for guard. Very short wingspan for a tackle. His arm length keeps getting mentioned, I have no idea why.

https://www.mockdraftable.com/player/brian-oneill

Coach him up to play Packer's ball. Let them in to your body, wrap 'em up tight.

I am having fun imagining him at LT and Reiff at RG.

[nightowl]

His production gives me hope but I don't see where he fits. Too tall and not enough strength for guard. Very short wingspan for a tackle. His arm length keeps getting mentioned, I have no idea why.

https://www.mockdraftable.com/player/brian-oneill

I know it matters some, but it's not the end all be all. His arms are just over an inch and half longer than Joe Thomas' were. 34 1/8 vs 32 1/2

In addition Donald Penn, Chad Clifton, Jason Peters and Joe Staley all did pretty well with arms between 33 and 33 1/2.

I don't think it's something that will make it break him.

[Laserman]

This is where we need the luck of the Irish on our side. Hope he does well

[Maelstrom88]

This guy apparently is durable and has light feet but need a to add strength and technique. With coaching I think he can start at right tackle. Maybe left tackle depending on the scheme.

[jackal]

It's not uncommon for a lot of lineman
to have build strength. It's not the OL
I wanted but he is young and is long
and has a good skill set. Maybe in a
year he is ready. Maybe this season.

[halfgiz]

This guy apparently is durable and has light feet but need a to add strength and technique. With coaching I think he can start at right tackle. Maybe left tackle depending on the scheme.

I thought we was looking for an OG to replace Berger.
This was a Slick Rick BPA panic pick.
@Andrew_Krammer
35m
Jamaal Stephenson, Vikings’ director of college scouting: It really was about taking the best offensive lineman available (at pick 62). Never seen this many guards go so early.

How many of you had Rick picking O' Neil at 62...I bet no one.

[jackal]

Yeah this year there were almost five or
six guards that were rated very high.

I saw some in mocks where almost
all of them in the first round.

Price was supposed to drop a
lot more because of the injury.

[YikesVikes]

A great writeup on the things this young man does well and the things he struggles with. Lots of video evidence for those that like proof. Movement is A+ strength is an issue. Hoping he can develop just an adequate amount of strength to be able to combat pro D. Linemen


https://www.cincyjungle.com/2018/3/3/17 ... nsive-line

[YikesVikes]

Best place for him to start this year is as a 3rd tackle. I expect a lot of 3 tackle sets with him declaring and the occasional rare trick pass to him. This set would allow him to use his ability to pull, and seal, which are his best assets.

[Pondering Her Percy]

Best place for him to start this year is as a 3rd tackle. I expect a lot of 3 tackle sets with him declaring and the occasional rare trick pass to him. This set would allow him to use his ability to pull, and seal, which are his best assets.

Definitely could be a possibility. I did say dont be surprised if he catches a TD this year. I wouldnt be surprised if Hill started the year at RT but I can see ONeill quickly taking over. Zim had no problem plugging Elflein in right away. He did have him splitting reps in the preseason with Easton but gave him the start week 1. If ONeill shows well in camp in the preseason, I can see him starting sooner than later.

[Pondering Her Percy]

And the whole strength thing keeps being brought up with Oneill. Look at other tackles in the league. Nate Solder for example put up less reps on the bench and is a lesser athlete and he turned out just fine. You cant teach athleticism. However, you can get stronger. The guy really doesnt worry me. I liked the pick. Very quick feet, has the athleticism to get out to speed rushers, etc. I think he's going to be solid for us.

[MikethePurple]

Some of the scouting reports have been talking about his core and lower body strength which really isn't something that benching demonstrates. That will be an issue if it doesn't improve, but obviously less of an issue than if he was projected to be playing inside. I obviously hope this guy works out but from most of the scouting interviews I have heard they think he is a project that most likely won't be able to start right away. Time will tell and scouts aren't always right in their evaluations, look at Kalil. But hopefully he works out and if he'd be able to contribute right away, that would be great! At this point I think we just have to hope that the guys we have either developed or can pick things up quickly, because I don't think the Vikes are in the position to get anyone at this point, given the core players they're hoping to give long term deals to.

[ChicagoViking]

Time will tell and scouts aren't always right in their evaluations, look at Kalil.

Hard to know if Kalil was a scouting mistake or a subsequent injury/will-to-win issue. Remember, Kalil had a strong rookie season, and played in the Pro Bowl as a replacement. Things went down rapidly only after that rookie season.