Former Ohio State Right Guard Wyatt Davis Helps Minnesota Vikings Beef Up Offensive Line

Davis and first-round pick Christian Darrisaw are building blocks in the trenches.

The Minnesota Vikings selected former Ohio State offensive guard Wyatt Davis with the No. 86 overall pick in last month’s NFL Draft, a decision that college scouting director Jamal Stephenson said was more than six months in the making.

“There was pretty much a directive from (head coach Mike Zimmer) going into scouting this fall and throughout the season: ‘Let’s get bigger up front,’” Stephenson said on April 30. “Wyatt Davis definitely fits that mold. He’s a big man. He’s long. He can play guard, potentially tackle. He has some flexibility.

“He’s another guy who’s just a great guy. He’s very smart. He comes from a great pedigree. His grandfather was the great Willie Davis, the former Green Bay Packer – we won’t hold that against him – and his dad played college football, as well. We’re very happy to get him where we got him.”

.@wyattdavis53 says his first reps are at right guard pic.twitter.com/VG37qZOZr3

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) May 14, 2021

At 6-foot-4 and 315-pounds, Davis is now the third-heaviest lineman on the Vikings’ roster behind third-year tackle Oli Udoh and first-round pick Christian Darrisaw, who stand 6-foot-6 and 325 pounds and 6-foot-5 and 314 pounds, respectively. He’ll immediately step into a starting spot at right guard, pushing Ezra Cleveland over to left guard, thanks to Minnesota running the same kind of outside zone scheme as Ohio State.

"I feel like I'm going to fit perfectly into that," Davis said on draft night. “I feel like that's an area that I can excel in and look to make an impact in moving forward."

Although it was a limited sample size, Davis has already made his presence felt in Minnesota, standing out during the Vikings’ rookie minicamp over the weekend.

"Wyatt's got terrific size, he's got good movement and seems to be catching on really well with footwork and the things that we're doing," Zimmer said on Saturday. "He looks good in there so far."

Davis – who battled a knee injury late last season but is now back to 100 percent – acknowledged he has a lot to learn when it comes to Minnesota’s terminology, but he’s confident he’ll have that down by the time the Vikings open their season at the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 12.

“It’s not something that’s new to me because I was asked to do this type of stuff at Ohio State, so really, it’s about repetition and practice,” Davis said that same afternoon. “I’m just kind of a sponge right now, soaking all of the technique and information down. It doesn’t seem like something I can’t do.”

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