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Oregon defensive tackle Taki Taimani has a top-30 visit planned with the Minnesota Vikings ahead of April’s 2024 NFL draft, league sources tell Heavy.
Taimani, 6-foot-2 and 309 pounds spent the past two seasons with the Oregon Ducks, after transferring from the rival Washington Huskies in January 2022.
In 2023, while appearing in all 14 of the Ducks’ contests Taimani produced 22 tackles, while finishing his six-year collegiate career with 107 combined tackles for Washingon and Oregon.
While Taimani didn’t produce a sack in college, he commanded the respect of his teammates, emerging last season as a strong leadership voice along the Ducks’ defensive line.
“You can’t really lead unless you kind of give first so I kind of just like, gave things quietly without, you know, telling people,” Taimani said, via DucksWire. “And then people noticed that and then, you know, people would come to me for advice and I just started being more vocal and kind of just helped them to bring me into that leadership role.”
During Oregon’s pro day, Taimani ran the 40-yard dash in 5.31 seconds and put up 19 reps on the bench press.
Assessing Vikings’ Defensive Line Needs
With the possible exception of mining a franchise quarterback, the Vikings might not have a more pressing need during the upcoming draft than adding quality depth along the interior of the defensive line.
Harrison Phillips is coming off a 44-tackle 2023 season, but the only other nose tackle currently on the Vikings’ roster is 2023 fifth-round pick Jaquelin Roy who posted just eight tackles in 12 games as a rookie.
Meanwhile, after watching the Green Bay Packers sign former rushing champion Josh Jacobs in free agency and as the Detroit Lions formed a formidable running back duo of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs, the Vikings may look to upgrade a run defense that finished last season ranked eighth in the league.
Taimani is the caliber of player who could push for quality snaps up front to elevate the Vikings’ rushing defense.
Pro Football Focus gives Taimani a strong 81 run-defense grade and 75.7 overall mark for the 2023 season.
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah Positioning for QB Move?
The Vikings lost quarterback Kirk Cousins to the Atlanta Falcons in free agency, but GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah seems to be positioning the Vikings to make a bold move to trade up for a quarterback in this year’s draft.
After acquiring the No. 23 overall pick in a trade with the Houston Texans, Adofo-Mensah and the Vikings are now armed with a pair of first-round selections that they could dangle in front of teams in the top-five picks to go and get one of the top quarterback prospects.
Minnesota clearly is preparing for life after Cousins, even after signing Sam Darnold in free agency.
“Our approach heading into free agency always included layers of contingencies regarding the quarterback position. We are moving forward with plans that allow us to continue building a roster that can compete for a championship,” Adofo-Mensah told reporters on March 18.
How aggressive the Vikings are able to be trading up for a quarterback, could dictate the Vikings’ course throughout the rest of the draft.
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