3 defensive sleepers for the Vikings in the 2021 NFL Draft
By Luke Parrish
Khyiris Tonga – IDL (BYU)
The Vikings can learn a lot from the BYU Cougars in the draft cycle. BYU was successful as a result of building through the trenches and dominating the point of attack. One big reason for their continued success was defensive lineman Khyiris Tonga.
Tonga is a massive human as he’s listed at 6-foot-4 and 322 pounds. Despite a large frame and playing as an interior lineman, Tonga is an agile defender that does more than win with power. He can move pretty well for a man of his size, but his role in the NFL will be to stop the run and clog holes up the middle.
For the Vikings, that is an area of massive concern after they gave up 4.7 yards per carry in 2020, the seventh-most in the NFL. Tonga may not be an immediate answer, but he is certainly a player that can give a handful of snaps each game and eventually become a starting defensive tackle.
The Vikings still have to figure out the plan for the interior of their defensive line, but they should be adding pieces to the position group this offseason in some capacity. James Lynch showed some flashes last season and he can potentially be part of the solution moving forward. But he cannot be the only option.
Count me in on Khyiris Tonga as we get closer to draft day.