Vikings Trade Up, Select LSU DT Jaquelin Roy With Pick 141 in Fifth Round
The Vikings sent a sixth-round pick (No. 211) to the Colts to move up from 158 to 141 in the fifth round and select LSU defensive tackle Jaquelin Roy. So that's two USC players and two LSU players so far for the Vikings in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Roy is a big, powerful DT who can anchor and use his hands to shed blocks at the point of attack. He's 6'3", 305 pounds, and did 30 reps of the bench press at LSU's pro day. His RAS is low, but that's not always an important measure for nose tackles.
Roy spent three years at LSU, recording 13.5 tackles for loss, four sacks, and a forced fumble. He has a powerful upper body, good leverage, and plays with consistent effort. The concerns are his below-average quickness and agility and the way he sometimes plays too upright.
Here's the scouting report from The Athletic's Dane Brugler:
A one-year starter at LSU, Roy played multiple alignments in defensive coordinator Matt House’s four-man front. A Baton Rouge native, he stayed home for his college ball and showed incremental improvements each season, including a strong junior campaign. Roy shows quality awareness to track and react to the football, relying on his hand usage and initial quickness to lead him to the football. He grew up and went to high school down the street from LSU’s campus and a change of scenery might yield unpredictable results. Roy is a complicated evaluation – he flashes promise because of his power, but his movement skills are average, and it will take time for him to adjust to pro blockers. He is a draft-and-develop tackle who can work his way into an NFL rotation as a rookie.
With the Vikings, Roy fills a need and joins a defensive tackle room that lost Dalvin Tomlinson this offseason. Harrison Phillips and Dean Lowry are the starters, and Roy will compete with players like Khyiris Tonga, Jonathan Bullard, James Lynch, and Esezi Otomewo for playing time.
Updated Vikings picks:
- Round 1, Pick 23: USC WR Jordan Addison
- Round 3, Pick 102 (via SF): USC CB Mekhi Blackmon
- Round 4, Pick 134 (via KC): LSU S/CB Jay Ward
- Round 5, Pick 141 (via IND): LSU DT Jaquelin Roy
- Round 5, Pick 164 (via SF)
- Round 7, Pick 222 (via SF)
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