In the leadup to the 2022 NFL Draft, Vikings.com is taking a position-by-position look at prospects who have garnered a range of attention from national outlets. The series will include rankings by those national outlets, stats and background information for multiple prospects. We'll also include comments that experts shared during interviews.

Vikings status on the offensive line

Minnesota Head Coach Kevin O'Connell said two weeks ago at the Annual League Meeting that the Vikings believe they have four starters identified and in place.

The Vikings are returning four players who have been picked in the first or second round since 2018: RT Brian O'Neill (second round, 2018), C Garrett Bradbury (first round, 2019), LG Ezra Cleveland (second round, 2020) and LT Christian Darrisaw (first round, 2021).

"I think you feel good about the starting point because of your tackles, always," said O'Connell, who added he believes O'Neill is "one of the best right tackles in football" and "there is so much to love about [Darrisaw's] game."

O'Connell added he anticipates Cleveland has shown "a great skill set from his feet, to his hand placement, to his power in his hands."

He also recalled evaluating Bradbury before the 2019 NFL Draft and said "there was a lot to love about Garrett." O'Connell said the Vikings change in scheme could "maybe put some tools in his toolbox to have some success consistently, snap-in and snap-out."

That leaves right guard, where O'Connell plans to have a "nice competition."

Olisaemeka Udoh started 14 games last season after the former college tackle was moved inside to start training camp. Minnesota also has signed veterans Jesse Davis, Chris Reed and Austin Schlottmann during free agency, and 2021 third-round pick Wyatt Davis will get a fresh opportunity this season.

Ask the analyst

NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) played in 143 regular-season games and totaled 47 starts from 1982-93 for Dallas, Indianapolis and Philadelphia.

Known on Twitter as well for his "#BaldysBreakdowns," Baldinger offered his view of the Rams offense where O'Connell had been the offensive coordinator the past two seasons and on several of the prospects.

"I don't think they do a great job of moving the line of scrimmage in Los Angeles," Baldinger said. "They kind of create space with some of the movement and really ask the wide receivers to block the edges. You'd see it from Cooper Kupp. Robert Woods was excellent at it. They're really an 11-personnel team, with one back and one tight end, but the way that their formations are and the way they have a lot of tight formations with their wide receivers, they become a 12-personnel team.

"They really act like a 12-personnel team with just one tight end on the field because of what their receivers do in combination, and that's frontside and backside," Baldinger continued. "It's at the point of attack, so I think that's a big advantage because if you're an 11-personnel team, you're going to get basically [the opponents'] nickel or dime defense on the field, and yet you're still going to try to run the ball against lighter, smaller personnel. I think it's a big philosophical thing that [Rams Head Coach] Sean McVay has had, and I'd be surprised if Kevin O'Connell doesn't bring a lot of the same type of concepts to the Vikings this year."

Expert rankings

NFL Media's Daniel Jeremiah currently has nine offensive linemen in his overall Top 50, including six who are projected as tackles: 2. Ikem Ekwonu, 7. Evan Neal, 22. Trevor Penning, 23. Charles Cross, 41. Tyler Smith and 42. Bernhard Raimann; and three interior offensive linemen: 28. Kenyon Green, 32. Tyler Linderbaum and 34. Zion Johnson. Jeremiah initially had University of Minnesota tackle Daniel Faalele at No. 49 but removed him from his updated rankings.

ESPN's Mel Kiper, Jr., has six offensive linemen in his overall Top 25: 2. Ekwonu, 3. Neal, 12. Cross, 18. Linderbaum, 19. Penning and 24. Green.

Rankings for wide receivers by Jeremiah, his NFL Media counterpart Bucky Brooks, Kiper, analytics site Pro Football Focus and The Athletic's Dane Brugler are listed below.

Prospects — Tackles

Note: Heights and weights are from each player's profile on NFL.com (linked for each player's name).

Stats are provided by Pro Football Focus.

Ikem Ekwonu

School: N.C. State | Year: Jr. | Ht: 6-foot-4 | Wt: 310 pounds

2021 stats: 12 games; 819 offensive snaps at left tackle (319 run blocking; 500 pass blocking); 3.0 sacks allowed; PFF "overall grade" of 91.6 for season

Baldy says: "I think he could have gone to an Ivy League school (Ekwonu received offers from Harvard and Yale). He's really athletic. He's got a really good mean streak in him. I don't know if he — I just want to see him try not to be so athletic sometimes. Just play. People fall in love with being athletic, and that's not really what you're trying to do. You're just trying to block your guy. I think sometimes he tries to do too much, but he's got everything it takes to be a top-flight lineman. I don't want to say that he's going to be Trent Williams, but he's got those kind of feet."

Evan Neal

School: Alabama | Year: Jr. | Ht: 6-foot-7 | Wt: 337 pounds

2021 stats: 15 games; 1,073 offensive snaps at left tackle (423 run blocking; 650 pass blocking); 2.0 sacks allowed; PFF "overall grade" of 85.8 for season

Baldy says: "I like Evan Neal. … I like his size. He's over 6-foot-7, he's 340 pounds, but he bends really well. He's played left guard for a whole season as a freshman. He's started every game, so he's been durable. He's played left tackle, right tackle. What that tells me is he can process information. He can learn, and that's really important. The guy he's in competition with to be the first tackle off the board is Ekwonu."

Charles Cross

School: Mississippi State | Year: Redshirt Soph. | Ht: 6-foot-5 | Wt: 307 pounds

2021 stats: 12 games; 919 offensive snaps at left tackle (200 run blocking; 719 pass blocking); 2.0 sacks allowed; PFF "overall grade" of 86.7 for season

Baldy says: "Maybe the best pass protector in this whole draft is Charles Cross. He's a natural dancer at left tackle. He's got great size. He doesn't even look like a tackle. He's so lean. He's just a little over 300 pounds, but he's got long arms and runs really well. ... There's just a lot to like about him."

Trevor Penning

School: Northern Iowa | Year: Redshirt Sr. | Ht: 6-foot-7 | Wt: 325 pounds

2021 stats: 12 games; 773 offensive snaps at left tackle (338 run blocking; 435 pass blocking); 1.0 sack allowed; PFF "overall grade" of 97.3 for season

Baldy says: "Penning is a really good player. He's got tremendous size, has been the left tackle there. You watch him at the Senior Bowl, he goes in and plays right guard in the second half of the game, looks like he could be a really good guard — just covers people up, has got a really good mean streak to him."

Daniel Faalele

School: Minnesota | Year: Sr. | Ht: 6-foot-8 | Wt: 384 pounds

2021 stats: 13 games; 835 offensive snaps at right tackle (535 run blocking; 300 pass blocking); 1.0 sack allowed; PFF "overall grade" of 82.3 for season

Baldy says: "I'm good friends with [Eagles tackle] Jordan Mailata, and he reminds you of Jordan. Now, Jordan is a better athlete, runs a lot better than Faalele, but he's a right tackle that obliterates the sun. He's just enormous. He's got the longest arms and is just going to be a hard guy to get around. He looks durable. … There's a lot of good tape on him. You just don't see a lot of people beating him."

Bernhard Raimann

School: Central Michigan | Year: Sr. | Ht: 6-foot-6 | Wt: 303 pounds

2021 stats: 12 games; 895 offensive snaps at left tackle (420 run blocking; 475 pass blocking); 1.0 sack allowed; PFF "overall grade" of 94.6 for season

Baldy says: "He's an Austrian kid, is really athletic, has got a good frame on him, probably could put a bunch of weight on if he wants to and needs to, but I think he has to bend better than he does. He doesn't look like he's a natural knee bender, so that can get you in a little trouble. He just plays high, but guys that are 6-foot-6, sometimes they do that, so you've just got to get them on the boards and in the chutes and get them to get lower, but there's a lot to work with there."

Prospects — Interior Linemen

Kenyon Green

School: Texas A&M | Year: Jr. | Ht: 6-foot-4 | Wt: 323 pounds

2021 stats: 12 games; 737 (81 at LT, 408 at LG, 106 at RG, 142 at RT) offensive snaps (333 run blocking; 404 pass blocking); 1.0 sack allowed; PFF "overall grade" of 79.8 for season

Baldy says: "My favorite, really, is this kid from Texas A&M. He's played every position but center. I watched him against Alabama at left tackle, and he looks like he can play left tackle to me. He's square. His body is square. He stays square, has got really good power. I think he's the best interior offensive lineman, center or guard, in the whole draft. I like him a lot. He reminds me of [Jets guard] Laken Tomlinson, just his overall size and how he plays, but he's a powerful kid."

Tyler Linderbaum

School: Iowa | Year: Redshirt Jr. | Ht: 6-foot-2 | Wt: 296 pounds

2021 stats: 14 games; 908 offensive snaps at center (451 run blocking; 457 pass blocking); 1.0 sack allowed; PFF "overall grade" of 95.4 for season

Baldy says: "Linderbaum kind of distinguishes himself as the best center in this draft. He plays with great leverage. He's a little undersized, as a lot of these guys are, but I think he does a lot of things really well."

Zion Johnson

School: Boston College | Year: Sr. | Ht: 6-foot-3 | Wt: 312 pounds

2021 stats: 12 games; 777 (75 at LT; 702 at LG) offensive snaps (413 run blocking; 364 pass blocking); 1.0 sack allowed; PFF "overall grade" of 84.4 for season

Baldy says: "I think Zion Johnson at Boston College is a really good player. He looks like he's going to be a second-round pick to me. … He's got kind of an unusual-looking stance. Some people, it doesn't look like he's even got a hand on the ground, and his feet look narrow, but you kind of get over it because it's just a starting point, but when he hits you, he sticks to you. He is a good drive blocker, which is rare in college football these days, but Boston College teaches the running game pretty well."

Cam Jurgens

School: Nebraska | Year: Redshirt Jr. | Ht: 6-foot-3 | Wt: 303 pounds

2021 stats: 12 games; 792 offensive snaps at center (378 run blocking; 414 pass blocking); 0 sacks allowed; PFF overall grade of 71.4 for season

Dylan Parham

School: Memphis | Year: Redshirt Sr. | Ht: 6-foot-3 | Wt: 311 pounds

2021 stats: 12 games; 881 offensive snaps at right guard (336 run blocking; 545 pass blocking); 0 sacks allowed; PFF "overall grade" of 78.8 for season

Cole Strange

School: Tennessee-Chattanooga | Year: Redshirt Sr. | Ht: 6-foot-5 | Wt: 307 pounds

2021 stats: 11 games; 697 (160 at LT; 535 at LG; 2 at RT) offensive snaps (386 run blocking; 311 pass blocking); 1.0 sack allowed; PFF "overall grade" of 86.3

When asked about any hidden gems that he'll keep an eye on as the draft progresses, Baldinger mentioned the following three players:

"I think you always have to look at Wisconsin because of the style of offense. Logan Bruss started at right tackle. He's played right guard, can play inside or outside, but those kinds of guys from Wisconsin, they're natural run blockers. They come off the ball, and it's what they do there at Wisconsin. He's a pretty interesting prospect.

They've got this kid at [Texas-San Antonio]. They always have athletes there, but they've got a guy, Spencer Burford, who is a little undersized, but he runs really well and has tremendously long arms and knows how to use them. He's played left tackle and right tackle there. He's a guy I think you can work with because of his arm length that sort of has me intrigued.

"LSU always has offensive linemen, so Austin Deculus is a guy you have to look at. I think he's probably a late-round pick, but he's their right tackle for three straight years there. He started 47 games at LSU, including the [2019] national championship, so just his level of competition that he's gone up against, you have to pay attention to him just because of his size and toughness and durability. There would be a lot to work with there."