EAGAN, Minn. — The Vikings on Saturday began the final day of the 2019 NFL Draft by trading up to select Dru Samia with the 114th overall pick.

Samia (6-foot-5, 305 pounds) is from Sacramento, California.

He began his Sooners career at right tackle, where he started nine of 12 games as a freshman. Samia shifted to right guard after the first game of his sophomore season and earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors.

The Oklahoma offensive line was presented the Joe Moore Award in 2018 when Samia also earned Second-Team All-America honors from the Associated Press and a First-Team All-Big 12 from the leagues coaches.

 Minnesota sent the 120th and 209th overall picks to Seattle to move up six spots. 

Player Bio

Oklahoma signed Samia (pronounced suh-MEE-uh) as a top 15 offensive tackle recruit nationally out of Sacramento. He started 9 of 12 games at right tackle his true freshman year. In 2016, however, after a start at right tackle in the opener, he was moved to right guard for the final 12 games to earn honorable mention All-Big 12 accolades. Samia stayed at right guard as a junior, starting 12 of 13 games played to land second-team all-conference honors. He was ejected in the Sooners' hotly-contested game against West Virginia for throwing a punch. Samia started all 14 games on the Joe Moore Award-winning Oklahoma offensive line in 2018, garnering second-team All-American notice from the Associated Press and a first-team All-Big 12 nod from league coaches.

Overview

Vocal leader who has cut his teeth with an Oklahoma offensive line that has dripped with aggression and attitude during his four years as a starter. Samia is a loose-limbed, athletic guard whose foot quickness and second-level agility make him much more attractive as a move guard rather than a base-blocking option. His length and movement skills are a big plus, but issues with core strength and body control at the point of attack must be improved in order to survive against NFL power.

Strengths

• Good combination of length and athleticism
• Light feet get him out of stance and into pull blocks with good quickness
• Has agility to alter path and track moving targets in space as blocker
• Showed good feel for second-level angles against Roquan Smith in 2017
• Very able zone blocker with feet that find proper positioning on reach blocks
• Will ride defenders where they want to go and then turn/seal them with footwork
• Unlocks hips and explodes into targets on down blocks
• Very physical after initial contact with upper-body twitch to torque his opponent off-balance
• Has grip strength to sustain and "ride the bull"
• Adjusts mental assignment quickly when opponent vacates
• Athleticism allows for adequate recovery in pass protection
• Has lateral-movement skills to handle athletic rushers and spin-counters
• Has starting experience at right tackle and might be able to offer emergency tackle versatility

Weaknesses

• Despite flashes of power, core strength and body control need work
• Needs to do a much better job of synchronizing hands and feet to stay in front of opponents
• Gets pads rattled by stronger, two-gapping defensive tackles
• Needs to improve consistency of hand placement in both run and pass games
• Carries low hands in pass sets, allowing defenders to out-pace him into first contact
• Sloppy, disheveled footwork opens doors to the quarterback for rushers
• Marginal strength to redirect when opponents get into his edge
• Slips into waist-bending and lunging at times
• His edge can turn into "extra" if he doesn't control it on the field