With the 24th overall pick in the NFL draft Thursday night, the Vikings selected guard Donovan Jackson out of Ohio State.

Here are five things to know about the newest Viking.

1) Jackson is the first opening-round guard drafted by the Vikings in nearly 40 years. The Vikings had not drafted a first-round offensive lineman to play guard since 1988, when they took Hall of Famer Randall McDaniel. "I don't know the market is going guard-tackle anymore; it's just protector," General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said. "The interior [defenders] are getting more athletic."

Jackson, who measured at 6-4 and 315 pounds at the NFL scouting combine, joins the Vikings as a left guard. But he brings versatility coveted by coaches. After starting 26 straight games at left guard in 2022 and 2023, Jackson moved to left tackle for the majority of the Buckeyes' national title-winning season. He played 348 reps at left tackle and 286 reps at left guard, according to Pro Football Focus. Jackson slid outside to replace injured teammate Josh Simmons — the No. 32 overall pick by the Chiefs — in the middle of the season. Jackson made his first start at tackle against Penn State and edge rusher Abdul Carter, the No. 3 overall pick by the Giants. "Such an important year for [Jackson]," coach Kevin O'Connell said. "To be willing to do that … speaks about who he is, his makeup."

2) Jackson has a first-round pedigree. He was the No. 1-rated guard nationwide in the 2021 recruiting class, when he was a five-star prospect out of Episcopal High School just outside of Houston. He joined Ohio State after also getting offers from Alabama and Florida, among others. Jackson said his first college game for Ohio State came against the Gophers, marking the only other time he's been to Minnesota outside of his predraft visit.

3) The Vikings hosted Jackson on a top-30 visit to TCO Performance Center, where Adofo-Mensah described him as a "mild-mannered" personality who plays with a sharp edge. "He turns into a different guy on the football field," Adofo-Mensah said. "Incredibly strong, latchy, tries to stay connected to defenders with that last touch." O'Connell said he watched game film with Jackson in a one-on-one setting. "Really confirmed a lot that was on tape," O'Connell said. "Confirmed a lot that you think about the player when he made the [position] switch that he did: What was that like? Why did you do it? Then you hear some really good things about his teammates, about the big picture, about how much they all meant to him, and what the team needed as well."

4) Jackson fits the Vikings' vision to run the ball more effectively. O'Connell said the team's offensive line rebuild "exceeded" his expectations this offseason, which included winning bidding wars to add two starters — guard Will Fries and center Ryan Kelly — in free agency. Jackson's NFL.com draft profile describes him as a "broad-framed three-year starter with core power and leg drive to hold the line of scrimmage or change it." The Vikings also gave running back Aaron Jones a two-year, $20 million deal and traded for ex-49ers running back Jordan Mason this offseason.

"Football moves in these cycles," Adofo-Mensah said. "Now the run game is cool again, right? We're going back to it and getting the foundation; the roots of the run game always start with those interior guys."

5) Jackson is the third national champion drafted in the first round by the current Vikings regime. Adofo-Mensah previously made first-round selections from national champions in quarterback J.J. McCarthy (2024) from Michigan and safety Lewis Cine (2022) from Georgia. Coincidentally, the Vikings have only drafted Ohio State players at No. 24 overall, which they've done three times in franchise history: Jackson (2025), offensive tackle Korey Stringer (1995) and running back Leo Hayden (1971).

Jackson smiled when asked about teaming up with McCarthy, who quarterbacked his former rival in Michigan. "We're going to leave that in college," Jackson said.