The Minnesota Vikings picked offensive tackle Brian O'Neill from Pittsburgh in the second round of the NFL draft Friday night Blake Bortles Jersey , adding a mobile yet raw player to help with the critical task of protecting prize offseason acquisition Kirk Cousins.
"I know if I can get the coaches this type of athlete, they can develop those guys," said Vikings general manager Rick Spielman, who used the 62nd overall selection on the 6-foot-6, 305-pound O'Neill before trading the team's third-round pick, No. 94, to net an extra selection for Saturday.
O'Neill played left tackle for the Panthers as a junior in 2017 and was a first team All-ACC honoree. He spent the previous two seasons at right tackle after joining the program as a tight end. O'Neill ran the 40-yard dash in 4.82 seconds at the combine, the fastest time by an offensive lineman.
"You watch this guy get out and pull, and it's unbelievable how fast he moves," Vikings director of college scouting Jamaal Stephenson said.
If the Vikings feel confident enough that O'Neill is ready to start, he could take over at right tackle with Mike Remmers making a permanent move to one of the guard spots. Remmers was signed last year as a tackle, but injuries prompted him to shift inside late in the season and in the playoffs. O'Neill left college a year early, though, so the Vikings have essentially taken on the task of continuing to develop him.
"He's got to get stronger. That's one of his weaknesses at this point, but we feel we can easily get that corrected," Stephenson said.
If Remmers stays at tackle for now Tyler Eifert Jersey , Danny Isidora, a fifth-round draft pick last year, will become a strong candidate to start at right guard in the retired Joe Berger's place. Nick Easton started at left guard for most of last season before breaking his ankle.
O'Neill was a high school basketball star in Wilmington, Delaware. His father, Brendan O'Neill, played running back at Dartmouth. His mother, Elizabeth O'Neill, was a swimmer at Northeastern.
"I think I'm able to handle speed off the edge very well," O'Neill said. "I think that's something that's one of my strong suits, being able to protect the edge. Obviously with the new quarterback in town, Kirk Cousins, that's a big deal. Protecting him is my most important job now, and it's a job I take very seriously."
The run on interior linemen accelerated from the first day of the NFL draft, with three guards going in the first five picks of the second round. The Browns led off with Nevada guard Austin Corbett, the Giants took UTEP guard Will Hernandez and the Colts grabbed Auburn guard Braden Smith. The Bears went with Iowa center James Daniels, who could play guard Seth DeValve Jersey , with the seventh pick of the night, 39th overall. Another guard was taken off the board when the Cowboys picked Texas guard Connor Williams at No. 50 overall.
"I've never seen that many offensive guards go this high in the draft," Stephenson said.
The last time the Vikings took an offensive lineman in the first three rounds in consecutive years was 2005 and 2006, when they took Marcus Johnson from Mississippi and Ryan Cook from New Mexico in the second round of those drafts. The Vikings drafted center Pat Elflein out of Ohio State in the third round last year.
Like cornerback, where the Vikings looked in the first round for Central Florida's Mike Hughes , a team can never have enough quality offensive linemen. The dearth of them has been their biggest downfall in recent seasons, a deficiency badly exposed in the 38-7 loss at Philadelphia in the NFC championship game.
Hughes found some off-the-field trouble as a freshman at North Carolina in 2015 with his home-state school, which led to a nomadic college career with a stop at Garden City Community College in Kansas before landing at UCF once fall camp had already begun. He quickly integrated himself with the team and picked up the defense, making a strong impression on head coach Scott Frost.
"I think he's the type of player that's going to thrive up there," Frost said on a conference call with Minnesota reporters. "Mike's not just a cover corner, he's a guy that will come up and hit. He'll really embrace being around a bunch of other guys that play with that kind of attitude."
He's only 5-foot-10, but this high school quarterback has used his physical size as a psychological advantage.
"I don't want to get the ball caught on me," Hughes said. "I hate having the ball caught on me, even in practice. I just like competing."
Brent Suter used his bat and left arm to beat the Philadelphia Phillies.
Suter drove in two runs and pitched a career-high seven innings, Christian Yelich, Hernan Perez and Jesus Aguilar homered and the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers beat Jake Arrieta and the Phillies 13-2 on Friday night.
Suter (7-4) allowed one run on six hits to win his fifth start in the last six Zach Zenner Jersey , including a 12-3 victory over the Phillies six days ago. The lanky left-hander tossed a career-high 105 pitches and pushed the Brewers to 43-27, the best record in the NL.
”He always gives 100 percent when he pitches, and we support him,” Perez said. ”Sometimes, we need that nine holes to get a hit. Tonight, (Suter) did that.”
Suter went 2 for 2, scored twice and got hit by a pitch in his 16th appearance and 13th start. The team originally thought Suter might start the season in the bullpen, but that’s not been the case lately.
Milwaukee has scored 40 runs against the Phillies in four games, including 27 in three at Citizens Bank Park. Philadelphia has 13 in that span.
Arrieta (5-5) came in 3-0 with a 2.03 ERA in five career starts at Miller Park, but the Brewers snapped that streak by reaching him for eight runs – four earned – on seven hits in 3 1/3 innings. He walked two and struck out one.
”Jake did not have his fastball command, and we didn’t play good defense behind him,” Phillies manager Gabe Kapler said. ”That was the story of the game today.”
Arrieta put the blame on his shoulders, ignoring the season high-tying four errors.
”I singlehandedly lost us the game,” he said. ”I put up a 5 spot in the second inning. It wasn’t because of the defense, really. ”
Philadelphia also had four errors on March 31 at Atlanta.
Suter got hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the second. Shortstop Scott Kingery misplayed Lorenzo Cain’s liner for two more runs. Aguilar added a sacrifice fly and Cain scored on a wild pitch.
The Brewers chased Arrieta in the fourth, keeping him winless in three starts in June.
Suter reached on a fielding error by left fielder Rhys Hoskins and scored on Cain’s double. Yelich hit the first pitch for his ninth home run of the season.
Perez started the sixth by homering off reliever Mark Leiter Jr. Suter sliced an opposite-field base hit for his second RBI in the game.
Cesar Hernandez went 3 for 3 with an RBI double in the sixth. Odubel Herrera hit a solo homer in the ninth.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Phillies: RHP Pat Neshek (right shoulder strain) threw and ran some sprints in preparation for throwing a bullpen session on Sunday. RHP Jerad Eickhoff (right lat strain) threw Friday and should throw another bullpen on Tuesday.
Brewers: 2B Jonathan Villar missed his second consecutive game with a calf injury. He left Tuesday’s 4-0 win over the Chicago Cubs after legging out an infield single in the eighth inning.
LEARN FROM ERRORS
Kapler believes in Kingery Christian Covington Jersey , despite his costly error.
”At the end of the day, do we think that he will be one of our better players for many, many years to come in part because of this experience?” Kapler said. ”The answer is yes.”
Kingery has six errors in 63 games so far this season.
”Right now, we feel like Scottie is developing very well and becoming a much better shortstop,” Kapler said.
A DOZEN, PLEASE
The Brewers are the first team to score at least 12 runs three times in a season against the Phillies since the 1968 Cincinnati Reds.
POSITION-PLAYING PITCHER
Philadelphia infielder Jesmuel Valentin pitched the eighth and surrendered Aguilar’s two-run homer and Manny Pina‘ run-scoring grounder. It was his first pitching appearance and second of the season for the Phillies, who used Pedro Florimon on May 18 at St. Louis.
”This is our way of saying tomorrow is important, too,” Kapler said. ”The next day is important, too. We’re going to preserve our guys in our bullpen.”
UP NEXT
Phillies: RHP Zach Eflin (3-2, 3.63 ERA) makes his second consecutive start against the Brewers. He beat them 4-3 on June 10, allowing two runs on three hits in six innings and matching his season high with nine strikeouts.
Brewers: RHP Junior Guerra (3-4, 2.71 ERA) makes his 13th start and first against the Phillies this season. He is 0-1 with a 7.20 ERA in two career starts against Philadelphia at Citizens Bank park.
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