Vikings 'Sleeper' Named One of Best Picks of Draft's Seventh Round

Vikings rookie Levi Drake Rodriguez, a defensive tackle out of FCS Texas A&M-Commerce who was taken with the 232nd overall pick in the draft this weekend, was named by ESPN's Field Yates as one of the best picks of this year's seventh round.

"One of the draft's hidden gems, Rodriguez finished his college career at Texas A&M-Commerce and just destroyed opposing interior offensive lines during his time there," Yates wrote. "He has great burst that caught the eyes of scouts this past season, and Minnesota landed a potential sleeper here. He had 5.5 sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss in 2023."

Rodriguez is a fun story. He began his college career at Southwestern Assemblies of God, an NAIA program in Texas. He then transferred to TAMU-C, which had just moved up to the D1 FCS level from D2 when he arrived there in 2022. Rodriguez was discovered by Vikings area scout Blaine Grammer, who got word about him to travel up the chain to GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. He was able to visit the Vikings during the pre-draft process, and they were convinced enough in his potential to use their final pick in this year's draft on him.

He can play, too. Rodriguez was dominant against lesser competition in college, and then he was the MVP of the Tropical Bowl earlier this year when he had 3.5 sacks in a game that featured plenty of Power 5 prospects. Rodriguez plays with impressive quickness for a defensive tackle and has violent hands.

"He’s quick, he can get underneath the pads of the offensive lineman," Vikings SVP of Player Personnel Ryan Grigson said. "He can yank him, throw him; there's just a lot in his body and I feel like once our coaches get their hands on him, I think Kwesi would even tell you he has a lot of savvy already as a pass rusher. That's not very common from where he's been."

The Vikings also love that Rodriguez is the type of guy who works incredibly hard to get better. He's known for being the first one to arrive before practices and workouts and the last one to leave. He was 280 pounds in college but is now up over 300 as he prepares for Vikings rookie minicamp.

Aiding Rodriguez's sleeper potential in Minnesota is that the Vikings are very short on proven contributors at defensive tackle. Harrison Phillips is a quality starting nose tackle, but the rest of the room is wide open. Jonathan Bullard, Jaquelin Roy, Jerry Tillery, Jihad Ward, and Jonah Williams are joined on the roster by Rodriguez and undrafted rookies Taki Taimani and Tyler Manoa. If Rodriguez impresses this offseason and into training camp, he'll have a shot at earning a spot on the 53-man roster.