Vikings Eye Under-the-Radar Badgers Sleeper

The NFL Draft is just about two weeks away for the Minnesota Vikings, and with nine picks, the club will hope to extract some prospects from later rounds to make up for mostly miserable drafts over the last four seasons. And if the team strikes gold, one of the draftees might be Wisconsin outside linebacker Mason Reiger.

Minnesota may have found another developmental front-seven option.

The Vikings spent a Top 30 visit on Reiger, usually a decent indicator that he could end up with the franchise in the draft’s late rounds or from undrafted free agency soon after.

A Wisconsin Sleeper Has Entered the Vikings’ Draft Orbit

Get to know some possible late-rounders.

Reiger to Meet with MIN

Every team is allotted Top 30 visits, and the Vikings usually use them on players from all rounds, even if the player won’t be drafted.

Late last month, NFL draft insider Ryan Fowler tweeted, ‘Source: Wisconsin EDGE Mason Reiger has a 30 visit scheduled with the Minnesota Vikings. 6’5″, 250 lbs pass-rusher was named the Defensive MVP of the Shrine game after recording three sacks & a FF. Also had a private workout with New Orleans.”

The meeting turned heads because Minnesota could use some help at EDGE, especially youthful options, as Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel headline the position (both age 28 or older), with Dallas Turner (not old) at OLB3.

The Bio

Reiger is undersized as an outside linebacker but right on point as an off-ball linebacker. The kicker? He plays more with an EDGE’s skill set. His speed is phenomenal for his position, his length outstanding. The spin move is also there. It’s just that he’s not the best tackler in the Big Ten, and that will need significant refinement in the pros.

He logged 10 sacks in the last two years at Wisconsin and Louisville.

NFL Draft Buzz on Reiger: “The pass rush ability is real. His first step and closing burst are uncommon, and the inside spin move is already a weapon. When he’s operating as a designated rusher on third down, working off the ball in a two-point stance, he can collapse the pocket in a hurry.”

“The 45 pressures he racked up at Wisconsin, plus the Shrine Bowl destruction, tell a consistent story about a guy who can get after quarterbacks. His grade as a pass rusher backed that up all year, and the arc of his development from a mid-60s graded player in 2021-22 to an elite-level rusher by 2025 suggests a player who is still ascending.”

Reiger may look older for his age, but he’s still 23. A bit old — not ancient rookie age.

NBD added, “The fit is clear: a 3-4 outside linebacker or a wide-nine edge rusher in a defense that can use him situationally as a rookie and gradually expand his role as he develops. Reiger is not a three-down starter on Day 1, but he absolutely can be a productive rotational rusher who gives offensive tackles a different look.”

“The former walk-on story, the injury comeback, the Shrine Bowl dominance, the steady improvement year over year, all of it paints a picture of a player who will maximize every opportunity he gets.”

Minnesota’s Current OLBs

The scouting report suggests Reiger would latch onto the back end of the Vikings’ EDGE depth chart, hoping to work his way up over the duration of a rookie contract.

With the draft 15 days away, here’s Minnesota’s OLB corps:

• Jonathan Greenard
• Andrew Van Ginkel
• Dallas Turner
• Bo Richter
• Tyler Batty
• Chazz Chambliss

NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein compared Reiger to former NFLer Kyler Fackrell and noted, “He doesn’t look like a pro pre-snap, but he certainly plays like one after the snap. He lacks the size/anchor to consistently set the edge and can be controlled when tackles latch on, but he’s unusually talented to work off contact for quick wins at the point of attack.”

Where in the Draft?

This is the fun part. The Vikings won’t have to spend precious draft capital to obtain Reiger. Right now, he’s listed at No. 219 on the Consensus Big Board, and conveniently, Minnesota has three 7th-Round draft picks in that territory.

It’s not unreasonable to assume that Minnesota will leave the draft with an extra EDGE rusher, and Reiger perfectly blends draft placement and a style that defensive coordinator Brian Flores might enjoy.

Former general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah made a flurry of strange trades last summer. The 7th-Rounders on tap are a result.

The Vikings haven’t drafted a player from the University of Wisconsin in 21 years.