Vikings draft Arkansas defensive tackle with first of three sixth-round picks
The Vikings drafted defensive tackle Armon Watts out of Arkansas with the first of three sixth-round picks on Saturday.
Watts (6-5, 300 pounds) took a couple years to earn a role for the Razorbacks, but once he did he ascended. A one-year starter last fall, Watts amassed 8.5 tackles for a loss, seven sacks and three forced fumbles. He was taken with the 190th-overall pick.
He'll join a Vikings depth chart that lost starting defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson to Cleveland in free agency. Watts joins Shamar Stephen, Jaleel Johnson, Jalyn Holmes and Curtis Cothran on the roster behind starting nose tackle Linval Joseph.
With another sixth-round pick, the Vikings drafted safety Marcus Epps out of Wyoming. Epps was a tackling machine in college with 18.5 tackles for a loss paired with 22 pass deflections and nine interceptions. He was drafted 191st overall.
Epps (6-0, 197 pounds) is a former walk-on at Wyoming who went on to star for three years in the Mountain West Conference.
The Vikings picked a third offensive lineman, Oli Udoh, with the final sixth-round pick (193rd overall). The former Elon tackle is a behemoth. Udoh (6-5, 323 pounds) is a developmental prospect despite being a four-year starter in the FCS.
Udoh joins guard Dru Samia (Oklahoma) and center Garrett Bradbury (North Carolina St.) as the three rookie offensive linemen drafted by the Vikings this weekend.