Who will the Minnesota Vikings select with the No. 12 overall pick in the 2024 draft?

That is right behind their decision at quarterback as the biggest question facing the front office this offseason. In many ways, the two decisions are intertwined, which makes the latest draft projection from The Athletic’s Dane Brugler stand out.

Brugler has the Vikings passing on taking a quarterback not once, but twice in favor of building up their defensive line, perhaps to the delight of Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores.

First, with UCLA edge rusher Laiatu Latu at No. 12 overall. A former Washington Cougar, Latu logged 13.0 sacks and 21.5 tackles for loss this past season.

“Over his two seasons at UCLA, Latu accounted for 34 tackles for loss, 23.5 sacks and five forced fumbles,” Brugler wrote on January 16. “He has first-step quickness and bend, but his crafty handwork and ability to diversify his attack separate him as a pass rusher.

2023 #Pac12FB Pat Tillman Defensive Player of the Year: Laiatu Latu 🐻

Full release ➡️ https://t.co/JVxMbkAkMC pic.twitter.com/SXu1J33KwF

— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) December 5, 2023

“His injury history could be an issue,” Brugler warned. But this Vikings regime has taken chances with those risks in the past.”

Latu suffered a neck injury that wiped out his sophomore season and ended his career in 2020.

Viking Projected to Land Pac-12’s Last DPOY in Draft

After a year off, he earned Comeback Player of the Year in 2022, posting 10.5 sacks in 13 games for the Bruins. Latu was selected as a consensus All-American and named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year in the conference’s final year of existence.

The 6-foot-4, 265-pound Latu also earned the Vince Lombardi Award as the Lineman of the Year, as well as the Ted Hendricks Award for Defensive End of the Year in 2023.

Minnesota signed Marcus Davenport to a one-year, $13 million contract last offseason.

They overlooked his extensive injury history and it burned them, with Davenport missing all but four games this season. And he is on the books for $6.8 million. Perhaps that experience steers the Vikings clear of players with concerns as significant as Latu’s.

It’s not enough for them to bypass him in favor of a quarterback, with Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy going seven picks later to the Los Angeles Rams.

Danielle Hunter and breakout star DJ Wonnum are joining Davenport in free agency.

Wonnum is also recovering from a torn quadriceps – Latu would be a cost-effective replacement. And the Vikings are not done addressing the defensive trenches in Brugler’s mock.

Analyst Projects Vikings Land Late Bloomer in 2nd Round

Brugler projects Minnesota to select Clemson defensive tackle Ruke Orhorhoro with the No. 42 overall pick.

“The Vikings double up on the defensive line,” Brugler wrote. “Well-built at 6-4, 295 with 34-inch arms, Orhorhoro is an impressive mover and offers a high ceiling after he was late to the game of football.”

Orhorhoro recorded a career-high 5.5 sacks last season, while also logging 8 tackles for loss for the third consecutive season.

Like Latu, Orhorhoro comes with some injury concerns, though they are far less severe.

Vikings defensive linemen Jonathan Bullard and James Lynch are free agents. Fellow linemen Dean Lowry and Harrison Phillips are both under contract but could be cap casualties with the Vikings looking at just $39.5 million in cap space, per Spotrac.

This type of draft class would also suggest the Vikings either re-signed Cousins — as General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah intends — or acquired another veteran to take his place.