The Minnesota Vikings selected Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins, a defensive lineman out of Georgia, with the 139th-overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft. Ingram-Dawkins was a four-year player at Georgia and came to the school at a great time, winning back-to-back National Championships in his first two seasons. Despite staying in school for four years, Ingram-Dawkins is still a young player. He’s only 21 and will be 22 for his full rookie season.
Ingram-Dawkins waited his turn in a defensive line room absolutely studded with talent. He’s one of nine Georgia defensive linemen taken in the last four drafts, including an incredible seven first-round picks. Ingram-Dawkins was second behind hybrid LB/pass rusher Jalon Walker in snaps among Georgia’s defensive line in 2024, with 536 combined between the regular season and playoffs. He won an SEC Championship with Georgia, but they disappointed after Notre Dame knocked them out of the second round of the College Football Playoff.
With only one year of significant college play and just four sacks in his college career, Ingram-Dawkins is considered a raw prospect, which doesn’t necessarily match up with Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s comments about wanting to hit all of the team’s picks safely into the fairway after making the Donovan Jackson pick.
Still, realistically, any fifth-round pick is going to have flaws. The Vikings opted for flaws with Ingram-Dawkins’ production, betting that his traits could lead him to success in the NFL. Perhaps that is the safest bet at that point in the draft.
And, let’s be clear — Ingram-Dawkins has great athletic traits. At 6′ 4 3/4″, 276 lbs. with 33.5″ arms and an 82 3/4″ wingspan, Ingram-Dawkins has great length to play along the defensive line, but is at a tweener size. He put up a great vertical jump of 36″ and broad jump of 10’4″, both elite numbers for edge rushers and defensive tackles. He ran a 4.86-second 40-yard dash, excellent for his size, and had strong agility drills with an elite 4.34 short-shuttle drill and a solid 7.28-second three-cone. If he were a true edge rusher, someone who was 20 lbs. lighter, the 7.28 three-cone would be a bit underwhelming, but it’s a great time for his size.
If you look at Ingram-Dawkins as a true defensive end or interior defensive lineman, he comes out as an elite athlete, per RAS.
Here’s his profile as a DE:
And here’s his profile as a DT:
To get a feel for what Ingram-Dawkins brings to the Vikings, I dove into the tape and watched five of his 2025 games — against Clemson, Kentucky, Auburn, Texas in the SEC Championship game, and Notre Dame. Let’s find out who he currently is as a player and what areas he can develop in the NFL.
Run Defense
As a run defender, Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins (No. 93) plays with good leverage and strength. The play below is an awesome highlight: He gets below the LT’s pads and knocks him back multiple yards on contact, disrupting the QB’s path on a counter rush.
Great leverage and power from Ingram-Dawkins ion this play, where he nearly drives the LT back into the QB, who is running the opposite direction, on the QB counter play.
— Matt Fries (@friesfootball.bsky.social) 2025-05-04T21:58:28.469Z
Ingram-Dawkins’s quick first step allows him to knife into the backfield, beating offensive linemen to their spots. The below zone run is a great example. Ingram-Dawkins, lined up at 3-technique, explodes past the LT on the snap, creating backfield penetration. The run was well away from him, but the burst he showed in this play translates.
Nice burst off the line from Ingram-Dawkins to outrun the LT's reach block, even if he's on the back side of the play.
— Matt Fries (@friesfootball.bsky.social) 2025-05-04T21:39:07.872Z
The first-step quickness consistently shows up. Here’s another great example where he is lined up at nose and beats a down block by the LG, crashing into the puller and blowing up the run play.
Ingram-Dawkins shows great quickness to get upfield past the down block by the LG. He's not able to quite make the tackle, but he disrupts a puller and forces the run outside into Georgia's pursuit. Great, explosive play in run defense.
— Matt Fries (@friesfootball.bsky.social) 2025-05-04T22:08:33.624Z
Ingram-Dawkins showed the ability to chase down a run from the backside on the play below. Lined up outside the LT, he takes on an initial block, then stays flat down the line of scrimmage and accelerates well to tackle the RB.
Good acceleration from Ingram-Dawkins to work down the line of scrimmage after the LT initially got a hand on him. The pileup in the middle slows the RB down and lets Ingram-Dawkins make the nice run stop.
— Matt Fries (@friesfootball.bsky.social) 2025-05-04T22:00:50.990Z
Ingram-Dawkins also does an excellent job of anchoring in the run game, and regularly holds his ground when opposing linemen try to drive block him. On the play below, Ingram-Dawkins does a nice job of getting his long arm into the RT’s chest and anchoring — his opponent can’t move him off of his spot.
Ingram-Dawkins uses a long arm and strong lower half to anchor and prevent the RT from driving him in the run game.
— Matt Fries (@friesfootball.bsky.social) 2025-05-04T21:35:09.262Z
Ingram controls his opponent’s chest and stalemates them on a regular basis. Here’s another rep, where he stonewalls the LT.
Nice long arm and anchor by Ingram-Dawkins against the LT's block on this RPO.
— Matt Fries (@friesfootball.bsky.social) 2025-05-04T21:55:28.191Z
This stoutness also showed up when taking on pullers, as he gets underneath the pulling guard and stops him in his tracks here:
Ingram-Dawkins works through the shoulder of the LT and stops the pulling guard in his tracks. Run went to a different gap but he did his job.
— Matt Fries (@friesfootball.bsky.social) 2025-05-04T21:53:08.658Z
On this play, Ingram-Dawkins combines his quickness with power. He uses lateral agility and a quick swim move to sidestep the LT, and then takes on the TE, who he uses one arm to knock back into the rushing QB.
Ingram-Dawkins makes a fool of the LT with a sidestep and swim, and then he uses his leverage to compress the TE's block into the running lane.
— Matt Fries (@friesfootball.bsky.social) 2025-05-04T21:57:20.043Z
Ingram-Dawkins also held up to double teams on the interior, like on this play against Clemson. He allowed a slight push on this play. Still, progress for the blockers was very slow, and he kept both of them from climbing up to the LB behind him on the play.
Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins was rugged against this interior double at NT. He didn't lose ground and allowed the Mike LB #0 to be untouched on the play.
— Matt Fries (@friesfootball.bsky.social) 2025-05-04T21:29:48.674Z
Against Notre Dame, I saw one rep where Ingram-Dawkins got driven back significantly in the run game. On the play, he’s stunting with the NT from his 4i position, leaving his pads high while moving laterally. That puts him in a bad position to take on the combo block, and he ends up getting driven back, but he at least puts up a good fight:
This is the only rep I saw Ingram-Dawkins get knocked back in the run game, and honestly I think the stunt is to blame for it. He ends up with high pads after stunting and the RG-C double is able to drive him back.
— Matt Fries (@friesfootball.bsky.social) 2025-05-04T22:10:38.830Z
After taking on blocks really effectively, Ingram-Dawkins has flashed the ability to shed them. On this play against the RT, he executes a violent shed, throwing his opponent to the ground.
Violent shed of a run block by Ingram-Dawkins, throwing the RT to the ground.
— Matt Fries (@friesfootball.bsky.social) 2025-05-04T21:40:58.191Z
Ingram-Dawkins’ swim move can lead to him shedding blocks, as he showed on the play below against the RT.
Ingram-Dawkins shows nice pad level to hold up against this block by the RT and the strength to knock him out of the plan, shedding the block to get near the tackle.
— Matt Fries (@friesfootball.bsky.social) 2025-05-04T21:31:10.298Z
While he flashes the ability to shed blocks, Ingram-Dawkins is far from consistent in his ability to do so. He often gets stuck on blocks, preventing him from getting to tackles or causing him to miss tackles where he could only get a single arm on a rusher. That led to him missing 10 tackles in 2024 while recording just 16, per PFF. Ingram-Dawkins must work on his hand fighting at the NFL level to disengage from blockers.
He’s a compilation of some of his struggles:
Quick compilation of Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins struggling to shed blocks in the run game.
— Matt Fries (@friesfootball.bsky.social) 2025-05-06T01:47:33.900Z
Ingram-Dawkins stays engaged throughout the play and keeps his eyes on the ball, working towards it if he can. In the play below, he is able to keep the RT from getting his hands on him, and he turns downfield to make the tackle on the RB. For me, this kind of effort is a prerequisite to play in the NFL.
Ingram-Dawkins keeps the RT's hands off of him as he maintains an edge against the run and then turns downfield to tackle the RB.
— Matt Fries (@friesfootball.bsky.social) 2025-05-04T21:40:22.224Z
Ingram-Dawkins is a strong run defender with the potential to grow. He has excellent first-step quickness to create penetration against the run, but he also has nice technique to anchor and be a rugged player on the edge against tackles and pullers. He displays the effort to chase down plays from behind when needed.
While he can combine his quickness and hands to occasionally make opponents look foolish and has flashed the ability to shed blocks, he still needs to work on disengaging from opponents. Unfortunately, he will regularly allow offensive linemen to get a firm grip on his chest, and he isn’t skilled enough with his hands to disengage and get in on more tackles. That skill can be taught, and the athleticism and anchor ability provide a nice floor for Ingram-Dawkins as he transitions to the NFL.
Pass Rush
Ingram-Dawkins wasn’t the primary focus of Georgia’s pass-rush plan. They preferred to get advantageous matchups for future first-round picks Jalon Walker and Mykel Williams, or even a speed rusher like Vikings’ UDFA Chaz Chambliss over Ingram-Dawkins, moving him all around the formation and frequently asking him to contain rush.
As a contain rusher, Ingram-Dawkins showed good discipline, understood his role, and prevented the quarterback from going through the gap he was occupying. He has a highlight where he lined up as a 1-technique on the play below, and took on blocks from the RG and RT while Williams stunted behind him. Ingram-Dawkins held his ground and kept his eyes in the backfield, where he saw QB Quinn Ewers start to work to open space. He crossed the RT’s face and drew a holding call as the RT grabbed his jersey.
Nice work as a contain rusher from Ingram-Dawkins. He has multiple blockers, so he keeps his eyes on the QB and draws a holding on the RT as he tries to shed and follow Ewers on the scramble.
— Matt Fries (@friesfootball.bsky.social) 2025-05-04T22:07:29.482Z
That doesn’t mean that Ingram-Dawkins had no opportunities to rush the passer. On those reps where he could let loose, he flashed the strong athleticism that his testing numbers show. The first play that comes to mind is the one below, where he lines up at 3t, ends up rushing against the LT on a stunt, and executes a cross-chop move to dismiss the LT’s hands.
Immediately before the throw, you can see a really tight turn where Ingram-Dawkins prepares to flatten out and chase the QB. The turn is a nice display of flexibility and athleticism.
I think this is a good show of athleticism from Ingram-Dawkins, who is lined up at 3t and goes against the LT after a stunt. He executes a cross chop and turns his hips effectively to flatten towards the QB, but the ball is already out.
— Matt Fries (@friesfootball.bsky.social) 2025-05-04T21:44:51.703Z
I also highlighted athleticism against the run, and think it shows up regularly when you watch him. The play below is a run, but I think it has parallels to the pass game. On the play, he gets upfield, but the TE pins him on the pin-and-pull concept. Forced to find a way outside towards the run, Ingram-Dawkins spins back fluidly, even though the LT clearly contacts his hip on the play. This type of play can translate to an edge rush, where Ingram-Dawkins could win the arc and spin back inside as the tackle overcommits to the outside to catch up.
Thought this was a pretty nice display of athleticism from Ingram-Dawkins, who is at left defensive end. He keeps his feet despite the LT tripping over his lower half, and is able to spin off of the pin block to get back outside. The run is obviously outside of him, but he's an athlete.
— Matt Fries (@friesfootball.bsky.social) 2025-05-04T21:32:11.180Z
Ingram-Dawkins continued to show athleticism as a looper. On the play below, he lines up at nose shaded to the right of the C, and loop around the LG to corner and pressure Ewers. This is fluid movement:
Ingram-Dawkins started over the nose but did a good job of looping on the stunt and turning upfield against the LG to flush Ewers from the pocket.
— Matt Fries (@friesfootball.bsky.social) 2025-05-04T22:05:32.171Z
I don’t have video for them, but all three of Ingram-Dawkins’ three sacks came due to his first-step quickness. Against Auburn, he got two sacks simply by bursting past the Tigers’ slow-footed, 350 lb. left tackle, and he really didn’t have to show much skill. Against Kentucky, he faced a TE and spun inside against him to get a sack. Besides his quickness, Ingram-Dawkins seemed most successful at generating pressure using a quick first step and hands against interior blockers.
On the play below, he’s lined up at NT and executes a club rip. His quick first step allowed him to attack the C’s left shoulder, and he knocked his hand down before ripping through and coming free at the QB, getting a hand on him standing up. The ball was out because of the one-step drop, but the key is flashing the ability to provide interior pressure.
Ingram-Dawkins has great burst off the line, here he beats the C to his left and clubs his arm away to get after the QB, but the ball is gone at the top of the drop.
— Matt Fries (@friesfootball.bsky.social) 2025-05-04T21:45:41.743Z
Here’s another play where Ingram-Dawkins shows some technique, bursting upfield against the LT and executing a club swim. It’s once again quick game, but this is a clear pass-rush win even if it’s not a pressure.
This is quick game, but Ingram-Dawkins has a nice upfield rush against the LT where he clubs his outside arm and quickly beats him.
— Matt Fries (@friesfootball.bsky.social) 2025-05-04T21:38:32.411Z
Finally, this is perhaps the most complete rush I saw from Ingram-Dawkins over the course of the games I watched. Similar to the sack against Auburn, it displays an inside counter that he might be able to build on. On the play, he bursts upfield and closes space with the LT, getting his hands on his opponent first. With his opponent on his heels, he swims over to the inside and gets after the QB, who, unfortunately, is already gone on a scramble.
I thought his was a nice rush by Ingram-Dawkins, where he got upfield before attacking the LT's chest and then swimming with an inside counter for a pass rush win on a play where the QB scrambled.
— Matt Fries (@friesfootball.bsky.social) 2025-05-04T21:54:58.347Z
The flashes above show what might be for Ingram-Dawkins, but he has significant work to do to become a plus pass rusher. Right now, his technique isn’t good enough to win regularly. He too often lets his opponent get the first punch and gives up his chest, allowing himself to be controlled.
The rep below is a good example. Going up against the LT, he starts a swim move way too early, flailing his arm into the air. This lets the LT get two arms on him and stop his rush in its tracks, an ineffective play for Ingram-Dawkins.
Going against the LT, Ingram-Dawks tried to execute a swim move, but didn't win with his hands first. That let the LT into his chest to easily control him as a pass rusher.
— Matt Fries (@friesfootball.bsky.social) 2025-05-04T21:33:06.468Z
It’s interesting that, despite his ability to use leverage and anchor against the run, he doesn’t try to use it to rush the passer. Bull rushes are a great way to compress the pocket and make QBs uncomfortable, which Ingram-Dawkins will be asked to do at the next level. The play below is ripe for him to try to convert speed to power with a bull rush, but he’s late to get his hands up and unable to convert this rush into anything.
I wish Ingram-Dawkins had done more on this rush. The LT set well to cut off his outside path, and he was unable to convert the rush into a bull rush or use an inside counter to try to get after the QB.
— Matt Fries (@friesfootball.bsky.social) 2025-05-04T22:03:44.005Z
These issues popped up on a pretty regular basis.
Here are some of Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins woes as a pass rusher. He often gave up his chest and let opponents control him as blockers, and seemed to lack secondary moves and counters, or even a bull rush.
— Matt Fries (@friesfootball.bsky.social) 2025-05-06T03:00:13.658Z
Due to the athletic traits he possesses, Ingram-Dawkins has the potential to become a good pass rusher, but he isn’t there yet. Whether it’s help developing in a pass-rush plan or repetition to ingrain the flashes of pass-rush moves he shows, the Vikings will need to help him hone his game to turn him into an effective pass rusher in the NFL.
summary
Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins is a strong run defender who uses his quickness to create penetration and anchor strength to shock and stack blockers. He can even hold up to double teams, although it’s likely not something he’d excel at on the interior in the NFL due to his lack of size. Ingram-Dawkins shows good effort in chasing down plays from behind but is underdeveloped with his hands and will struggle to shed blocks, leading to frequent missed tackles as he’s unable to get more than an arm on opposing runners.
As a pass rusher, Ingram-Dawkins shows the same athletic traits he displayed in the run game, but lacks the toolbox of moves to consistently win. His athleticism is a great starting point, and he may be best rushing on the interior to start, where he can use his first step to beat lesser athletes on the IOL. He also contains well when asked to, holding his gap and position along the defensive line and keeping his eyes in the backfield, alert for a quarterback scramble.
Out on the edge, he will need to develop a bull rush and learn to attack opponents with a plan where he transitions to a secondary move. He’s shown flashes of various moves, including a cross chop, club/rip, club/swim, and spin move, but he doesn’t major in any of them. In building Ingram-Dawkins’ improvement plan, I would focus on a singular move to attack opponents, then building a secondary move to counter when defenders take his first move away.
Right now, Ingram-Dawkins is caught between two positions. He profiles best as a run defender on the edge and a pass rusher on the interior. While the term “tweener” might be a disqualifier for some teams, the Vikings under DC Brian Flores have regularly used players who straddle position lines. Josh Metellus and Andrew Van Ginkel are prime examples, but they also did it along the DL.
Pat Jones II, who left in free agency this past offseason, played 312 snaps aligned as an edge rusher, but sometimes flexed inside, with 115 snaps from an interior defensive line alignment, per NFL Pro. Jones was listed at 6’5″, 260 lbs. Jihad Ward, listed at 6’5″, 287 lbs., played an inverse role, with 381 snaps along the interior defensive line and 56 snaps at edge, and is currently a free agent.
If he progresses well, I expect Ingram-Dawkins to take over either Jones or Ward’s role. Based on studying his tape, I think he would provide value as an early-down run defender on the edge if the Vikings want someone stouter than Andrew Van Ginkel or Dallas Turner in a given situation, which is what Minnesota asked Jones to do. With time, Ingram-Dawkins has the physical ability to develop into an excellent interior pass rusher and could replace the role Jihad Ward played last year as an understudy to free-agent addition Javon Hargrave.