From Chanhassen High School to the University of Arkansas, offensive lineman Frank Ragnow will take his next step in football when he hears his named called during this month’s NFL Draft.
Ragnow was a three-year starter and team captain for the Razorbacks, starting 18 games at center and 15 at guard, which is Minnesota’s biggest position of need.
According to Darren Wolfson, Ragnow will be among the Vikings’ 30 pre-draft visitors, and with the 30th pick in the first round, he might be shooting up the draft boards and into Mike Zimmer’s lap.
Why Frank Ragnow is the secret superstar in this year's draft classhttps://t.co/QTD66cPlsK pic.twitter.com/R4w484wjWO
— PFF (@PFF) April 4, 2018
Pro Football Focus, while saying Ragnow should be a first-round pick, noted that one of his best games came while playing guard against Alabama.
“Ragnow has experience playing guard at Arkansas, and when he has been asked to moonlight there his grades were just as strong as they were inside anchoring the line at center. If a team wanted to install Ragnow at guard early in his career rather than entrust him with the line calls from Day 1, he would likely more than hold his own in that spot.”
This is the mobility I was talking about earlier with Frank Ragnow (6-foot-5, 309). He is great when asked to pull in space/screen game. Pair this with his physicality/strength and you have a really talented player. #Vikings are hosting him for a top-30, per @DWolfsonKSTP. pic.twitter.com/pIMjWv1DtF
— Daniel House (@DanielHouseMN) April 3, 2018
After an impressive Pro Day workout at Arkansas last week, Ragnow told 247 Sports that he’s already chatted with Zimmer and told interested teams that he can play tackle, too.
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“The tape doesn’t lie and I think a lot of (teams) know that,” Ragnow said in the interview. “A lot of them just wanted to see my ankle. I’m pretty confident with my abilities on the board, IQ wise with football, so getting to show off how I feel like I am post-surgery, I think that was good for them to see.”
Round 1 of the NFL Draft is Thursday, April 26.
