former Oklahoma offensive tackle Walter Rouse was the first off the board. The Minnesota Vikings took Rouse with the first pick in the sixth round, selecting him 177th overall.
Rouse became the 13th Oklahoma offensive lineman to be drafted since Bill Bedenbaugh took over the position back in 2013, as the former Stanford transfer accomplished what he set out to do when he joined Oklahoma prior to his final college season. Rouse originally committed to Nebraska out of the portal before flipping to Oklahoma, in part because of Sooners assistant Bill Bedenbaugh’s track record of developing offensive linemen for the NFL.
Rouse started every game for the Sooners at left tackle last season and was the team’s best all-around offensive lineman throughout the year. A foundational piece of an offensive line that paved the way for the nation’s No. 4 scoring offense (41.7 points per game), Rouse finished the as the team’s highest-graded offensive lineman, according to Pro Football Focus.
Rouse’s rookie contract with the Vikings is expected to be worth $4.2 million over four years, with a signing bonus worth $254,285, according to Spotrac. After officially putting pen to paper and joining the organization, Rouse sat down with members of the media and the Vikings beat to discuss the beginning of his NFL career:
OPENING STATEMENT: “First off, this is truly a dream come true,” Rouse said. “This opportunity to be able to play in NFL for the Vikings no less. And I just wanted to give a thank you to my mom, Hilary, my aunt, Debbie, my grandmother Laverne, grandma Gigi, they’ve been my core family. We’ve experienced some loss over the years with my dad in 2019, lost my grandfather in 2018, my aunt in 2017 and my uncle in 2013. It’s been so many emotions going on today and I know they’re all looking down, proud of me, being able to one day play in the NFL and now I’m getting drafted by the Vikings. It just this truly just means the world, thank you to the Wilf family, Kwesi [Adofo-Mensah] coach O’Connell [Kevin]. I really have no words to describe how I’m feeling right now because I’m so happy and I just can’t wait to get to work, the next start the next chapter my life starts now.”
Rouse had an overall grade of 72.0 for the season, per PFF. His pass-blocking grade of 83.8 was also tops among OU linemen and ranked 14th among all FBS linemen. He did not allow a sack and gave up only two quarterback hits and four hurries across 453 pass-blocking snaps in what was the best season of his career. He previously allowed 14 sacks, 14 hits and 70 total pressures during his four seasons at Stanford. Rouse’s 66.2 run-blocking grade was also best among the Sooners’ offensive linemen last season.
