Sometimes, one of the toughest parts of projecting the future success of draft picks is a player’s love and enthusiasm for the game. Another variable is whether a player fits the culture. After seeing Donovan Jackson and his parents tour U.S. Bank Stadium for the first time, we may have our first signs of the Vikings‘ first-round pick meeting both thresholds.
On Wednesday, the Vikings’ X account shared a video of the Jackson family walking around the field for the first time. Not only was Donovan excited, but so were his parents, Todd and Melanie.
“This works?” dad Todd jokingly asked as he gazed around the stadium.
“This works,” mom Melanie replied, “This totally works. He was supposed to be here.”
“I’m blown away,” Todd said a moment later. “I mean, the press conference was amazing. Meeting the administration, the coach. But seeing where he’s going to be playing for the next who knows how many years. This is home. This is home now. I’m loving this.”
Donovan was equally excited, expressing frustration that he had to wait to for practice to start.
“I just want to start doing stuff now,” he said, shaking his arms as he walked toward the east endzone. “You gotta wait, like, two weeks to start doing stuff.”
“This works.
This totally works.
He was supposed to be here.”@D_jack78‘s parents’ reactions are everything 💜💛
📺: https://t.co/qQUxc2ezhjpic.twitter.com/POFUUX7zEv
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) May 7, 2025
Being excited to play in the NFL doesn’t guarantee future success. But it shows that Jackson and his parents are genuinely excited about his opportunity. Let’s hope he has plenty of success and opportunities to start “doing stuff” for years to come.
This article originally appeared on Vikings Wire: Vikings top pick and his family have priceless reaction to new stadium