Nearly every meal for Brian O’Neill lately has been of the all-you-can-eat variety.

O’Neill was listed at 297 pounds when the Vikings picked him out of the University of Pittsburgh in the second round of the NFL draft in April. That’s actually light for an NFL tackle, especially one standing 6-foot-7.

He’s been trying to do something about that.

After weighing in between 295 and 298 pounds during June mini-camp, O’Neill said he has gained between six and 10 pounds, depending on when he steps on the scale, in the six weeks before Wednesday’s start of training camp.

“I’m over 300 pounds now,” he said. “That was the goal coming back to camp, to be above 300. For five weeks, I was back at the University of Pittsburgh with our head strength coach and our full-time nutritionist was there. I put down about 6,000 calories a day.”

O’Neill said he had meals at the Pittsburgh football facility, and it was always all you can eat.

“A lot of protein and a lot of carbs,” he said. “A big thing for me is eating right before bed. For a lot of people, they say, ‘Don’t eat past 7 o’clock’ or something. I do 7 o’clock, 10 o’clock and 11:30 or whenever I go to bed. I always have something in me, and I can never be hungry.”

O’Neill said the goal is to be at at least 305 pounds when the regular season starts Sept. 9 against San Francisco. He said Vikings officials have told him the hope is he eventually will weigh 315.

“That’s over time,” O’Neill said. “I’d say a year from now I could be 315, absolutely. We didn’t want me to come back (for training camp) at 315 because it wouldn’t be a good 315. But I’m going to keep progressing. I think I can handle 315 eventually down the road. I’ve got room to grow.”

O’Neill, a 235-pound tight end when he entered college in 2014, is regarded by many as a project. He might not play a big role as a rookie, but the Vikings like his potential.

“My personal goal is to be able to help the team in some way,” O’Neill said. “So whatever it is, Brian O’Neill will help this organization and this team (this season) in some way. … If the coaches want me to be (a backup tackle), that’s what I’m going to do with open arms. If they want me to be the fifth-string guard, so be it. If they want me to be the backup center, I’ll learn to snap.”

After starting at right tackle last season, Mike Remmers likely will move to right guard, making Rashod Hill the projected starting right tackle. Remmers’ move to guard could make it more likely that if O’Neill sees action, it will be as a reserve tackle. Related Articles Gary Kubiak on Vikings’ offensive woes: ‘I’ve got to do a better job’

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O’Neill will compete for depth-chart positioning with second-year player Aviante Collins. Veteran Tom Compton is listed as a guard but also can play tackle.

“Brian, I think, has gotten stronger over the summer,’’ first-year offensive coordinator John DeFilippo said. “I think I saw him anchor down (Wednesday), which is better. When I say anchor, I mean he was able to stymie the defensive end at the line of scrimmage. I saw better combination blocks out of him. … I think it’s just the combination of getting those reps in the spring has really done him well.”

Putting on the pounds has helped. After all, outside of sumo wrestling, the NFL might be the only occupation in which a 300-pound man still could be considered undersized.

“That’s pretty wild,” O’Neill said. “But whatever (the Vikings) want me to do.”