Minnesota Vikings Offensive Line

With first round pick Christian Darrisaw getting his first start at left tackle, I’ve been thinking about the offensive line of the Minnesota Vikings. I’ve been thinking about the group that they have now and the long road to get here. After too damn many years of miss-matched, forced-together, crappy offensive lines the Vikings might finally be edging toward a decent group. Maybe even a very good group. A reason for years of shaky offensive line play has been the lack of top draft picks spent on the positions. In defense of Rick Spielman and the team’s decision-makers, each year a team has a few high-end draft picks and a lot of positions to fill. There will always be a position or position group that might not get high-end draft attention and the team will be criticized for it. As a draft strategy, Spielman seemed to turn the draft’s third day into his talent pool for offensive linemen. Perhaps the solid play of later-round picks like John Sullivan and Brandon Fusco might’ve given him some confidence in his ability to find capable players outside the first two nights of the draft. For every Fusco, there was a Willie Beavers, a T.J. Clemmings, and a David Yankey. From 2012 to 2017, the Vikings put high-end capital towards the offensive line twice. They spent a top-five pick on Matt Kalil in 2012 and a lot of free agency cash on Riley Reiff in 2017. Six years. Twice. The Vikings had to spend a lot to get Reiff because Kalil hadn’t played like a top-five pick since his rookie season. Due to a lack of high-end talent, the Vikings offensive line plan was really no plan. The coaches were forced to piece a group together with the players that they had. It was an annual thing. That was then. This is now. Since 2018, the Vikings have annually used Day 1 and Day 2 picks on offensive linemen. 

2018

RT Brian O’Neill, 2nd round

2019

C Garrett Bradbury, 1st round

2020

LG Ezra Cleveland, 2nd round

2021

LT Christian Darrisaw, 1st round

  G Wyatt Davis, 3rd round

This draft strategy has brought talented offensive linemen to Minnesota. That’s a good thing. If nothing else, the change in draft philosophy has brought hope for a group that has long been the Vikings biggest problem. It’s resulted in an offensive line that has the talent to evolve into a very good group. 

LT	Christian Darrisaw
LG	Ezra Cleveland
C	Garrett Bradbury
RG	Oli Udoh
RT	Brian O’Neill

Here’s a little closer look at each of the above five linemen.

Christian Darrisaw

Experience: Rookie

Height: 6’5”

Weight: 315

Age: 22

College: Virginia Tech

Ezra Cleveland

Experience: 2nd year

Height: 6’6”

Weight: 312

Age: 23

College: Boise State

Garrett Bradbury

Experience: 3rd year

Height: 6’3”

Weight: 300

Age: 26

College: North Carolina State

Oli Udoh

Experience: 3rd year

Height: 6’6” 

Weight 320

Age: 24

College: Elon

Brian O’Neill

Experience: 4th year

Height: 6’7”

Weight: 310

Age: 26

College: Pittsburgh

In terms of draft position, the outsider is Oli Udoh. He was a sixth-round pick because he was a raw offensive tackle from itty-bitty Elon. All he’s done since being a late-round pick from a small school is improve, refine, and envelope defenders in preseason games. He shifted to guard this past offseason and has steadily made the position his through training camp and the first month of the season. His rise to starting right guard put last year’s starter Dakota Dozier on the practice squad and kept third-round pick Wyatt Davis on the bench. 

Due to the commitment to a zone-blocking scheme, the Vikings have targeted lighter, swifter, more athletic offensive linemen. Brian O’Neill, Garrett Bradbury, and Ezra Cleveland fit that mold. All three had to add weight and gain strength from their college days in order to cope in the NFL. All three will spend their careers fighting to maintain that weight and gaining strength. Unfortunately, some defensive lines have bullied the Vikings lighter, swifter, more athletic offensive linemen. That prompted Mike Zimmer to call for more size and players that can do some bullying of their own. Christian Darrisaw, Oli Udoh, and Wyatt Davis fit that mold. While still athletic, those three more naturally possess NFL-ready size and strength. 

It’s cause for great celebration to finally see the Vikings with an offensive line plan. They made a concerted effort over consecutive years to use top draft picks on top offensive line talent. There are now talented players on the line. Now, they have to grow into a talented group. More than any other position group, the offensive line has to operate as a coordinated, cohesive unit. The work to reach their potential is in front of them. This homegrown group is a young group and could make a long run. 

Another perk to adding high-end talent is improving the depth. It’s a trickle down thing. The Vikings offensive line depth is a mix of veterans and youth. Rashod Hill, Mason Cole, and Dakota Dozier have started games in the NFL. Now, they provide quality depth. 

Depth:

Rashod Hill

Experience: 6th year

Height: 6’6” 

Weight: 310

Age: 29

College: Southern Mississippi

Wyatt Davis

Experience: Rookie

Height: 6’4”

Weight: 315

Age: 22

College: Ohio State

Mason Cole

Experience: 4th year

Height: 6’5”

Weight: 298

Age: 25

College: Michigan

Blake Brandel

Experience: 2nd year

Height: 6’7”

Weight: 315

Age: 24

College: Oregon State

Practice Squad:

Dakota Dozier

Experience: 8th year

Height: 6’4”

Weight: 305

Age: 30

College: Furman

Kyle Hinton

Experience: 2nd year

Height: 6’2”

Weight: 315

Age: 23

College: Washburn

Wyatt Davis is the current non-starter with the best chance to become a starter. He was a top recruit out of high school and played at a high level at Ohio State. He’s also the grandson of Pro Football Hall of Famer Willie Davis. Some considered Wyatt Davis a first-round talent. The Vikings “lucked” into him in the third round. He could challenge Udoh. He could challenge Cleveland. Perhaps, he might even challenge Bradbury at center. At a glance, Davis’ best opportunity at a starting job is through Udoh. That’s the immediate thought simply because Udoh is the raw player out of itty-bitty Elon. Davis has been a known player since his high school days and played his college ball at Ohio State. Those are two very different college football worlds. The wildcard competition for Davis could be at center. Bradbury can do some elite things. Few centers can reach the blocking targets that he can reach. In terms of the mobility demands of his position, Bradbury is one of the best in the league. He can be overpowered by the bigger, stronger defensive tackles in the league. With that in mind, it’s dreamy thinking of the size and power of Udoh and Davis side-by-side on the Vikings offensive line interior. Despite those dreamy thoughts, I like Bradbury at center. 

It took a while but I’m glad that the Vikings decision-makers finally decided to started using high-end draft picks on high-end offensive line talent. That doesn’t mean that the players are automatically All-Pros. There’s still a lot of work to do but the coaches now have the players. I just want to see the best five players on the field working together to become the best group that they can be. Getting Darrisaw on the field was a big step in that direction. There’s finally hope with the Vikings offensive line. It’s been a while.