The Minnesota Vikings Added An Offensive Lineman!

The Minnesota Vikings acquired offensive lineman Mason Cole from the Arizona Cardinals for a sixth-round pick (No. 223 overall) in the 2021 NFL Draft. After being selected out of Michigan in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft, Cole started 32 games over his three seasons with the Cardinals. All but two of those starts were at center. The two non-center starts were at left guard. It’s most likely guard is the position that the Vikings brought him to Minnesota to play. 

The Vikings added an offensive lineman!

The Vikings needed to add to the offensive line. It’s been a problem for far too long. Mason Cole will improve the line simply by replacing Dakota Dozier at left guard. The position won’t be handed to Cole in March, or August, but I’d pencil him in at the top of the depth chart of either guard spot. There are three certain offensive line starters on the Vikings roster right now. Brian O’Neill at right tackle, Garrett Bradbury at center, and Ezra Cleveland at one of the guard spots or left tackle. Cole could be the fourth. The 2021 NFL Draft boasts several top tackles. Northwestern’s Rashawn Slater is my favorite, with Oregon’s Penei Sewell right behind him. It’d take a minor miracle for either to be available to the Vikings with the 14th pick of the draft. USC’s Alijah Vera-Tucker and Virginia Tech’s Christian Darrisaw top the next group of tackles. Even with his short arms, I like Vera-Tucker. If the Vikings like Vera-Tucker too, he could be the pick. If the Vikings lucked into Slater or Sewell, he’s the left tackle for the next decade-plus. If the more likely happens and Vera-Tucker’s the pick, I’d imagine that either he or Cleveland would be the left tackle and the other would be a guard. This would give the Vikings a starting offensive line that looks something like this. 

LT   Alijah Vera-Tucker

LG  Mason Cole

 C   Garrett Bradbury

RG Ezra Cleveland

RT  Brian O’Neill

During the season, Vikings offensive line coach Rick Dennison said something about Cleveland working well in confined spaces. That’s stuck with me. Maybe Dennison said it simply to support Cleveland playing at guard. Maybe the Vikings actually like Cleveland at guard. Who knows? I don’t. Until I see otherwise, I’m thinking of Cleveland as a guard first, tackle second. That would put Vera-Tucker, and his short arms, at left tackle. I like the potential of this offensive line but it’s relying on a draft assumption. That’s never a reliable thing. 

If the Vikings were forced to go with the offensive linemen on the current roster, I think that the starting line looks something like this

LT   Ezra Cleveland

LG  Mason Cole

 C   Garrett Bradbury

RG Oli Udoh

RT  Brian O’Neill

It’s a low bar but his line is probably an improvement over those of recent years. If the Vikings did nothing more with the current offensive line group, I think that one, or both, of former late-round picks Oli Udoh and Kyle Hinton could challenge for starter status. 

Current Offensive Line Group

Offensive Tackles
75 Brian O'Neill
69 Rashod Hill
74 Oli Udoh

64 Blake Brandel

Guards

72 Ezra Cleveland

     Mason Cole

68 Kyle Hinton

73 Dru Samia

65 Zack Bailey 

Centers

56 Garrett Bradbury

The Vikings added an offensive lineman!