Stats via Pro Football Focus.
Things were so bad on the Vikings offensive line in 2016, Mike Zimmer likened the unit’s collapse to the sinking of the Titanic.
Starting tackles Andre Smith and Matt Kalil suffered season-ending injuries in the first quarter of the season. They called in reinforcement Jake Long, but he promptly suffered a torn ACL. Backups T.J. Clemmings and Jeremiah Sirles weren’t equipped to play a major role, and guards Alex Boone and Brandon Fusco struggled. By the end of the year, the Vikings had used nine different starting combinations of offensive linemen, allowed quarterback Sam Bradford to get battered and seen their record drop to a mediocre 8-8. That was the low point.
From there, the Vikings began developing a homegrown offensive line, getting younger and faster while supplementing the group with seasoned free agents. For three consecutive years, they selected an offensive line prospect in the first three rounds of the draft, now comprising 60% of today’s starting group. Add veterans Riley Reiff and Josh Kline to the mix, and the Vikings offensive line is playing some of its best football under Zimmer, particularly in pass protection.
From a continuity standpoint, there’s no comparison to recent seasons. After using nine combinations in 2016, the Vikings used eight more in 2017. That group benefited from the mobility of quarterback Case Keenum but still allowed a top-10 pressure rate in football. After tragically losing offensive line coach Tony Sparano before the 2018 season, the offensive line predictably took a step back with the more statuesque Kirk Cousins at the helm and Sparano’s guidance missing from the meeting room. The Vikings used six different line combinations a season ago, while only Houston’s Deshaun Watson faced more pressures than Cousins.
Things have been different this year, however, under Rick Dennison: Just three different starting combos, while 20 other NFL quarterbacks have faced more pressure than Cousins.
The Vikings entered 2019 with as much uncertainty as ever, considering they were breaking in a new offensive line coach, a new center, new guards and a relatively new playcaller. After early-season struggles that contributed to a 2-2 start, the offensive line’s improvement has been noticeable throughout the season. They’ve allowed one or fewer sacks on 10 different occasions — a feat that only occurred three times all of 2018.
“I think it’s more than one area,” Zimmer said of the improvement. “I think Kevin [Stefanski] has done a nice job calling the game, which helps. The quarterback getting the ball out on time helps. He’s not sitting back there and patting it. And then the offensive line has done a nice job as well. So if you put all those three things together it’s a combination of not getting negative plays.”
Zimmer doesn’t go to great lengths to disguise his feelings on Cousins’ poor decision-making in 2018, conjoined with John DeFilippo’s pass-happy play-calling that sometimes left the offensive line susceptible.
But in terms of the linemen themselves, their better play really begins with the tackles, where Riley Reiff is having his best statistical season in years. The third-year Viking has played in all 13 games, has put together his best pass-blocking grade since 2014 and is on pace to allow the fewest pressures (25) of his career. The 31-year-old Reiff has allowed two or fewer pressures in 11 of 14 games. Last year he allowed three or more pressures in six of his 13 games while dealing with a foot injury.
Reiff’s counterpart on the right side, Brian O’Neill, has turned into one of the most impressive young tackles in football. He’s yet to be charged with a sack in 25 career starts and is one of only four tackles not to allow a sack this season. Out of all tackles that have played 80% or more of snaps, Reiff and O’Neill are top 10 in fewest pressures allowed. O’Neill is second (17), Reiff is tied for seventh (22).
Rookie center Garrett Bradbury was slower to come along at first. Bradbury allowed 11 pressures and a sack in the first four weeks. Since, he’s allowed one or fewer pressures in seven of the last 10 games while not permitting a sack. He has no penalties since Week 5 and is one of only 12 qualified centers to allow one or fewer sacks this season.
“He has the maturity and the intelligence, and it’s not too big for him,” Cousins said of Bradbury earlier in December. “So that was really the key. I don’t think suddenly he’s changed as a player from then until now or developed in some incredible way. I think it’s more that we drafted a player who was ready to play at this level, but I think the impressive part would just be all that we’ve put on him from May: protection identification, front identification, checks in the run games, his ability to see all of that, and then obviously after the snap, all that can happen with defensive linemen.”
Elflein also experienced growing pains in his new spot but has recently turned a corner. After allowing 23 pressures and five sacks in his first 10 games, he’s allowed just five pressures and one sack in the last four weeks, posting his first three Pro Football Focus pass-blocking grades over 70.
And finally, Kline has been a steadying presence at right guard. He is on pace to allow 21 pressures, his fewest since playing in a part-time role back in 2014 for the New England Patriots.
“I think a lot of it has to do with the athletic ability, the ability to move laterally,” Rick Spielman said back in November of the team’s philosophy when finding offensive linemen. “The ability to adjust and sustain in space because they’re going to have to block linebackers and defensive backs. … When you look at our games or watch the tape, look at how these guys are running downfield. A lot of these guys were at other positions before they became offensive linemen. Brian O’Neill was a tight end. I think Bradbury started out as a defensive lineman. So these guys have played other positions and converted to offensive linemen. That kind of gives you an idea of what their athletic skillset is.”
When the Vikings’ pass-blocking was at its most vulnerable early in the season, their run-blocking was at its best, which covered up some of those pitfalls. Now that running backs Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison are injured and the running game faces its biggest question marks of the season, the offensive line is peaking right when the Vikings may have to rely on the pass.
