Minnesota Vikings fans have watched one of the biggest blockbuster NFL off-seasons unfold in 2022. They may be disappointed if the Vikings don’t get involved in this franchise-changing free-agency period, especially when it comes to protecting the stars they have on offense.
In 2019, the Vikings used the 18th-overall pick on center Garret Bradbury out of NC State. After three seasons with the Vikings, Bradbury has yet to become the interior offensive lineman worthy of a first-round pick.
The Vikings need to upgrade at center, and J.C. Tretter may be the answer. His numbers won’t particularly blow anyone away, but Tretter anchored the Cleveland Browns in one of the best rushing attacks in the league last season. Since being drafted by the Green Bay Packers in 2013, Tretter has the experience and resumé necessary to bolster the currently suspect offensive line in Minnesota. Last season, the NFL Players Association president received a more than respectable PFF grade of 79.4, placing him as a top-13 center in the NFL.
Bradbury has hardly been a Pro Football Focus darling in his three years in the NFL. In 2019, he ranked dead last in pass blocking among 36 qualified centers. His run blocking wasn’t much better – PFF ranked him 29th among all NFL centers.
It didn’t get much better in 2020. Bradbury ranked dead-last in pass blocking again among 38 qualifying NFL centers. His overall rank didn’t change much, as PFF ranked him as the 26th-best center in football.
Last season Bradbury continued to fall short of expectations. There was some improvement, but he ranked last among not only the interior linemen but all Vikings offensive linemen. PFF gave Bradbury a disappointing 60.2 overall grade, ranking 23rd of 30 graded Vikings players.
Conversely, the Vikings have had success with right tackle Brian O’Neill (73.7 PFF grade) and left tackle Christian Darrisaw (71.8). Still, the Vikings’ offensive line has consistently failed at the task of protecting newly extended quarterback Kirk Cousins since 2019. Many would argue that it is the source of Cousins’ lack of success in Minnesota, considering his play has been consistently above average – at least statistically.
Cousins has thrown for over 4,200 yards and 30 touchdowns in three of four seasons in Minnesota and has never had a completion percentage lower than 66%. He has also been voted to two Pro Bowls since joining the team. Other than a down season in 2019, it is hard to say that Cousins’ quarterback play is solely to blame for the struggles in Minnesota. Cousins’ lack of ball security is largely skewed by his fumbles, which is more a testament to pass-protection than lack of production at quarterback.
Cousins has fumbled 31 times since taking snaps under current center Bradbury and Co., third-most among all NFL quarterbacks since 2019. Since joining the team four seasons ago, he has also been one of the most-sacked quarterbacks in football. According to StatMuse, Cousins has been sacked 135 times, ranking seventh among all active NFL quarterbacks in that time frame. Similarly, Pro Football Focus ranked the Vikings’ offensive line 23rd, with Bradbury receiving the lowest grade in the unit.
Would the draft be a better way to address Minnesota’s center issue? There are several problems with this. The first is that there are few highly-rated interior offensive lineman prospects in the 2022 class, so an immediate impact would be an extremely unlikely outcome — even more so when you compare a rookie center to what Tretter’s production could look like.
The second problem with addressing this weakness in the draft is that, ultimately, the Vikings need to use their 12th-overall pick and likely their second-round selection to help on the defensive side. If a center were to be drafted and Minnesota did not go in the direction of a free agent like Tretter, they would realistically be looking at a mid-third or fourth-round player – hardly an immediate improvement.
Cleveland had one of the best offensive lines in the league in 2021, and Tretter was one of the lead players paving the way for the ultra-talented backfield in Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt, and others to rush for nearly 2,500 yards. Last year, the Browns ranked as the sixth-best offensive line in football.
After the first week of NFL free agency, CBS Sports’ Tyler Sullivan ranks Tretter as the top remaining interior offensive lineman. He arguably has been since Cleveland released him on March 15.
The new front office has cleared up significant cap space, with several contract restructures and releases. Last season Tretter earned just above $10 million. He will likely be looking for a pay raise, but it is nothing Minnesota cannot afford.
The Vikings recently signed former Packers linebacker Za’Darius Smith, likely concluding their pursuit of pricey free agents on the defensive side. Therefore, Minnesota has every reason to go grab a guy like Tretter to cap off a successful free agency. If they make a move like this, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah could leave a seriously good impression on Vikings fans and provide a positive outlook on the organization’s future.
