Vikings

The Vikings’ Offensive Line Is Slowly Becoming A Strength

Photo Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

The Minnesota Vikings have had some atrocious offensive line play over the past decade. However, things are finally beginning to turn around this year, and the O-line is slowly becoming one of their strengths.

The Vikings have selected offensive linemen in each of the past five drafts. As a result, they have developed their current group in-house.

That strategy has worked for teams such as the Philadelphia Eagles and Cleveland Browns. Both built their lines entirely through the draft, and they are arguably the best two O-lines in the NFL today. The only difference is that the Browns and Eagles have had far more time to mesh than the Vikings.

Minnesota’s line play to start the season has been exceptional, though. They currently rank seventh in the NFL for pass-block win rate (67%). That’s a massive leap from last season when they ranked 25th in the NFL with a 54% win rate, according to ESPN.

As for run-blocking, the Vikings line currently ranks 14th in the NFL with a 72% win rate, according to ESPN. That’s a slight improvement from last season when they finished with a 71% win rate.

The Vikings’ two star tackles, Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill, should mostly be credited for this improvement. They have been the motors that propel this offensive line forward.

Darrisaw took it a step further after a solid rookie season last year. After three weeks, he currently ranks No. 4 in the NFL in ESPN’s Run Block Win Rate metric (84.7%). Furthermore, according to PFF, Darrisaw did not allow a single pressure on 47 pass-blocking snaps in his most recent game against the Detroit Lions.

O’Neill has been a solid tackle for several years now. He currently has the NFL’s best Pass Block Win Rate (96.6%) this season, based on ESPN’s formula. O’Neill is adding to a career where he has only allowed seven sacks on 2,530 pass-blocking attempts.

However, the tackle position was not the root of Minnesota’s problems in years past. Instead, the interior offensive line has caused the most trouble for Kirk Cousins. Players like Oli Udoh, Dru Samia, Pat Elflein, and Mike Remmers have been weaknesses in this line.

With the addition of rookie Ed Ingram via the draft, though, the interior of Minnesota’s offensive line has improved significantly, from among the worst in the league to truly formidable. In just three regular-season games, Ingram has shown more flashes of potential than all of the other players who preceded him. He has especially shined with his run blocking and ability to move defensive linemen.

On the other hand, his pass-blocking grade is by far the worst on the team (43.9), according to PFF. But that’s almost expected for a rookie. The most critical element that Ingram has brought to this offensive line is stability for Garret Bradbury.

Bradbury has been notoriously bad the past few seasons, but he, too, has dramatically improved his pass-blocking grades this season. Bradbury has posted a 71.0 and a 73.9 grade in the last two weeks. On top of that, he has only allowed four pressures and no sacks this season.

This improvement along the Vikings’ offensive front is vital because Cousins is not the best at dealing with pressure. Last season, Cousins ranked 30th in big-time throw percentage under pressure and 32nd in yards per attempt under pressure.

However, when the O-line gave Cousins a clean pocket, he took advantage of it. According to PFF, he ranked second in clean-pocket passer rating, seventh in clean-pocket EPA/play, and fourth in clean-pocket big-time-throw percentage.

If the Vikings’ offensive line, which consists of two first-round picks and three second-round picks, continues to live up to their draft status, this unit will become a force to be reckoned with.

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