How Good Exactly Was Brian O’Neill?
When the Vikings drafted Brian O’Neill, many wrote him off as a project – a long term draft pick that will only be relevant in later years. But O’Neill’s first preseason game has created a bit of buzz. So how good was it? I decided to pay special attention.
O’Neill played about three quarters of the game on Saturday night, and in all that time, I only noticed six mistakes – two in the pass and four in the run. Overall, O’Neill was a lot cleaner than some of the other linemen in the game, and notably cleaner than Rashod Hill, who committed seven mistakes in three drives.
The best thing about O’Neill is how quickly he can move – it’s why the Vikings drafted him so high. That was definitely showcased at Mile High.
But his technique was really sound as well! Especially against speedy/explosive OLBs like Jeff Holland. O’Neill gets a ton of depth on his first kick step and has no problem keeping up with the speed rush. Punches inside with low pads again. Easy W, even against a non-UDFA rook. pic.twitter.com/08PrwdTCAR
— Luke Braun (@LukeBraunNFL) August 14, 2018
I mentioned pad level in that tweet. Brian O’Neill is extremely undersized – as of Monday in camp, he reported being just over 300 pounds. Getting underneath your man is a way to win leverage battles against bigger defensive ends. He didn’t face a ton of size on Saturday, but seeing that habit is a good sign for when he does.
Here he keeps a good pad level on DeShawn Williams and clears out a beautiful cutback lane for Mack Brown. ???? ???? pic.twitter.com/tyJqejxRTY
— Luke Braun (@LukeBraunNFL) August 14, 2018
Ready for a Brian O’Neill (@brian_oneill_) film thread??? Cause I sure am pic.twitter.com/Uxb9eYKjMm
— Luke Braun (@LukeBraunNFL) August 14, 2018
This encompasses the vast majority of O’Neill’s night. But there’s a lingering caveat that always gets brought up when a reserve has a good preseason game – the level of competition. O’Neill took a lot of reps against UDFA rookies and camp bodies, which does dilute his result a little bit. Here’s an example of how that actually materializes:
Most of his pass blocking snaps were clean, which has been talked about a lot. But then there’s the whole “it was against 2s and 3s” argument. This is one of those plays deep in the 3rd. The spin move is weak, and O’Neill has no trouble. pic.twitter.com/P5ktiZx2JF
— Luke Braun (@LukeBraunNFL) August 14, 2018
One issue I’d noticed in camp with O’Neill was with his cut blocking. He never quite got the dive he wanted, and the coaches have been audibly disappointed during those second level drills. Here, that shows up, and it wasn’t the only time:
So here’s where I’ll nitpick. O’Neill had a couple instances where he failed on cut blocks at the 2nd level. Here, he gets there with plenty of agility, but dives inaccurately and fails to take Josey Jewell out of the run. Also kinda want to see him get up a little quicker. pic.twitter.com/HDcvPjzEWh
— Luke Braun (@LukeBraunNFL) August 14, 2018
O’Neill’s footwork has been another focus of the coaches during camp, and has bitten him during one-on-ones. If he doesn’t get the right steps, he’ll “over-set,” or run too far before going for the engage. That makes it easy for a defensive lineman to cut upfield and leave O’Neill swinging. Here, it would have created a pressure if the bottom-barrel DL wasn’t stunting at a snail’s pace.
So I charted his whole game and only logged two pass mistakes, neither of which led to pressure. O’Neill over-sets and leaves Mack Brown with two stunting defenders to block. The stunt makes their rush take too long, and Sloter gets the pass off comfortably for a score. pic.twitter.com/VQf12MpjhY
— Luke Braun (@LukeBraunNFL) August 14, 2018
O’Neill’s two pass protection mistakes went by without either of them causing a pressure, so the Pitt product gets awarded with a clean bill for his first outing in the NFL. Not a bad result. He’s still got to work on some fundamentals before he earnestly competes to start, but this is a lot farther along than many of us expected him to be.
Thanks for reading!
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