Do The Vikings Need to Adjust Their Offensive Line?
K. Joudry
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All things considered, the Vikings’ offensive line has done admirably through the opening 6 weeks of the season. The offense still has room to grow, and yet it’d be hard to place too much blame on the front five.
Indeed, Minnesota must be pleased with the play from their starting two offensive tackles: Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill. Combined, Darrisaw and O’Neill offer Kevin O’Connell a tremendous starting pair, tackles capable of matching up with the opposition’s edge rushers.
Along the interior, things aren’t as impressive, but the play has still been pretty good. Ezra Cleveland has continued his growth and Garrett Bradbury has been having his best season yet. Ed Ingram has done pretty well as a run blocker but has had some struggles in pass protection. Take a look at their PFF grades and rank among their position:
- Christian Darrisaw: 79.8, 5th
- Ezra Cleveland: 70.6, 10th
- Garrett Bradbury: 65.0, 12th
- Ed Ingram: 61.2, 35th
- Brian O’Neill: 76.9, 12th
The grades suggest that the Vikings’ main issue on their offensive line is at RG. Now, we ought not be overly critical of the 2nd-round selection. He’s making the transition to the NFL and he has been tasked with matching up with some great defensive fronts. It makes sense that he has had some tougher moments.
A recent PFF article ranking the NFL’s offensive lines puts Minnesota at 11th overall. That article identifies Ingram as the main concern: “Rookie Ed Ingram struggled badly this week against Miami’s formidable interior linemen, allowing a sack, a hit and two hurries.”
The recent struggles and the discussion on PFF makes me wonder if the team will consider a change up front.
Recently, there has been some chatter on Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD about how Minnesota might approach the trade deadline. One idea that Josh Frey and Dustin Baker discuss is a trade involving Chris Reed. The thinking is that moving on from the veteran could free up some precious cap space, allowing the team to bring someone else in. After all, he hasn’t seen the field yet, so it may make sense to trade him away.
In many ways, the rationale makes sense. The team does need money if it wants to make an addition. Reed has recently had some good seasons, so some teams could be interested in adding him. One wonders, though, if Minnesota will turn to their own depth player to help improve their own line. If the coaching staff has concerns about Ingram’s recent struggles, will they switch to the veteran Reed?
Continuity up front is important. The coaching staff would be unwise to make changes to the starting five without counting the cost. The bye week, though, does present opportunity to make some adjustments. The extra time off could be used to help get Reed settled into the starting offense.
It’s quite possible that Ingram will be the long-term starter at RG for the Vikings offensive line. Whether he ought to be continue being the starter for 2022 is a decision for Kevin O’Connell, Wes Phillips, and Chris Kuper. Ingram has likely shown enough good things to continue giving him chances to succeed with the 1s.
However, there is some comfort in knowing that Reed could plausibly take over and do a rock-solid job. Let’s hope the week off allows Ingram to get back on the right track. Minnesota’s next game is in Week 8 when the Cardinals come to U.S. Bank Stadium.
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