One Position Group Has Been Elite for the Vikings in 2023
Josh Frey
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The Minnesota Vikings have had plenty of struggles over the course of the 2023 season, resulting in a 1-4 record.
They consistently find themselves in big deficits because of turnovers, a lackluster rushing attack, and some poor clock management.
However, there is one position group that, according to just about every metric, has been truly elite for the Vikings in 2023: the offensive line.
One Position Group Has Been Elite for the Vikings
Firstly, according to Pro Football Focus, the Vikings have the second-best pass-blocking group in the NFL, and PFF has ranked them as the best run-blocking group through five weeks. Minnesota’s grades in these departments are 76.0 and 80.4, respectively.
On an individual basis, PFF has also given Vikings players some high marks.
Among offensive tackles to play at least 50% of snaps through five weeks, Christian Darrisaw has been graded the fourth-highest in pass protection at 82.4 while Brian O’Neill is not far behind at 17th with a 74.9 grade.
Meanwhile, the interior offensive line has also been filled with studs in pass-protection. Ezra Cleveland ranks 13th among guards at 72.4 while Austin Schlottmann has been third among all centers at 71.8. Garrett Bradbury came back to the lineup in Week 5 and put up a similar grade of 75.9 in 71 snaps.
The Vikings pass protection receives similarly high scores in the ESPN win-rate metric. The scores haven’t been updated to account for Week 5 yet, but it’s hard to imagine Minnesota falls too far away from their fourth-place ranking after how the line performed against Kansas City.
Additionally, the Vikings run-blocking has been equally as dominant. Brian O’Neill ranks fourth among offensive tackles in that department according to PFF (84.8 grade) while Christian Darrisaw is in sixth (80.6).
On the interior, Ed Ingram actually cracks the top 10, sitting in ninth among guards (74.8) while Cleveland is 11th (73.1). Schlottmann has struggled a bit in this department, ranking 20th among centers at 62.8, but the return of Garrett Bradbury should lead to more proficient run blocking at that position as well.
ESPN’s win-rate also places the Vikings in sixth overall in run-blocking, again putting them on the verge of being a top-5 offensive line.
Prior to this season, if someone had said that the Vikings would have a top-10 offensive line across the board in 2023, many would assume that this team would be elite and competing for a Super Bowl. Instead, they are at 1-4, and if they lose against the Chicago Bears next weekend, Minnesota will be alone at the bottom of the NFC North.
The NFL world is a fickle one, and teams typically have to be great across many different areas in order to win games. The Vikings have not been able to do that, and thus, this season looks like it is trending towards being a lost one.
Regardless, though, the fact that Minnesota’s offensive line has been so dominant bodes well for the future. Outside of Ezra Cleveland, every starter across the line is locked into a contract through 2025 (assuming Christian Darrisaw’s fifth-year option gets extended).
If the Vikings do select a young QB in the draft next spring, that player will have the benefit of playing behind this line while also having Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and T.J. Hockenson to throw the ball to.
Hope may be just about out for 2023, but hope for the future should still exist in Minnesota.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.