Kevin O’Connell Hints that the Vikings Will be Shuffling the Offensive Line’s Starters
Dropping the opening 3 games of a season can prefigure change.
In 2022, the Vikings didn’t lose their fourth game until Week 17, a New Year’s Day clobbering at Lambeau Field. No such luck exists for the 2023 season. The team is staring down the chance to pick up their fourth loss by Week 4, so the Kevin O’Connell hints about some changes up front make a ton of sense.
While speaking with the Minnesota media, O’Connell suggested that Dalton Risner would be getting some time alongside the starters. The plan is to insert the guard at both the LG and RG spots.
“This week is another huge step for [Risner],” the head coach explains, “he’s absorbing things very well. We’re going to get him in there with the first group a little bit throughout practice.” O’Connell goes on to indicate that starting center Garrett Bradbury should get back into the fold while Risner gets work at both guard spots. According to O’Connell, the goal is to put together “the best five we can put out there” (another phrase that brings back memories of Mike Zimmer).
Kevin O’Connell Hints and The Need to Change
Bringing Ezra Cleveland out of the starting lineup would be a misguided decision.
Admittedly, Kevin O’Connell and Chris Kuper (the OL coach) know far more about football than your humble author, but the LG spot isn’t the team’s main weak link. Since being a 2nd-round selection in 2020, Cleveland has offered solid play that has steadily improved. The 25-year-old transitioned from college left tackle to NFL left guard reasonably well, though the main concern is with his anchor.
For whatever it’s worth, PFF puts Cleveland at 10th in their guard rankings. He has committed a penalty but doesn’t have a sack to his name. He has allowed a pair of QB hits and 6 pressures. Not bad.
Ed Ingram has continued to demonstrate some growing pains as his sophomore season gets underway. PFF dings him with allowing a trio of sacks to partner with the 6 QB hits and 13 pressures allowed. Piling up 3 penalties is also worrisome.
Risner played left guard for the Broncos, making the switch to the right side far from automatic. And, of course, we should recall that Cleveland began his NFL career as Minnesota’s right guard. An injury opened the spot, so the Boise State LT became the Minnesota Vikings RG. All things considered, Cleveland did well.
Nevertheless, the goal should be to disrupt the offensive line as little as possible. Continuity does matter, folks. Not enough to keep better players on the bench but enough to avoid needlessly tinkering with the front five.
Whoever distinguishes themselves as being among the top five deserve to be on the field. We can say with certainty that Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill are in that group. Garrett Bradbury also finds himself in there and, frankly, Cleveland should be counted among the top five, as well.
The remaining question, then, is whether Risner offers better play than Ingram. O’Connell is being somewhat vague in his press conference, explaining that the former Bronco is flipping around the line a touch. The most obvious move, though, is to insert him at right guard. Paying him close to $3 million suggests that the Vikings view Risner as more than mere depth.
Minnesota takes on Carolina on Sunday. Pulling off the road win should be considered a necessity if the goal is to still compete in 2023. Some stronger play in the trenches may be precisely what the purple doctor ordered.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
Where Kwesi Deserves Credit
K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter and as a co-host for Notes from the North, a humble Vikings podcast.