The Vikings Need to Extend a Very Important Piece to the Offensive Trenches
Brett Peterson
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The Vikings added an important piece mid-season when they signed offensive lineman Dalton Risner.
Minnesota already had veteran guard Ezra Cleveland, but he had gotten banged up vs Chicago in Week 6. This prompted the Vikings to place Risner in the starting lineup for Week 7 against the San Francisco 49ers.
Risner instantly found a connection in the Vikings locker room, and slid in seamlessly to the Viking’s offensive line. Minnesota went on to trade Cleveland to the Jaguars in exchange for a sixth-round pick in 2024.
The Vikings Need to Extend an Important Piece of the O-Line
The Vikings obviously felt comfortable rolling with Risner the rest of the way in 2023, and the decision has paid off immensely. The offensive line has had some ups and downs this season, but they’ve also had to protect for four different quarterbacks this season, which makes it tough for any unit to gain continuity.
Minnesota has struggled to find consistent contributors at the guard positions but it seems like they have found an answer on the left side next to tackle Christian Darrisaw. Risner has not allowed a sack on 412 pass blocking snaps for the Vikings this season, per PFF, which is an incredible stat given what the team is used to at that position. If Kevin O’Connell wants to keep the former Bronco around, he will be due a decent contract extension at the end of the season, as he is a free agent entering 2024.
Vikings’ Inconsistent Guard Play Makes Risner a Priority
The constant cycle of rotating guards in the Minnesota offense has led to inconsistent line play for the past several seasons. The likes of Dakota Dozier, Dru Samia, and others have train wrecked many important games for the Vikings. If they can continue to get good to very good play from Risner and Ingram, it’ll do wonders to keep a decent offensive line in town.
Many top teams in the NFL have great offensive lines. The Eagles and 49ers are the two that come to mind, but those teams constantly control the game in the trenches, and run the ball at the effective rate. If the Vikings can follow that blueprint, it’ll set them up for success in the future. Risner has always been a better pass blocker than run blocker, but his tenacity has been a welcome sight for an offensive line that has lacked a mean streak.
Dalton Risner is just 28 years old so he is just entering his prime as an athlete. If the Vikings are smart, they should lock him up pretty quickly once the offseason begins. As Minnesota knows, decent guard play doesn’t’ come around super often, so they should do their best effort to lock him up and keep him in purple.
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