The Vikings Add New Depth to Their Thin Offensive Line
Josh Frey
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On Friday afternoon, news broke that Vikings interior offensive lineman Austin Schlottmann would be signing with the New York Giants for the 2024 season.
In response to the loss of Schlottmann, the Vikings struck during the night to bring in new depth for their offensive line. That depth comes in the form of Dan Feeney, a guard who spent the 2023 season with the Chicago Bears.
Vikings Add New Depth to Their Offensive Line
The news was reported by Alec Lewis of The Athletic, who tweeted, “The #Vikings have agreed to terms with G Dan Feeney, a source says.”
Feeney began his NFL career with the Los Angeles Chargers after being selected by the team in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft. He spent four seasons in Los Angeles, primarily playing the left guard position. However, in 2020, he transitioned over to the starting center.
Since his stint with the Chargers, Feeney has spent three seasons as a depth piece with the New York Jets (2021-2022) and the Bears (2023). Over his career, his PFF grades are as follows:
- 2017: 60.8
- 2018: 50.4
- 2019: 51.7
- 2020: 48.2
- 2021: 75.9
- 2022: 51.8
- 2023: 44.8
Feeney now heads to Minnesota and fits the exact prototype that Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O’Connell have liked in their depth interior lineman: versatility with experience at multiple different positions.
Not only has Feeney played a lot of left guard and center at the NFL level, but before becoming a pro, the offensive lineman split time at right guard and right tackle during his collegiate career at Indiana. According to Pro Football Focus, he played 2242 snaps at right guard along with 341 snaps at right tackle. All of his right tackle snaps came during his senior season in 2016.
The Vikings managed to re-sign both Blake Brandel and David Quessenberry, but questions still remain at their left guard spot. Dalton Risner is still out on the open market, and the guard has been vocal on social media about his desire to get paid starter-level compensation for his services.
If the Vikings are unable to reach a contract agreement with Risner, Feeney stands as another option to start for the team in 2024.
Feeney will turn 30 years old on May 29th.
Editor’s Note: Statistics for this article were found via Pro Football Reference and Pro Football Focus.
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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.