Assessing Blake Brandel’s First Preseason Game
Saturday’s preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders left Vikings fans with a level of excitement that isn’t normal this time of year. The performances from rookie first-round quarterback J.J. McCarthy to undrafted free-agent EDGE rusher Bo Richter stood out. Sixth-round kicker Will Reichard even gave fans some last-second heroics, booting in a 37-yard game-winning field goal as time expired. As far as preseason games go, this one was one of the better ones you’ll see as a fan.
This doesn’t mean that the game wasn’t big for other players. Most of the first-team offense played the first series, including the entire offensive line. Left guard Blake Brandel was the only member of the line that was new to the starting lineup. Brandel is entering his fifth season with the Vikings, but this is his first time being counted on as a starter.
Drafted in the sixth round as a tackle in 2020, Brandel has been tasked to take over as the starting left guard. The Vikings signed him to a three-year contract this spring, expecting him to outperform Dalton Risner, the starter in 2023. Risner wasn’t even re-signed until the summer, so the Vikings want and expect Brandel to be the guy heading into the season.
Assessing Brandel’s Play in the First Preseason Game
PFF (Pro Football Focus) gave Brandel an average grade for his performance against the Raiders. They gave him a 56.0 overall grade, slightly below average (60.0) on their scale. His run-blocking grade was 55.0 on four snaps. Through eight pass-blocking snaps, Brandel was given a grade of 62.9. They credited him with zero pressures, hits, or sacks allowed.
The film breakdown echoes this. He has some good plays, some plays where he survives, and a few poor plays. Keep in mind that this is the first time linemen have been able to go full-speed and truly showcase their abilities during camp. Expecting a first-time starter to be flawless would be unfair.
In this first clip, we see Brandel (#64) pulling and attempting to block #51. He does a good job getting out of his stance and getting down the line. However, his head begins to dip down as he approaches 51, and he ultimately whiffs on the block. Keeping his eyes up would allow Brandel to make solid contact on 51. With the size advantage, he doesn’t need to go for the knockout shot, and putting your head down is asking for disaster as a lineman.
This next clip shows Brandel’s good hand placement. The defensive tackle initially has his arms underneath Brandel, giving him an opportunity to get his hands under Brandel’s shoulder pads and drive him backward. But Brandel counters and gets his arms back under the defender’s arms. This gives Brandel control in this matchup, and it allows Darnold to step up in the pocket.
On this play, Brandel oversets with his left foot when getting out of his stance. This throws his base off, and if the defender had made a counter move to go inside, he could have sent Brandel to the ground. Setting his left foot slightly back with his first step could have helped Brandel from the start of this rep. Ultimately, he wins this play, but it’s not a recipe for sustained success.
This play doesn’t look like much, but Brandel is aware of #41. When 41 doesn’t blitz, Brandel continues to stay square to the line in case of a twist. When it’s clear no one else is coming, he goes to help out Darrisaw. Plays like this are more important during the regular season when defenses are sending more twists and stunts. Being square to the line is important, even if there initially isn’t a defender to block.
The final play for the starters ended with an incompletion to Jalen Nailor. The good news is that Brandel gave Sam Darnold a window to throw into. The bad news is that his feet are all over the place. Once again, a better defender could have tossed him out of the way when Brandel began crossing his feet and lunging at them.
The Verdict
Blake Brandel, like most young players and first-time starters, had an up-and-down preseason game. There was a lot to like, as his size is a massive advantage. But he needs to clean up the inconsistencies in his footwork if he is going to grow into a reliable starter.
This was also a very small sample size of 12 plays. Perhaps his footwork has been great during camp, and the speed of a real-ish game threw some of that off. If anything, he showed that there’s no reason to panic at all about him being in the starting lineup right now.
We will have to hear and see how he performs against the Cleveland Browns this week during joint practices and their preseason matchup. But against the Raiders, Brandel didn’t stand out like a sore thumb, and sometimes that’s all that is needed from a lineman.
