Get to Know the Vikings’ New Offensive Line
In the second game of Minnesota’s overseas travels, the Cleveland Browns will be waiting in Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Myles Garrett trying to stack up even more sacks in his decorated NFL career. Carson Wentz, Garrett’s target, will have to rely on some new faces.
Get to Know the Vikings’ New Offensive Line
The Vikings have already ruled out right tackle Brian O’Neill, who has an MCL sprain, center Ryan Kelly, who’s dealing with his second concussion of the season (and fifth documented in the NFL), as well as left guard Donovan Jackson, who had to skip the Europe trip due to wrist surgery. Even backup center Michael Jurgens is sidelined with a hamstring.
That leaves the Vikings bereft on the front line, as only two of the planned five starters are available. The first one, of course, is Christian Darrisaw, the franchise left tackle, whose presence has made a huge difference. He’s one of the league’s best blockers and is a cornerstone in Minnesota’s offense. After missing the first two games of the season, he played in the recent pair of contests and is moving quite well following his ACL recovery.
The other starter is Will Fries, the right guard. Fries was hired in free agency to be the first good guard in ages, and that cost a boatload of money. Through four games, Fries has not quite lived up to that contract, but he’s at least a serviceable player.
The other three starters on Sunday might not be.
Those will be, barring any surprise moves, versatile backup Blake Brandel, reserve swing tackle Justin Skule, and rookie guard Joe Huber.
Skule started in the first two games of the year and replaced O’Neill for the remainder of the Steelers game following the Pro Bowler’s knee injury. He’ll be the right tackle. Well, his first contributions in purple haven’t drawn much praise, to say the least. In fact, with an otherwise healthy line, he caused some major hiccups in the first game of the year while replacing Darrisaw.
Sure, Skule has the requisite experience, but he’s still a backup lineman, and considering many starters around the league aren’t that good, some struggles should be expected. In the first two games, he played on the left side; in game five, he’ll slide over to right tackle.
At center, the Vikings will have to trust veteran backup Brandel. He entered the league as an offensive tackle, where he took his first steps in the NFL. In 2022, he was the backup left tackle, and the Vikings moved him to backup guard in 2023. Then, a year ago, they strangely thrust him into the starting lineup at left guard.
When the Vikings hired two new guards in the past offseason, Brandel was demoted to backup once again. In Week 3, he got some run at tackle as Skule was out, and he played guard in Week 4. Well, it’ll be his first time ever playing center on Sunday, and that could be a fascinating ride. Before we can evaluate his blocking skills, we’ll have to check if he can actually snap the ball.
And finally, there’s Mr. Huber, an undrafted rookie out of Wisconsin. Huber appeared in two games, playing six snaps on special teams and 12 on offense. In four seasons (two at Cincinnati and two at Wisconsin), Huber played in 45 games, mostly at guard.
In his NFL starting debut, he’ll probably slide into Jackson’s left guard role. It should be noted, though, that he could be the center with Brandel playing guard. Huber had a handful of center reps in college and experimented at that spot at the East-West Shrine Bowl. In practice, the Vikings mostly used Brandel at center.
That is the unit facing Cleveland’s elite defensive front, and it could be a long day.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.