There’s a Competition on the Horizon for the Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings will look differently in the upcoming season after replacing big parts of their starting lineups. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has done his best to address the team’s weaknesses in free agency.
There’s a Competition on the Horizon for the Vikings
That includes the swap of defensive linemen Jerry Tillery and Jonathan Bullard for Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave. Isaiah Rodgers provides some more speed to the secondary, and Jordan Mason will be a sweet wingman for Aaron Jones.
Perhaps the most significant upgrade, however, happened along the offensive line, where Ryan Kelly and Will Fries were acquired. The former Colts players take over from Ed Ingram (and Dalton Risner) as well as Garrett Bradbury. That makes two of three interior linemen, but who’s the third?
Kevin O’Connell was non-commital about Blake Brandel’s status, the guy who played there in 2024, although he suggested the veteran is still in the pole position, ahead of 2024 rookie Michael Jurgens.
Asked whether Brandel would start at left guard, he replied:
“I think Blake (Brandel) and (Michael) Jurgens, both inside, we’d like to see them at a variety of different spots, but I think if we went out and played right now I think that’s the way we would likely look. Long way to go, still some options, opportunities with our four draft picks. And ultimately, we’ll see what it looks like.”
O’Connell went on to describe Brandel’s first season in a starting role.
“But I will say, we wanted to make a commitment last year to Blake and see what it looked like over the course of a whole season. I thought over the first fix, six games, when you really took a step back with him playing next to Christian Darrisaw, he played a really darn high level.”
Once Darrisaw’s season ended prematurely due to a torn ACL, Minnesota’s left guard was asked to help new fill-in left tackle Cam Robinson, the coach suggested, and he deserves some grace for his struggles because of it.
Whether it was Robinson’s presence or the swap at right guard from Ingram to Risner and a subsequent effort of defenses to attack Brandel, the second half of the season didn’t look quite as crisp as the first.
That’s where Jurgens enters the mix. He is the competition by default because the Vikings parted ways from Ingram, Risner, and depth player Dan Feeney while only adding Fries. Suddenly, Jurgens is the next man up.
He spent his college days at Wake Forest, playing center for the most part, but he was bumped to guard in his final season. The Vikings used a seventh-rounder to acquire the blocker. His rookie season happened primarily behind the scenes, as he appeared in only three games and logged 12 special teams snaps and zero on offense.
In last year’s preseason, Jurgens exclusively played center, and it didn’t always look pretty. A jump into his sophomore season is possible, of course, especially for a college player as accomplished as him.
In his final year in 2023, he led all guards in the FBS in PFF’s run block grade and only allowed seven QB pressures and 1 QB hit, resulting in an excellent 99% pass-block efficiency.
O’Connell mentioned that there are still some other options available.
One shouldn’t entirely rule out Risner’s return for a third season. He’s still a free agent. Another avenue is the use of the first-rounder or the third-rounder to get a potential day-one starter into the building. Grey Zabel and Tyler Booker are two guys who have popped up in mock drafts with the 24th draft pick.
For now, Brandel is the favorite to start at left guard, but nothing is guaranteed. Jurgens’ name being thrown around is encouraging for his development.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.
Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and prefers Classic rock over other genres. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt