A Viking Is About to Be Benched, and He Doesn’t Deserve It
The Minnesota Vikings had to reach into their bag of tricks earlier this season because of some injury problems. Pretty much the entire offensive line was injured in the Week 5 contest in London against Cleveland’s strong defensive line, and the club was even running out of backups.
A Viking Is About to Be Benched, and He Doesn’t Deserve It
From one week to another, the Vikings had to shuffle the remaining players around. Undrafted rookie Joe Huber started a game in place of Donovan Jackson. Walter Rouse and Justin Skule got reps at tackle instead of Brian O’Neill and Christian Darrisaw, and then, the coaches still had to find an alternate for center Ryan Kelly.
Well, his backup Michael Jurgens was out, too, and the coaching staff had to call an audible with no other experienced center option on the roster. They found Blake Brandel sitting on the bench and moved him from guard to center. Mind you, he’s been a guard for a couple of seasons, but entered the league as a tackle.
Obviously, there were some struggles in his first outing at center. The occasional botched snap was part of his experience.
After playing the position for six games, Brandel is about to return to the backup role. Starter Kelly is set to come back from his IR journey. He suffered his second concussion of the season in Week 4, and the Vikings had to take a cautious approach, not just for the sake of his football future, but also his post-NFL life.
The four-time Pro Bowler returned to practice last week and has been a full participant this week. His activation to the 53-man roster is just a formality at this point. He would obviously snag the starting job again and complete the intended starting five for the first time this year.
That means Brandel is out, which is unfortunate because the veteran has quietly been balling lately.
Consider this: According to PFF, his last three games against Detroit, Baltimore, and Chicago were graded with a pass-blocking grade of 82.5, the third-best among NFL centers in that span. His run-blocking grade has been average.
The versatile backup had a poor outing against the Eagles in Week 7. It was his second-ever game at center, and on the opposite side were Jordan Davis, Jalen Carter, and Moro Ojomo. He certainly deserves some grace because there aren’t many more challenging matchups.
If we exclude that game, since he has taken over the starting job in Week 5, Brandel ranks tenth in pass-blocking grade. He has not given up more than two pressures in four straight contests.
His protection has clearly improved and so has his consistency snapping the ball. Sure, some of the snaps are a little off and require J.J. McCarthy to reach for the ball, but all things considered, the Oregon State alumnus deserves a lot of praise for his efforts.
Perhaps he has earned a shot at the center position once Kelly is done here. Given Kelly’s injury resume and age (32), retirement could be on the horizon, thereby opening the door for Brandel.
Brandel will turn 29 in January, and he’s under contract for one more season. The Vikings signed him to a three-year extension in the 2024 offseason and handed him a starting job at left guard. His play was up-and-down, and he was demoted to a backup role once again. And he’s perfectly suited for that because he has already shown he can play left tackle, left guard, center, and right guard. His preseason resume also features some right tackle snaps.
Having a solid backup for all five spots is certainly valuable because a line never stays healthy for an entire season.
Brandel’s center qualities have been a sweet find for the Vikings. He’ll return to the bench in the near future, whether he deserves it or not.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.