Top Blocker Makes Debut with Vikings’ 1st-Team Offense
The Minnesota Vikings chose an entirely different approach in this year’s offseason. After trying to improve the offensive line by swapping out one underwhelming starter for another underwhelming player, no huge jumps took place in the last decade. Well, not this year, as the front office took some massive swings.
Top Blocker Makes Debut with Vikings’ 1st-Team Offense
At first, the club added Will Fries and Ryan Kelly, formerly of the Indianapolis Colts. Then, they didn’t stop there and acquired Donovan Jackson in the first round of the draft.
In OTAs and the beginning of training camp, it was not a complete line, though, as both star left tackle Christian Darrisaw and expensive right guard Fries were not fully ready for action. This week, Fries has returned to team drills and has taken over as the right guard in front of first-time starter J.J. McCarthy.
Craig Peters of Vikings.com announced Monday: “Will Fries participated in some team drills.”
Dane Mizutani of the Twin Cities Pioneer Press reported: “There also was a positive update for right guard Will Fries as he got some reps with the starters during 11-on-11 drills. He had previously been held out of that portion of practice as he continued his ramp-up.”
The development didn’t get as much buzz as envisioned, considering the long struggles at the guard position. Fries’ signing is supposed to end the rotation of subpar blockers from the past, and the team thought it was worth a massive five-year deal for $88 million.
Fries is coming off a fractured tibia suffered in Week 5 of last season. Kevin O’Connell announced at the start of camp that he would need some conditioning ramp-up to be fully back. Darrisaw has yet to practice in team drills and is a few weeks behind his new teammate.
Speaking of teammate, right tackle Brian O’Neill mentioned his excitement to finally get to work with Fries: “It was really fun to get out there with Will today for the first time with some live banging.”
The offensive line has the crucial task of giving young passer J.J. McCarthy as much time as possible to help him get off to a good start to his career. In addition to that, creating bigger holes in the running game could take the offense to new heights.
Tuesday, Fries evidently showed off his power. Will Ragatz of SI.com revealed: “Will Fries pancaked backup defensive tackle Jonathan Harris on a screen pass to T.J. Hockenson, which drew some high fives from teammates. One of the things that shows up on Fries’ Colts tape is his tenacity when it comes to finishing blocks.”
His strength has earned him some praise from his head coach earlier this offseason. The 2021 seventh-rounder seemingly impressed him in the weight room: “It’s almost hard to believe with how strong he is, some of the things you’re hearing about from what he’s doing in the weight room.”
That was back when Fries’ timeline was unclear. Now that he’s back, he will be the team’s right guard for the remainder of camp and obviously start there in Week 1 between O’Neill and Kelly. Rookie Jackson is expected to be the starting left guard, although last year’s LG Blake Brandel is still in the mix as insurance.
If Darrisaw can’t go, Justin Skule, another free agent addition, will be the left tackle.
Fries, 27, is back on the field and can start building a connection with his teammates. Other than in the past, the trenches are one of the stronger matchups in Vikings practice, with Fries blocking former Pro Bowlers Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.