Vikings Announce the New Starter for Week 4
For at least a couple of weeks, Minnesota will be operating without LG1 Donovan Jackson. Tough news, no doubt, but the silver lining is that Blake Brandel will be stepping into the front five.
The Vikings announced the decision on Monday. Kevin O’Connell offered the discouraging news about losing Jackson. Later on, the head coach ventured into the fill-in plan for these next couple of weeks: “Blake will step in. He was able to seamlessly step in once [Christian Darrisaw’s] day had kind of wrapped up at tackle. Now Blake — hopefully with [Ryan Kelly] coming back in the middle — you’ve got a guy that started seventeen, eighteen games a year ago at that left guard spot available to come in.”
Vikings Announce New Starter at Left Guard
A starter last season, Mr. Brandel should be expected to do well.
The veteran is tough and versatile, a hard-working lineman who has accomplished much after being scooped up at No. 203 in the 2020 NFL Draft. The 6th-Round lineman got cut, spent time on the practice squad, eventually made the roster, was a depth option, and worked his way into becoming a starter. Brandel has since been slid down to a backup spot, but O’Connell’s words reveal that confidence remains high in the veteran depth option.
Last week, I wrote that Blake Brandel may have fully switched to guard. That assumption got burned up in less than a week.
As O’Connell noted in his presser, Brandel got leaned on to be the left tackle on Sunday. Yes, Christian Darrisaw was the starter — performing admirably — but Brandel was layered into the game, ensuring that the top option didn’t overdue it from a workload perspective while acclimating to NFL football again.
My takeaway — without having insider knowledge or behind-the-scenes info — is that Week 2 caught the team somewhat off guard (pun fully intended). Justin Skule got hurt and needed to step away due to a concussion. Blake Brandel hadn’t been prepared to jump into left tackle — as in, he hadn’t been taking snaps at tackle in practice — so the decision was to opt for Walter Rouse.
In Week 3, the Vikings had the benefit of being able to rally behind Darrisaw. Brandel could then work during the week to be a part-time left tackle, an important bit of preparation since tackles are asked to wrestle with different players than guards (go ahead and read Blake Brandel’s own thoughts on battling an edge rusher versus a defensive tackle).
The focus is now shifting with the announcement of Brandel being a short-term starter.
Yet again, Brandel will be working alongside Darrisaw along the left side of the offensive line. Operating in the trenches against the Steelers is never for the faint of heart, but the upside is that Minnesota gets to elevate someone who knows a thing or two about Sunday slugfests. Yes, the team has opted for Donovan Jackson as the starter for a reason — the rookie is the best option — but the drop off shouldn’t be so dramatic so as to hinder the offense from functioning.
The Steelers’ defense is coming in at 23rd in the NFL by allowing 25.7 points per game. T.J. Watt is the most notable name within that crew, but other players — Cameron Heyward, Patrick Queen, Jalen Ramsey, and so on — deserve plenty of respect.
Blake Brandel, 28, will be leaned on as a link in the chain, someone who helps to hold the offense together as the Vikings chase a 3-1 record following Week 4.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this piece.
