Vikings Standout “Got It All”
The Minnesota Vikings have some star power on their roster, certainly highlighted by Justin Jefferson, who can be considered one of the brightest stars in all of football. The face of the franchise is also one of the most popular players around the league. Another star hasn’t nearly gotten as much attention, but folks have started to notice him.
Vikings Standout “Got It All”
Christian Darrisaw has had “franchise left tackle” written all over him ever since he stepped onto the NFL field for the first time in his career. His severe knee injury has slowed him down and knocked him out of the second half of last season, but that hasn’t stopped him from getting some praise.
In ESPN’s annual position rankings, we’ve already seen some Vikings, and now Darrisaw has joined them. He ranks ninth among offensive tackles. That’s a drop-off from sixth a year ago, but after only playing seven games in 2024, that’s a serious accomplishment.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote, “Darrisaw’s severe knee injury is the primary issue with his standing on the list, as he’s recovering from a torn ACL and MCL. In minicamp, Darrisaw conducted individual drills but hadn’t graduated to 11-man work. The Vikings will take it slowly with him, and plenty of evaluators still see him as elite.”
The Virginia Tech alumnus entered the building in 2021 after Rick Spielman selected the large human being in the first round. Despite missing the early parts of his rookie campaign, including offseason workouts, training camp, and the start of the season, he was fantastic once the coaching staff felt comfortable inserting him into the lineup.
His big jump, however, came in year two. The full offseason certainly helped, and he lived up to the hype that briefly compared him to future Hall of Famer Trent Williams. Suddenly, the Vikings had an All-Pro-caliber left tackle, and the position was solidified for a decade.
Injuries have been the only thing slowing him down. The core muscle surgery delayed his NFL debut in 2021, and a pair of concussions cost him some games in 2022. Darrisaw has yet to play a full season, which undoubtedly depresses his value.
Still, the Vikings signed him to a massive extension a year ago, and despite the torn ACL, nobody is regretting that one bit. That’s the level of play Darrisaw can provide. There was a notable drop-off in the pass protection and run blocking without him manning the left side.
More from Fowler, “‘He’s got it all,’ a veteran NFL offensive coach said. ‘He has power, good feet, balance and range.’ Despite the injury costing him 10 games, Darrisaw produced an 88.9 pass block win rate on 197 snaps along with a 79.7 run block win rate. The Vikings gave him a four-year, $104 million extension before last season.”
Darrisaw’s return is one of the top storylines in the Vikings’ universe. If he were on T.J. Hockenson’s timeline, who suffered a comparable injury, Week 1 would be right around the time he could return. However, Darrisaw is a bigger guy, and injuries rarely are actually comparable.
It’s standard for the Vikings to be hesitant about releasing any rehab news, so all we can do is guess and wait. Darrisaw returned for some individual work in minicamp, but has yet to enter any team drills. We’ll learn more once training camp is underway. Usually, the organization is playing it safe with their top guys instead of rushing anything. If he can’t go, it’ll likely be Justin Skule on J.J. McCarthy’s blindside.
Brian O’Neill, the other fantastic tackle on Minnesota’s roster, didn’t make the list (he probably should have), but also received some votes. The veteran is a two-time Pro Bowler, and 2024 was arguably his best season.