The Darrisaw-Davis Experience on Vikings OL Just Might Have to Wait
Dustin Baker
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Taper your expectations on rookie offensive linemen Christian Darrisaw and Wyatt Davis starting early in 2021.
When the 2021 NFL Draft finalized, the Minnesota Vikings were beholders of two men in Darrisaw and Davis with extremely high upside, plucked out of the first three rounds of the event. They still possess that potential, but the prospect of one or both men getting the starting gig in early September is fading.
Darrisaw, drafted with the 23rd overall pick, encountered an injury-related setback on Friday — just as he was acclimating to training camp. Head coach Mike Zimmer described the situation like this:
And there you have it — from the horse’s mouth. “One step forward, two steps back” is the antithesis to what one wants to hear if expectations are palpable for a rookie to start. Instead, this Zimmer snippet seems more like a segue to a Darrisaw appearance down the road when he’s healthy.
Insert Rashod Hill.
The Vikings allowed Riley Reiff to depart for the Cincinnati Bengals — a team that is also the Week 1 opponent for Minnesota in 2021 — so the LT duty will probably be allocated to a career backup in Hill. The team likes him a lot; he’s been a member of the Vikings since 2016, appearing in 59 games (17 starts).
What’s more, Zimmer is notoriously quiet about player injuries. Therefore, when he publicly announces a setback — it’s a big deal.
In that same conversation, Zimmer praised Oli Udoh at right guard. That position, in time, is supposed to be manned by Davis. It will — but not right away — per the tea leaves offered by Zimmer.
Just like Hill instead of Darrisaw, we’re experiencing a preview of Udoh instead of Davis.
The Vikings basically drafted two highly-touted offensive linemen from the 2021 NFL Draft, both of whom are temporarily beset by minor injuries. If the prognosis was to start them out of the gate, the early happenings at training camp are totally derailing that plan.
A glimpse of Darrisaw and Davis this September now feels more like an exciting perk rather than a “these are our five guys” on the offensive line approach.
The silver lining is that a new man is in charge of the offensive line. Phil Rauscher took over Rick Dennison, who was moved to a different coaching role in the organization after reportedly opting not to participate in the COVID vaccination process. Dennison coached the Vikings run scheme with success, but his pass-protecting trenches were frequently porous. The working theory suggests Rauscher might improve the pass protection. We shall see.
That is trickier with backups like Hill and Udoh. Maybe this is the time those men blossom into starters under the tutelage of Rauscher — maybe they’ll struggle tremendously like Dakota Dozier and Dru Samia in 2020. Another set of OL-related question marks follows the Vikings into an all-in season. The ordeal is as annual as Labor Day.
One thing is certain: The Vikings desperately need a competent offensive line that pass-protects as well as it paves running lanes. For too long, Minnesota has settled for abysmal pass protection. Most reasonable Vikings fans consider 2021 a pivotal season for the long-term outlook on Mike Zimmer and Kirk Cousins. If the pass protection lingers among the bottom ten units in the NFL — commonplace for Vikings pass protection since 2014 — it will symbolize the one area of the team that this brand of Vikings simply cannot fix.