The Darrisaw Plan Officially Hits the Pause Button

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Sep 10, 2021
Christian Darrisaw
EAGAN, MN - AUGUST 04: Minnesota Vikings offensive tackle Christian Darrisaw (71) looks on during training camp at Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center in Eagan, MN on August 4, 2021.(Photo by Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The Minnesota Vikings drafted left tackle Christian Darrisaw from the 1st Round of the 2021 NFL Draft. He was supposed to start right away as Minnesota cut ties with Riley Reiff last spring, clearing the way for a new face.

Darrisaw saw was tapped for duty, on deck as a game-ready blindside protector from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. But that will have to wait. It gets no clearer than this.

The absence of Anthony Barr is a big deal, too, but now the Vikings offense must play under a familiar playbill – an offensive line that might be shaky in terms of pass protection.

Rashod Hill, a seasoned backup lineman who’s been a part of the Vikings franchise for five years, gets the nod this Sunday at Cincinnati. Much like Dakota Dozier last year or Josh Kline the year before that, Hill might do just fine – or he could be awful. This is the recent and persistent state of the Vikings offensive line. Glue together some combination of the offensive trenches and cross those fingers. With Darrisaw’s temporary injury, 2021 is absolutely no different than 2020. Or 2019. Or 2018.

Aside from the maybe aura surrounding the forecast for Hill, a lack of Darrisaw early in 2021 is a blow. He was never destined to be an elite left tackle out of the gate, but with ample snaps early in the season (you know, like now), Darrisaw could’ve started the maturation and jelling process, prepping his rookie talents for November and December football.

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Now, Minnesota must pray Darrisaw develops fast when he does return. General Manager Rick Spielman chose the youthful solution to his longstanding offensive line plan. Yet, when the youth doesn’t see the field early in a season, Spielman’s decision to pass on the free agency of a veteran left tackle is damning.

Make no mistake, Spielman has laid the groundwork astutely for a promising offensive line – sometime down the line. From Darrisaw, Ezra Cleveland, Garrett Bradbury, Wyatt Davis, to Brian O’Neill, the formula makes sense. However, the Vikings are in the bottom of the ninth inning for Mike Zimmer’s coaching ballgame. The skipper has led the team since 2014, winning two playoff games on his watch. A third [and perhaps fourth] playoff triumph must find its way to Minnesota by the time the 2021 season has a bow on it. Hodgepodge offensive lines are not a smart appetizer for an entrée regular season.

Thankfully – as twisted as it sounds – the Vikings are used to this. Minnesota made playoff pushes in 2017 and 2019 in spite of questionable pass-protecting offensive lines. They can do it again. Dalvin Cook deodorizes a lot of offensive line miscues.

But the utopian vision – going on four seasons now – is to see what quarterback Kirk Cousins is capable of with an at-least-average offensive line just once during his Vikings tenure. Cousins gets a clean pocket once in a blue moon with the Vikings, but the practice has never been commonplace. If Darrisaw blossomed in Week 1 along with the other OL pieces coagulating, maybe this was finally the year to grant Cousins a normal offensive line.

For now, that seems like a longshot. There is always the chance Hill looks terrific and Oli Udoh is a baller. Yet, for most Vikings fans, that theory is the ultimate believe it when I see it.

Experiencing Darrisaw Week 1 against new Bengals EDGE rusher Trey Hendrickson was the endgame prognosis for the offseason when Spielman plucked the rookie from the draft in April.

Instead, we get a waiting game.

Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).