Time For Some Brian O’Neill and Offensive Line Appreciation
Adam New
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Many words can be used to describe the much-maligned Minnesota Vikings offensive line over the last few years. Most of them are unsavory.
But none of which could be used to describe the right tackle, Brian O’Neill., pillar of consistency while the rest of the offensive line has been like a revolving door. Both on the field and in terms of personnel in the building.
Since the Minnesota Vikings drafted the former Pittsburgh Panther in the second round of the 2018 NFL draft, to the left of him has been largely inadequate play from a continuingly changing cast.
He started life as a backup to Rashod Hill, which now seems ludicrous in hindsight, only becoming a starter in Week 6 of his rookie season following an injury to Reilly Reiff. He has been a starter ever since.
Meanwhile, as well as Reiff and Hill, O’Neill has lined up with Pat Elflein, Tom Compton, Mike Remmers, Josh Kline, Garrett Bradbury, Dakota Dozier, Dru Samia, Ezra Cleveland, Oli Udoh, Mason Cole, and Christian Darrisaw.
That’s 13 different players for four positions, with O’Neill playing in his fourth season in Minnesota. All were considered starters at one point. Nothing screams “we have a problem” like that level of inconsistency. For such a key area of a football team that needs consistency to be successful, that simply isn’t good enough.
If Christian Darrisaw can get healthy, we’ll see an offensive line that is formidable going forward. The rookie left tackle has looked promising when he has been on the field. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been often enough this season for considerable development of his game.
Ezra Cleveland has locked down the left guard spot with steadily improving performances and eye-catching run blocks. As a converted tackle, pass-protection has been his biggest issue. Protecting the interior against big defensive tackles is completely different and requires different skills than protecting the edge against edge rushers. Cleveland shows improvement in positioning and technique and looks like a genuine guard.
Mason Cole did a good job deputizing for Garrett Bradbury at center and now looks to be an upgrade over Oli Udoh at right guard. Before the season started and with the assumption, Bradbury would keep his starting job. There was a lot of talk about Mason Cole as starting right guard. Cole can block well — his best games in Arizona came at guard — but the complexities of the center position have proven his downfall. A move to guard seemed to make sense. Instead, the coaching staff went with Oli Udoh, which, in hindsight, was a mistake. Cole has been far better than Udoh and should be the starter for the rest of the season and depending on how the next four games go and possibly next year as well.
There is a lot of pressure on Garrett Bradbury that comes with being a first-round pick. Some have already written him off and can’t wait to usher in his replacement. After losing his place due to COVID and then remaining on the sidelines upon his return, he had time to reflect on his game.
This is a great and honest assessment by the player:
With two guards playing well on either side of him, basically, for the first time, Bradbury had an excellent game against the Steelers, including a pass protection grade from Pro Football Focus of 84.0. One game or even two doesn’t mean everything is fixed. It needs to be consistent and continue to improve, but Bradbury could still salvage his career in Minnesota.
That brings us back to Brian O’Neill. The veteran leader of the Vikings offensive line, too often the stand-alone bright spot who will hopefully start to get more help now. Unlike his teammates, who all thrive in run blocking and are improving and need to continue to improve in pass-protection, protecting the quarterback is where O’Neill has made his name. He hasn’t given up a sack this season. He is on a run of 680 consecutive pass-blocking snaps without giving up a sack.
That is some run.
His career has been built on not giving up sacks, and that is why the Vikings paid him the big bucks this season. PFF gives him a pass-blocking grade of 79.5 this year, which is the best on the Vikings by some distance. The second-highest grade goes to Christian Darrisaw with 56.4, and the scores gradually worsen.
This year, the Vikings as a team have done a better job of keeping the opposing pass-rushers away from Kirk Cousins. The Vikings quarterback has been sacked just 18 times this season. Only Tom Brady (17) has been sacked less. Many factors exist on why the Vikings have been able to keep Cousins upright more often. The Vikings have up 39 sacks in 16 games in 2020, barring three naughty games this season — will see an enormous improvement.
There has been some good offensive line play, led by Brian O’Neill, but there has also been some terrible play, not helped by the enforced chopping and changing personnel. First-year coordinator Klint Kubiak has done a good job scheming up getting the ball out early, though this has meant a lot of screens and short passes, which brings its own problems.
As the season has progressed, the team has become more effective with play-action — something vital for the success of Cousins and the team as a whole. Cousins has done a better job of recognizing and avoiding pressure.
The Vikings plan has been to draft young athletic linemen. They hit first time with Brian O’Neill. The rest of the line has taken longer to figure out. I’m cautiously optimistic that we are nearly there. Bradbury still has question marks, and we need to see a long run of consistent performances from Cole — with Wyatt Davis waiting in the wings.
Heading into next season, the Vikings look to require somewhat of a rebuild on defense — again. If the offensive line can look set as a solid unit that only needs minimal attention, the main focus can be getting the defense right.
They’ve had plenty of flak over the last three or four years. So, it’s only right to show appreciation to an improving group – Darrisaw, Cleveland, Bradbury, Cole, and O’Neill have the chance to prove they can be the long-term future of the Minnesota Vikings.
The Vikings take on the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football, whose defense has wreaked havoc in the Vikings backfield in recent years.
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