Vikings Fans Have Clear Prediction for Starting Right Guard

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Aug 6, 2021
Offensive Line
Jan 11, 2020; Santa Clara, California, USA; Minnesota Vikings center Garrett Bradbury (56) and the offense lines up agains the San Francisco 49ers defense during the first half in the NFC Divisional Round playoff football game at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Leave the prediction decision to Minnesota Vikings fans – and the purple body politic has a clear prediction on who will start for the team at right guard this September.

His name is Oli Udoh, a third-year offensive lineman from Elon University.

Oli Udoh

Image Courtesy of DailyNorseman.com

Most notably, Udoh was assigned Khalil Mack from the Chicago Bears for a pass-protecting gig during Week 17 of the 2019 season. He dazzled, largely putting the clamps on Chicago’s All-Pro EDGE rusher.

While the 24-year-old has been somewhat quiet since that game, Udoh is receiving first-team reps at the Vikings 2021 training camp.

VikingsTerritory unscientifically polled Minnesota’s fanbase for their prediction – not their wishlist – on the prospect of the starting RG1. These are the results.

Half of all Vikings brains believe Udoh will get the call Week 1 at the Cincinnati Bengals. 902 respondents opined, with Udoh snagging 49.2% of the vote.

The utopian scenario is for Wyatt Davis to rapidly scale the depth chart and start immediately. But he just put on pads for the first time this week after missing a few practices due to a minor injury. Davis is the “missing piece” to the 2021 offensive line because his draft stock unexpectedly careened him to the 3rd Round in April. For many months, Davis was theorized as a 1st-Round talent. That prognosis was dampened by some injuries at Ohio State during the pandemic season.

Most folks believe Christian Darrisaw – also a rookie – will start out of the gate protecting Kirk Cousins’ blindside. If head coach Mike Zimmer cannot start a left tackle from the 1st Round right away, well, what the hell?

And it’s not a lofty task for Udoh or Davis to emerge as RG contenders. Between Dakota Dozier and Dru Samia in 2020, the guard play for the 2020 Vikings was stinky. Fans even made psychosis memes about it.

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Now is the time for Udoh to bust out into prominence if he, indeed, has it in him. He was a 6th-Round pick from the 2019 NFL Draft, so it’s not like he was preordained for greatness. However, if he develops into a starting-caliber player, the third year is a pivotal time to render a verdict.

Mason Cole, a player traded from the Arizona Cardinals to the Vikings in the spring, appears to be a reservist-type offensive lineman. He can play center and guard. When he was acquired, though, it seemed he might be the Vikings-esque solution at RG1. Following the drafting of Davis and emergence of Udoh, Cole as the starter is a longshot.

For a want, Vikings enthusiasts prefer a swift maturation of Davis, enabling the offensive line to be new, young, and exciting. For realism, fans are banking on Udoh to kick off the all-telling 2021 season.

Most folks are just elated that a Dozier-Samia sequel is unlikely.