Christian Darrisaw’s Thoughts on the Vikings Regime Change
On any given Sunday, 64 offensive tackles start football games in the NFL. In 2021, Minnesota Vikings rookie Christian Darrisaw ranked 36th in the league per Pro Football Focus per overall proficiency – not bad for a rookie player.
And among rookie tackles, Darrisaw’s 71.9 PFF grade was the fourth-best leaguewide. Once the Vikings left tackle was fully healthy, he produced a commendable rookie season, one certainly worth building on in 2022.
Darrisaw did so with a Mike Zimmer-led regime notoriously known for reluctance in embracing rookies out of the gate. It took Justin Jefferson a few games to hit stride in 2020 – and then he temporarily set a rookie record for receiving yards. After recovering from injury, Darrisaw saw action in Week 5 of 2021 and never looked back as the starting LT, seizing the job from longtime reservist tackle Rashod Hill.
Zimmer no longer works for the Vikings, and Darrisaw is excited about the future as Super Bowl-winning offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell will officially be named head coach of the Vikings this week. O’Connell outlasted the mighty Jim Harbaugh and other men like Raheem Morris and Patrick Graham for a chance to lead Minnesota in a post-Zimmer and post-Rick Spielman era.
Darrisaw detailed his excitement about the O’Connell era last weekend on teammate Patrick Peterson’s podcast, the All Things Covered show:
“I’m excited just for the change and everything like that. I feel like sometimes you need change and I’m excited to see what he brings to the Minnesota Vikings’ offense. I just can’t wait really.”
– Christian Darrisaw | All Things Covered Podcast
If Darrisaw is enthused, that is a good thing because the Vikings desperately need to remedy the pass-protecting acumen of their offensive line. Throughout the entirety of Zimmer’s tenure – well, the 2017 season was decent – Minnesota struggled with pass-protection, consistently ranking near the bottom of the NFL per PFF. The Vikings signed a pocket passer in 2018 to put the organization over the Lombardi trophy hump – but thought it was a good idea to strike out year after year with protecting that asset, Kirk Cousins. Correspondingly, the Vikings have missed the playoffs in three out of four tries with Cousins at the helm.
So, O’Connell has one big job, among many – finally foster competent trenches that equally balance run-blocking and pass-protecting. Because Zimmer adored running the football, Minnesota’s offensive line was constructed to plow running lanes while seemingly disregarding the pass-protection aspect.
In a league where passing the football is king, employing a pocket passer with a suspect offensive line is strange. It’s also depressing.
Overall, though, Darrisaw is pumped about the new leadership, probably due to the philosophical shift. The Vikings championed defense, defense, and more defense since 2014, and now the pivot will highlight offensive playmaking.
With any luck, Darrisaw and his gleeful reception of O’Connell will anchor the Vikings quarterback’s blindside for a decade or so. That’s the goal when spending 1st-Round draft capital on a left tackle.
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).
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