Jan 11, 2020; Santa Clara, California, USA; Minnesota Vikings center Garrett Bradbury. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports.
Two weeks into the offseason, the Vikings have yet to address one of their most needed positions. The offensive line was [and still is] one of the most critical needs this offseason. The line has been bad for multiple years in a row. Failure to address the offensive line is a failed offseason.
Kevin O’Connell has said he wants to build around Kirk Cousins. Well then, you need to add pieces to the offensive line. Yes, the defense was in shambles. However, the Vikings have added enough pieces to at least field a competitive unit. Now, they must shift their focus to the offense.
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Thankfully, that day is coming. Ereck Flowers will probably be coming in for a visit this week.
This is a welcoming sign that the front office recognizes that this unit is not ready to protect Kirk Cousins. However, will it be enough? Here are the PFF rankings for the offensive line last year:
The issue with the offensive line lies right in the middle. As a unit, the Vikings ranked 23rd in the NFL. Hopefully, Ereck Flowers can assist in shoring up the right guard position.
While the Vikings are looking to Ereck Flowers to beef up the interior, they still have a center problem. However, it does not look like the center position is one that they are overall concerned with. The Vikings did reach out to JC Tretter’s agent, but that conversation does not appear to have gone anywhere.
It will be difficult to bring in a guy like Tretter as he will command a contract in the $8 to $10 million per year range. He would be a significant upgrade from Bradbury, especially in pass protection. However, at that price range, it isn’t easy to justify bringing him in with additional needs at cornerback still.
Perhaps the coaching staff is higher on Bradbury than the fans. This should not surprise anyone if true. Bradbury does an excellent job setting the protections and is a running blocking specialist. Although, he has a strength issue that will never go away.
The center position doesn’t seem to be a high priority for the team. At least for now.
Many Vikings fans are excited for one player in the draft, Tyler Linderbaum. Linderbaum is a center who played for Iowa. He is said to be the best center coming out of the draft this year.
In fact, PFF has him graded as the best center they have ever seen in the PFF era. He was the highest-graded center in FBS for 2020 and 2021. He also was a wrestler in high school, which is encouraging. Wrestlers tend to understand leverage positioning on another level.
The only concern with Linderbaum is that he is of a similar build to Bradbury. How is a 290-pound kid going to hold up against some of the 330-pound behemoths? This remains to be seen. Although, it is not crazy to think that he will end up at a strength disadvantage just like Bradbury.
Overall, he could be an upgrade. Or he could end up the same. Either way, it is not ridiculous to think he might be a top target in April, especially with the Vikings not adding a center in free agency.
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