The Last Good Center for the Vikings
The Vikings’ offensive line struggles have been well known for a long time. Especially at the center position, there has not been a good one in recent years. The center is a crucial part of an offensive line nowadays. Fifty years ago, the job of the center was to snap the ball and help to block a little bit.
Now, a center has to make line calls, shift protection, snap the ball and then block – sometimes one-on-one against big and mean nose tackles. In franchise history, the Minnesota Vikings had some great centers. Mick Tingelhoff, Matt Birk, and John Sullivan, just to name a few. It’s a good time to look back at the Vikings’ recent starters at the center of the offensive line and try to find the last good center the franchise had.
Not Garrett Bradbury
Former Vikings General Manager Rick Spielman drafted Garrett Bradbury in the 2019 NFL Draft. The NC State prospect was supposed to be the solution in the middle of the offensive line for the next decade. Bradbury was a first-team All-American in 2018 and won the Rimington Trophy for the best center in the nation. NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah, among various other experts, had high praise after Roger Goodell announced the pick.
“Kirk Cousins is celebrating…This is the best center in the draft and one of the best to come out in the last handful of years…If you look at guys who he reminds you of, you look at Jason Kelce and Ryan Kalil.”
Daniel Jeremiah, NFL Network
Kelce and Kalil combine for eight All-Pro teams. They have been elite centers for most of their careers. Bradbury´s play in the NFL has been underwhelming at best in his three seasons so far. His PFF grade ranks him 41st among centers in the league since he was drafted. His grade was just above or below 60 every season. That doesn’t sound bad, but his pass blocking has been atrocious. He is yet to eclipse a pass-blocking grade of 45 in a single season.
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He simply does not have the power to go up against powerful defensive tackles and gets pushed back into Kirk Cousins` lap quite often and ruins plays, drives, and games that way.
At this point, he is expected to be the starter in 2022, but he was benched in 2021 for Mason Cole, and he’s undoubtedly on a short leash.
Not Pat Elflein
There are some similarities between Elflein and Bradbury. The Ohio State center was regarded by many as the top center in the draft. He won the Rimington Trophy in his last college season, and he was viewed as a better run blocker than pass protector. All of that sounds just like his successor, Garrett Bradbury.
Spielman traded up nine spots to get him in the third round of the 2017 draft with the 70th overall pick. Again, he received praise for the selection.
“A doozy of a find in Round 3, and well worth trading up from No. 79 to get him. Elflein was the best center in this draft—he can be Minnesota’s man in the middle for years to come, assuming he wins that job out of camp. If he doesn’t, he can start at guard.”
Chris Burke, Sports Illustrated
Lance Zierlein from NFL.com had a lofty pro comparison for Elflein: Travis Frederick. Despite having a very short career, Frederick earned all-pro honors three times and was a five-time pro-bowler. Consequently, the expectations for Elflein were sky-high.
NFL Career
While he met expectations in his rookie year, Elflein struggled a lot afterward, and it shows in his PFF grades:
- 2017: 66.6
- 2018: 41.9
- 2019: 64.7
In 2017, Elflein was a vital part of the team that went to the NFC Championship game. He was named to the PFWA All-Rookie-Team.
Injuries slowed him down in 2018. He had to undergo ankle and shoulder surgeries and missed the start of his sophomore campaign. The injuries led to his most disappointing season in 2018.
As a result of his second-year struggles, the Vikings selected Garrett Bradbury in the first round of the 2019 draft and moved Elflein to left guard. While his run blocking was good (PFF grade of 67.6), his pass blocking was closer to the 2018 version of himself than to the 2017 rookie version (51.3).
Following his third year, the Vikings moved the former third-round pick to right guard, and he played one game. Because of sustaining a thumb injury in practice, the Vikings waived Elflein, and he moved on to play for the Jets and Panthers. He is under contract with the Panthers for two more seasons.
The Last Good Center: Joe Berger
Just before the 2011 season started, the Miami Dolphins waived the offensive lineman, and the Vikings claimed him off waivers. Berger was a backup but started seven games in his first season and played really well. In the next two seasons, Berger was mainly a backup center and guard and special teams player for the Minnesota Vikings.
In 2014, the center replaced the injured guard Brandon Fusco and center John Sullivan in various games and left a strong impression.
Starting center John Sullivan suffered a season-ending injury in August 2015, and Joe Berger took the opportunity and started all 16 games in the season for the first in his long NFL career. For his performance in the 2015 season, PFF named him the best run blocker in the league, and his overall grade was 76. He was named second Team the All-Pro.
He had to go up against long-time starting center John Sullivan in training camp and won the job for the upcoming 2016 campaign. PFF gave him a grade of 77.8 and a sensational pass-blocking grade of 85.7.
As a consequence of the Vikings drafting Pat Elflein, Berger moved back to guard in the 2017 season. He was one of the best players on the franchise’s latest deep playoff run. His PFF grade was 75.1 in what turned out to be his last NFL season.
Following his retirement, the Vikings’ offensive line struggled in every season since, especially at the guard and center spots. Multiple players have played at the three positions in the last four seasons, but none of them was capable of filling Berger´s shoes.
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