Vikings Finally Sign an OG. Is It Enough?
The moment fans have been waiting for. The Vikings finally signed an offensive guard. The Vikings announced they were signing Jesse Davis, former guard for the Miami Dolphins. To most fans, this was a bit of surprise as there was not much chatter between the two sides before this.
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The Vikings had been targeting Ryan Bates and Ereck Flowers prior to this signing. However, being tight to the cap has caused them to take who they could. And with the Vikings signing him to a $3 million deal that comes with a $1.5 million bonus, all signs point to him starting.
So, just how good is Jesse Davis? Well, if you trust PFF grades entirely, he is a slight upgrade at right guard.
- 2021 – 52.5
- 2020 – 62.6
- 2019 – 58.9
While these numbers don’t look great, they are certainly better than some former guards. The Vikings have willingly put Pat Elflein, Dru Samia, and Oli Udoh on the field at right guard. Each of these guys was bad in their own special way. We should undoubtedly allow Jesse Davis to prove he can play.
Looking purely at his physical traits, he has the build to be good.
Perhaps the Vikings coaching staff can take his physical traits and put them to good use. Sometimes players need a change of scenery before they can be appropriately utilized. This could be especially true for Jesse Davis after spending the last six years with the dumpster fire that is Miami.
What About Wyatt Davis at Offensive Guard?
If Jesse Davis is the starter, there will be a subset of Vikings fans up in arms. They might even be at TCO protesting and demanding that Wyatt Davis be the starter, or they riot. However, we need to trust the coaches.
The coaches see the players every single day. They watch them play on every single play and then break down those plays in film study. The coaches have a much better understanding of what players are good enough to start and which players are not. So, if Wyatt Davis isn’t ready, then he isn’t ready.
However, this is not to say that Wyatt Davis cannot compete for the starting position. He does have a chance to win out. Here are the current prospects at right guard:
- Jesse Davis
- Wyatt Davis
- Oli Udoh
Wyatt Davis has to grow quite a bit from his rookie campaign to get on the field. However, this year he will be able to do that a little easier.
In 2021, Wyatt Davis was injured at the beginning of the season. Because of this, he could never get into football shape or get in reps during training camp. If you don’t get the reps in training camp, you will not be able to get the reps in during the season.
NFL teams need to prep for games during the season. They don’t have time for position battles. However, Wyatt Davis will have his position battle opportunity this year.
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