Vikings Have Sudden Foursome at RG
Dustin Baker
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While the Minnesota Vikings didn’t break the bank to sign a right guard in free agency, new general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah flooded the “room” with men to compete for the job.
On Friday, Chris Reed was signed by the Vikings to a two-year deal, solidifying a cast of characters vying for the RG job in 2022.
The only way Adofo-Mensah’s plan will fail is if all four men are terrible. Plain and simple. Otherwise, one of these men will emerge as a decent-to-good right guard.
Here’s the sudden foursome.
Oli Udoh
The Incumbent
Age: 25
2021 PFF: 54.8
% of 2021 Snaps Played = 94%
Udoh started 16 games in 2021, leading the NFL in penalties. He fired up 13 of those. His 54.8 Pro Football Focus grade was underwhelming, and that’s why he’s not the sure-fire starter for 2022.
However, with some maturation and fine-tuned coaching, Udoh has time to develop. At age 25, his penalty problems are not unsolvable. The problem, though, is the Vikings RG spot has been burdensome for so long that the team can’t limp into 2022 with a half-buttocks solution. Not again.
So, other players were brought in to force the incumbent into battle.
Wyatt Davis
The Great Unknown
Age: 23
2021 PFF: n/a
% of 2021 Snaps Played = 0%
A celebrated offensive lineman from Ohio State University, nobody in the world knows if Davis is any good. And that’s problematic.
His college tape suggests he’s wonderful. Yet, Mike Zimmer, Klint Kubiak, Phil Rauscher, and preseason gametape disagreed. Davis didn’t play any offensive snaps in 2021, which is not a good omen. At all.
Nevertheless, Davis is a 3rd-Round draft pick, and 3rd-Rounder offensive linemen typically turn out to be at-least-decent, damnit. Ergo, fans hold substantial hope that every coach associated with the Vikings in 2021 was wrong — and that they are right.
In theory, Davis could bust out this summer and vindicate all the Buckeye and Viking fans. We shall see. It’s a longshot.
Chris Reed
The New Guy
Age: 29
2021 PFF: 67.2
% of 2021 Snaps Played = 57%
If you don’t like the title New Guy, you can call Reed the dark horse for the RG job.
In the event this upcoming competition is based on PFF grade — hint: it’s not — Reed would be the right guard for the 2022 Minnesota Vikings. His resume is that decent for consideration. In fact, if this man was signed by the Zimmer Vikings in any of the last few offseasons, there might be an April parade in Minneapolis. You remember the psychosis memes.
Reed is a midwest dude, too, born in Iowa and collegiately reared at Minnesota State with a teammate named Adam John Thielen — also a midwest dude reared at Minnesota State.
Pretend you’re playing Madden for a moment. Reed would start for the Vikings this September.
Jesse Davis
The Frontrunner
Age: 31
2021 PFF: 52.5
% of 2021 Snaps Played = 92%
The Vikings are paying this person three million bucks in 2022, so he’s the odds-on favorite to win the job. Per dollars and cents, Minnesota’s front office perceives Jesse Davis as the best option to protect Kirk Cousins.
But his resume suggests otherwise, if one trusts PFF. Davis played a lot of football down in Miami, starting 82 games in five seasons. The Dolphins either loved him or tolerated him.
Of all four men mentioned in this analysis, Davis has the worst 2021 PFF score aside from Wyatt Davis, who didn’t play as a rookie. Follow this train of thought: the player with the lowest grade — is the most expensive.
Figure that one out. It has Minnesota OL logic scribbled all over it.
Footnote: Austin Schlottmann could creep up and win the battle, as well. But he may be slated more as a backup center to Garrett Bradbury, who the new coaching regime seems to like. Also, the Vikings could draft an interior offensive lineman this April, widening the RG competition even more.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. 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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