NFL Analyst Pounds Table for Stealthy Vikings Asset
If you’re just returning to the scene of Minnesota Vikings football — organized team activities get underway on Tuesday, after all — know that the team’s offensive line underwent total rejuvenation.
The Vikings’ new-look offensive line is underrated, says SI.com.
The club learned its lesson from the January playoff loss at the Los Angeles Rams when it gave up nine sacks in an embarrassing defeat.
And the overhaul was so vivid that SI.com‘s Albert Breer called the Vikings’ offensive line a premier, underrated storyline to watch in 2025.
Albert Breer on the Vikings’ OL Improvements
Breer wrote an extensive article about all NFL happenings at the start of OTAs and made sure to mention the Vikings’ trenches.
He wrote, “The Minnesota Vikings’ offensive line is an underrated storyline to watch. Maybe I’m bringing this up because I saw Ryan Kelly hanging out at the Omni Viking Lakes Hotel where the NFL meetings were being held (rookies and new vets stay there). Maybe it’s because we were in the shadow of Minnesota’s college-campus-like headquarters.”
“Either way, the Vikings moved mountains this offseason to fix what ended their 2024 season, and I think it’s worth taking a harder look at.”
Fans lived in awe of Minnesota’s OL revamp; they aren’t accustomed to it as a priority.
Breer continued, “While some folks used the team’s 27–9 ouster at the hands of the Rams as an indictment of Sam Darnold, the Vikings saw it more as a sign of how much work was ahead in fixing what was in front of the quarterback. Darnold was sacked nine times that night, a week after being knocked around by a depleted Lions front in Week 18.”
“As such, three of the team’s five starting linemen from that night are already gone, and a fourth, Blake Brandel, is unlikely to start in 2025, leaving only right tackle Brian O’Neill as the lone projected returning starter. The investment in a revamped line has been heavy.”
It’s about Damn Time
The sweet part? Vikings fans asked for this offseason behavior for eons. Well, it was realistically a decade, often during the Mike Zimmer era, with the hope that the franchise would realize teams with the best trenches always tunnel deep into the postseason.
Their response? Minnesota would typically sign half-measured solutions at guard and cross its fingers. Various purple teams have searched for top-notch guards since Steve Hutchinson left in 2011 — 14 years ago. They usually ended up with Dakota Doziers, Dru Samias, and Ed Ingrams.
This time, there are no mediocre fixes. General manager Kwesi Adof0-Mensah swung for the fences.
Finally One of “Those” Teams with a Formidable OL
Recently, teams like the Philadelphia Eagles and Detroit Lions methodically built their offensive lines, while Vikings fans watched from afar on their couches during the postseason and thought, “I wish we could do that.”
Year after year, Minnesota never did and subsequently hasn’t reached the NFC Title Game since 2017.
Now, per offensive line talent, Minnesota is, indeed, one of “those” squads with a marvelous offensive line.
All Eyes on Christian Darrisaw
The next step in sizing up the 2025 offensive line? Tracking Christian Darrisaw’s ACL recovery. Versus the Rams last October, Darrisaw injured his knee and missed the final 10 games of 2024, 11 including the postseason.
With few arguments from anyone, Darrisaw is Minnesota’s top lineman, so to be at full strength, folks want to know when Darrisaw will be ready. Week 1? Or closer to Week 5?
If he can’t go in September, Minnesota would presumably lean on veteran newcomer Justin Skule until Darrisaw’s return.
More from Breer on the OL
Breer, too, provided specifics on Minnesota’s offensive line renovation: “Will Fries signed a five-year, $87.72 million deal with $34 million fully guaranteed to displace Dalton Risner at right guard. Risner is still a free agent. Kelly got a two-year, $18 million deal to come with Fries from Indy, and make the Vikings bigger and stronger at center. He replaces Garrett Bradbury, who got a two-year, $9.5 million deal from the New England Patriots.”
“The Vikings then drafted Donovan Jackson in the first round to play left guard. Brandel, who signed an economical extension to stay with Minnesota in 2024, is the incumbent. Add to that the top-of-market deals done for O’Neill and left tackle Christian Darrisaw—who is coming back from a torn ACL, and had in-season addition Cam Robinson in his place at the end of last year — and you can see all that Minnesota has done not just to fix an issue it had in the playoffs, but turn it into a legitimate team strength.”
It’s also worth noting that the Vikings’ offensive trenches, for the most part, held up nicely during the regular season. They just so happened to collapse in crunchtime against the Rams.
Breer concluded, “Maybe that was best illustrated via the decision to take Jackson at pick No. 24 after paying Kelly and Fries.”
“All this, of course, should give J.J. McCarthy a great shot to succeed in his first year starting. And if it works, it’ll probably accomplish a lot more than that.”
McCarthy assuredly won’t have any OL excuses that often tormented the Kirk Cousins era. He’ll have Minnesota’s best OL on paper in years, if not decades.
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