Vikings Star Receives High Praise from ESPN
Ever since the Minnesota Vikings selected Christian Darrisaw in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, he has continuously put in hard work to improve his game.
Now, the Vikings star is widely regarded as one of the best offensive tackles in the entire league, and alongside Brian O’Neill, the two have created one of the most dominant tackle tandems that puts fear into their opponents.
Recently, ESPN released its annual poll gathering opinions from NFL coaches, executives, and scouts discussing the top 10 players at the tackle position, and Darrisaw received high marks.
Vikings Star Receives High Praise from ESPN
The poll ranks the top 10 offensive tackles in the NFL, and Darrisaw actually fell down the list a bit compared to last year.
The 2024 version of the poll ranked him as the sixth-best offensive tackle in the NFL, and now, ESPN is ranking him as the ninth-best tackle while names like Tristan Wirfs, Penei Sewell, and Lane Johnson highlight the top three.
Take a look at what Jeremy Fowler wrote about Darrisaw heading into the year:
Darrisaw’s severe knee injury is the primary issue with his standing on the list, as he’s recovering from a torn ACL and MCL. In minicamp, Darrisaw conducted individual drills but hadn’t graduated to 11-man work. The Vikings will take it slowly with him, and plenty of evaluators still see him as elite.
‘He’s got it all,’ a veteran NFL offensive coach said. ‘He has power, good feet, balance and range.’
Despite the injury costing him 10 games, Darrisaw produced an 88.9 pass block win rate on 197 snaps along with a 79.7 run block win rate. The Vikings gave him a four-year, $104 million extension before last season.
Of course, as Fowler points out, Darrisaw missed more than half of last season because of the torn ACL and MCL suffered against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 8.
Many expect Darrisaw to return back to his typical, elite form when he returns, but that is not guaranteed until we actually see him step back out onto the field. It’s also not the first injury Darrisaw has dealt with in his career as he’s played 15 games just once in his four-year career.
As a result, much of where Darrisaw falls on this list has nothing to do with talent, but instead with his injury history. When healthy, the Vikings left tackle is elite not only as a pass protector, but also as a run blocker. That versatility makes him very useful in Minnesota’s offense.
In the end, Darrisaw’s presence will be key once again this season as the Vikings try to bring along young 22-year-old QB J.J. McCarthy. Minnesota will need Darrisaw to lead the way in pass protection and ensure McCarthy has a clean pocket to throw from more often than not.
Additions at guard and center should make Darrisaw’s job a touch easier too, and if the Vikings are able to keep McCarthy’s jersey clean with their star left tackle leading the way, the ceiling is super high for this Vikings team.
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