Kevin O’Connell Walks Back Offseason’s Defining Comment
At first, there was the deal for center Ryan Kelly. Right guard Will Fries was soon to follow, agreeing to become a Viking in large part due to a major payday. Finishing things off was the addition of Donovan Jackson at No. 24 in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Very commonly, the emphasis on the Vikings’ interior o-line has been brought back to Kevin O’Connell’s comments immediately following the playoff loss to the Rams. LA’s defense terrorized Minnesota’s offense, creating chaos throughout the game. Sam Darnold was flustered for a second consecutive week — the Week 18 Lions loss was bad — unable to get the team to a point where they could consistently threaten O’Connell’s former employer. Within that context, O’Connell passed along his now infamous quote about his offensive line.
Kevin O’Connell Walks Back iOL Comment
The 14-3 Vikings just saw their season melt away faster than Icarus’ wings. Kevin O’Connell stepped in front of the microphone to explain what happened.
“There’s no question,” O’Connell begins after being asked about the offensive line, “we’ve got to find a way to be able to give a quarterback — especially with players like Justin [Jefferson], Jordan [Addison], T.J. [Hockenson] — we’ve got to find a way to solidify just the interior of the pocket, starting first and foremost.” There’s then a mention of losing the top tackles before saying that the “foundation of the interior of the pocket” will be under some scrutiny.
Kevin O’Connell’s quote has been a cloud over the Vikings’ business for several months, raining on the offseason decisions with great regularity.
Less than a week ago, Rich Eisen went back to that same quotation in a question with Kevin O’Connell. After noting the importance of building both the inside of the defensive and offensive lines, O’Connell brings things around to how he would adjust what he previously said.
“Now what I should have said in the moment,” O’Connell explains, “in the emotions of losing a game like that is I thought our team battled to overcome losing one of the best left tackles in football for the better part of ten games there. Having no Christian Darrisaw had an impact on all of us.”
Not long afterwards, the head coach praised Cam Robinson for his efforts before offering some comments that uplift the effort that Blake Brandel put together. To finish off his answer, O’Connell sent praise in Darrisaw’s and Brian O’Neill’s direction.
Football, a matchup sport par excellence, becomes considerably more difficult when a high-end left tackle goes down.
To O’Connell’s point, inserting Darrisaw into the mix could have made the difference. Being able to leave the LT1 on an island would have allowed for extra protection help elsewhere, potentially shoring up multiple spots up front so that Darnold was a bit more comfortable in the pocket.
Instead, Robinson had a poor game and the o-line majorly struggled.
Darnold didn’t help matters, finishing his day having gone 25/40 for 245 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception. His 77.6 passer rating is poor and his fumble lost didn’t help matters, either. The Vikings scored 9 measly points, tied for a season-low with the W18 Lions loss.
Minnesota’s response in 2025 has been a major investment along the iOL to match the long-time investment in the OTs. Consider what that looks like:
- LT1: Christian Darrisaw, MIN’s No. 23 Pick in 2021, Four-Year, $104M Deal
- LG1: Donovan Jackson, MIN’s No. 24 Pick in 2025, Rookie Deal
- C1: Ryan Kelly, IND’s No. 18 Pick in 2016, Two-Year, $18M Deal
- RG1: Will Fries, IND’s No. 248 Pick in 2021, Five-Year, $87.72M Deal
- RT1: Brian O’Neill, MIN’s No. 62 Pick in 2018, Five-Year, $92.5M Deal
Add it all up and we’re talking about a front five that’s earning some huge money. Most were picked high (Fries the exception) and most have already proven to be excellent NFL players (Jackson the exception). In theory, J.J. McCarthy will be given more help when facing a ferocious front than Darnold received.
Kevin O’Connell should thus be a happy man. If the new o-line lives up to its potential, then O’Connell could be praising the o-line after playoff wins rather than needing to fend off questions about ways the o-line needs to improve.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference, PFF, and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
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K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter and Bluesky (@VikingsGazette). If you feel so inclined, subscribe to his Substack, The Vikings Gazette, for more great Vikings content.
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