Vikings Miss Out on One OL Fix
Drew Dalman will not be a Minnesota Viking.
Vikings Miss Out on One OL Fix
Dalman joined the Chicago Bears on Monday, the start of the NFL’s legal tampering period.
The Athletic‘s Dianna Russini posted on BlueSky, “The Bears are signing C Drew Dalman to a three-year, $42 million deal with $28 million guaranteed.”
Vikings center Garrett Bradbury could’ve become a salary cap casualty if the Vikings were serious about upgrading the offensive line’s interior, but with Dalman off the board, Bradbury may be back for Year No. 7.
Dalman was the single best center available in free agency — by a mile — accounting for a 78.8 PFF grade last season. And he’s not like Bradbury, who specializes in run blocking while struggling with pass protection. Dalman does both.
Several teams pursued Dalman. He earned near top free-agent placement on Vikings fans’ lists because it would be pretty fantastic to start the J.J. McCarthy era at quarterback with one of the league’s best centers. Allowing Bradbury or a rookie to handle the assignment doesn’t feel smart. But it might be Bradbury after all.
Eventually, the Vikings should conclude the era of facing an imposing defensive tackle (Dexter Lawrence or Kenny Clark, for example) and just knowing that Bradbury would be pummeled. Dalman would’ve been an answer.
Here’s the Bears’ revamped offensive line, with free agency just minutes old:
- LT: Braxton Jones
- LG: Joe Thuney
- C: Drew Dalman
- RG: Jonah Jackson
- RT: Darnell Wright
The Bears are fortifying the trenches, a strategy Vikings fans hope the purple team replicates this week.
The power moves from Chicago accompanied the arrival of new head coach Ben Johnson, who was formerly the offensive coordinator of another Vikings and Bears’ rival, the Detroit Lions. In Detroit, Johnson watched as the Lions methodically built the offensive line into one of the NFL’s top units, and now he appears to be pulling strings in Chicago for a replica.
Chicago’s offensive trenches ranked 24th in the league last season, per Pro Football Focus, so general manager Ryan Poles evidently knew his offseason task: beef up the line.
The Bears drafted USC’s Caleb Williams with the first overall pick last April, and the young passer encountered an up-and-down season. He showed flashes of promise while taking an ungodly amount of sacks and would often prefer a sack to throwing a simple incompletion.
Minnesota can still target centers Ryan Kelly or Andre James in free agency, though neither is as efficient as Dalman.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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