The Vikings Keep Hinting the O-Line Will Go from Humdrum to Hulking
The Vikings keep on singing the praises of offensive line coach Keith Carter. An assistant last year, Carter has taken over for Chris Kuper, who had been leading the front five since 2022.
Kevin O’Connell has been optimistic about what he’s seeing. In fact, he was reasonably outspoken in his praise the last time he chatted with the Minnesota media. “Keith’s done a phenomenal job with that group,” O’Connell said, “both in the meeting room and on the field. It feels, every single day feels like there’s such a purpose to what they’re trying to do.” O’Connell’s words continue what has been pretty consistent praise for Coach Carter.
The Vikings Keep Praising OL Coach Keith Carter
Since the ’22 season, the Vikings’ offensive line has been good but not great. Fixing that reality is long overdue.
Consider a basic detail: a ton of resources are being sunk into the offensive line. Per Over the Cap, the Vikings are sitting at fourth in the NFL by seeing $76,190,410 of the team’s cap space devoted to the large lads in the trenches.
Both of Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill are homegrown talents working under meaty second contracts. LG1 Donovan Jackson is playing on his 1st-Round contract and RG1 Will Fries got stolen away after a free agency bidding war. Only Blake Brandel could be deemed cheap among the starters.
Gone are the days of saving money up front. PFF nevertheless walked away unimpressed, putting the collective group down at 18th overall.
“The Vikings’ offensive line disappointed in 2025,” the analysis begins, “especially considering pre-season expectations. The unit, largely hindered by injuries, posted an 82.8 PFF pass-blocking efficiency rating, which ranked only 27th in the NFL. They gave up 173 pressures, including 26 sacks, on 578 pass plays.”
A concluding thought: “Free-agent acquisition Will Fries was unable to replicate his breakout 2024 season. Whereas Fries conceded pressure on 3.9% of pass plays during his last campaign with the Colts, he allowed a 6.2% pressure rate in Minnesota in 2025.”
So, room to improve, especially since much has been invested financially and via the draft.
O’Connell sees a crew that has “very, very high expectations of themselves and Keith [Carter] is driving that.” Not long afterwards, there’s a mention of a couple players — Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill — as doing excellently when leading the large lads. So, too, did Frank Smith (the Assistant HC who used to work for the Dolphins) get praise.
“They’ve done everything to have me really excited about their potential when football comes around,” O’Connell said to end his answer.
At the risk of being a touch obvious, the Kyler Murray v. J.J. McCarthy battle is currently the top story in the Twin Cities. Fair enough.
There is still wisdom, though, in looking at what’s taking place around those passers. Seeing the Vikings’ o-line go from humdrum to hulking would be a major boost for whoever is passing the ball. Even better will be if the front five are allowed to run block more, further allowing the QB1 (whoever it ends up being) to shine.
Keith Carter has been having a good offseason but much work remains. Look for him to continue leading his crew in late July as the Vikings return to TCO for training camp.
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