EAGAN, Minn. -- In the spring, it looked as if all the pieces were falling into place for the Minnesota Vikings' offensive line well ahead of schedule.
Minnesota used two of its top three draft picks to address glaring needs. A month after parting ways with veteran Riley Reiff in free agency, the Vikings drafted his replacement at left tackle in Christian Darrisaw, taken 23rd overall. Given how much the line has struggled with interior pass protection, general manager Rick Spielman spent a third-round pick on guard Wyatt Davis.
Both projected as early contributors for an offensive line that has been in a state of flux the past few seasons. With left guard Ezra Cleveland, center Garrett Bradbury and right tackle Brian O'Neill already in the fold, it appeared as though the spotlight wouldn’t shine as intensely on the offensive line in training camp.
Three months later and well over a week into camp, the Vikings' two biggest questions on the line are far from being solved.
Offseason core surgery caused Darrisaw to miss reps in the spring and the first six training camp practices. Things seemed to be going according to plan after coach Mike Zimmer said the Vikings would be “very, very careful” with him, but Darrisaw’s physical limitations, which Zimmer classified as a “nagging” type of injury, have restricted his early development.
“That’s a tough one,” Zimmer said. “He’s one step forward, two steps back. Hard to get it done when you’re not out there doing stuff.”
Even when he has been available, Darrisaw hasn’t gotten above a second-team rep at left tackle. It’s veteran tackle Rashod Hill who has mostly protected quarterback Kirk Cousins' blindside with the first-team offensive line. Minnesota re-signed Hill this offseason and have always been pleased with his strengths as a pass protector. And at least early on this season, the Vikings may be relying on a player they didn’t anticipate starting.
Darrisaw put pads on for the first time Wednesday but has been limited in his return with no live action in 11-on-11. He said his goal remains to start Week 1 against the Cincinnati Bengals, but the physical limitations during his rehab means he will be playing catchup.
“It’s definitely tough because, you know, you want to be here; you want to be available for the team,” Darrisaw said. “But right now I’m dealing with this little injury, and I know I’ll be better. Once I’m out there, I’m going to be out there.”
This wouldn’t be the first time the Vikings spent a high draft pick on an offensive lineman who wasn’t ready to contribute right away. O’Neill didn’t see the field the first game of the 2018 season and was eased into action before taking over at right tackle in Week 6. Cleveland faced the same scenario as a rookie in 2020 when he made the switch from left tackle (after three seasons starting at Boise State) to right guard, where he started in Week 6.
What’s best for Darrisaw’s development and continuity along the line could be to keep Hill at left tackle with an anticipated early-season switch once Darrisaw is fully recovered and up to speed. In the meantime, teammates who have gone through the same transition are doing what they can to make sure Darrisaw doesn’t fall behind.
“I think helping him out now as much as we can in meetings, in walk-throughs, on the field, in individuals,” O’Neill said. “When I have a chance to pull him aside and say, ‘Hey look, this is what we saw here, and this is why we’re taking a different angle on this play.’ Or ‘This is why I got in trouble, or 'This is why I got beat,’ and just be very active with him in terms of what we see, why we see it and how we try to do things now. And do it every day and just, he’s a good kid, smart worker -- he’s got all the potential in the world. He’ll be great, no doubt. Just trying to keep him involved now.”
And then there’s the battle at right guard. The Vikings lauded Davis for his strength, size and power when he was drafted, which pointed to him being a candidate to take over the position with Cleveland moving to left guard.
But in training camp, Davis, like Darrisaw, has only taken second-team reps at right guard while also cross-training as a backup center. It’s last year’s left guard Dakota Dozier and former sixth-rounder Oli Udoh who have rotated at right guard while Udoh has also gotten reps at left tackle.
After two seasons of Udoh mostly being inactive for games, Vikings coaches approached the 6-foot-6, 325-pounder about switching from tackle to guard. They believed his length and quickness in a compact area could provide an upgrade at the position, and after seeing Cleveland make a similar switch as a rookie, Udoh could have an expanded role on a revamped line.
“Oli has a particular skill set in which he’s long and incredibly strong,” offensive line coach Phil Rauscher said. “When looking at him and looking at where the tackle position was, just numerically, it seemed like a good fit to move him inside. Just looking at different players who have moved inside -- Ezra, for example or when I was in Washington, Brandon Scherff had moved inside -- he shares qualities and traits that would make you think he has the potential of being very good. That and just the overall size and demeanor of how he plays football fits being a guard better than it does being a tackle."
Of course, preseason games will factor in to determining how much the makeup of the offensive line will shift over the next month. Davis and Darrisaw could be better suited to supplant those ahead of them on the depth chart if they can earn those reps in games and practices while still getting acclimated to the scheme and caliber of defensive linemen they’ll have to block in real games.
For a group that went through an abrupt change before camp with Rauscher taking the reins in the offensive line room after former position coach Rick Dennison moved into a different role, the Vikings are working to rectify the uncertainty along the line and figure out their starting left tackle and right guard well ahead of Week 1.
“I think in a perfect world, yes, we’d love to have them ironed out,” offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak said. “That’s not our situation and probably not a lot of teams’ situation. It is important to continue to get those guys work at different spot so if something happens on game day we’re ready to adjust.”