The interior offensive line struggles in Minnesota are a tale as old as time, and they have continued into the 2024 season. Keeping defenders off the quarterback and opening holes in the running game is a vital element of every offense, and the Vikings have outstanding blockers on the edges with Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill, but they can’t get the interior right.
Vikings Urged to Change Starting Lineup
In 2024, the decision-makers re-signed longtime backup Blake Brandel to start at the left guard spot, while 2022 second-rounder Ed Ingram remains the right guard. Garrett Bradbury has been the team’s center since 2019.
Brandel has actually done a decent job, especially considering his cheap contract, a three-year deal worth $9.5 million. That surely is a low-end starting salary. The more concerning player is his counterpart on the right side, who has been the starter since Minnesota acquired him with the 59th pick. Since then, however, he has been struggling.
Bleacher Report’s staff thinks the solution is simple: the Vikes should start Dalton Risner.
The Vikings don’t have many current weaknesses but guard is one of them, especially Ed Ingram who has been a disappointment since being a second-round pick two years ago. Meanwhile, Risner recently came off injured reserve and returned to the team’s active roster.
The five-year pro has a good track record as a starter in the league and could be a good in-house upgrade over Ingram. That change would help erase the offense’s biggest hole.
Risner arrived ahead of Week 3 in the 2023 season and ultimately took the starting job from Ezra Cleveland, who has since been traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars. After the season, Risner wanted to generate more interest in his second attempt at free agency, but once again, he was disappointed.
The Vikings re-signed him to another cheap one-year deal, obviously not planning to start him at his left guard spot over Brandel. However, Risner had gotten some work on the right side in training camp before a back injury would sideline him for roughly three months. He came off IR and appeared on special teams in the two recent games against the Colts and Jaguars.
Ingram has been an oft-criticized player but actually has been quite solid in those two games, perhaps motivated by Risner’s presence, firing up Pro Football Focus grades of 67.1 and 65.7, two of his four best games of the season in that metric.
The former LSU guard is one of the better run blockers in the NFL but struggles in the pass-blocking area. Risner, meanwhile, has the opposite skill set. Coaches enjoy run blockers more than the average fan, which explains why the fanbase seems to be more concerned than the Vikings.
Risner has appeared in 79 career games, starting 73 contests ‒ all at left guard.
He is the next man up if anything happens to Ingram or Brandel, but unless one of them sustains an injury or produces a couple of horrific outings, it seems more likely that the coaching staff will keep the continuity on the offensive line.
Risner, 29, is hoping for another chance.
Editor’s Note: Information from Over the Cap, Pro Football Focus, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.
Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and prefers Classic rock over other genres. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt