How To Fix The O-Line Discussion

Minnesota has gone from perhaps the worst offensive line in football in 2016 to a middle of the pack unit this season, which is a seismic shift considering their circumstances last season and seamlessly meshing five new starters together so quickly. The revamping has culminated in an offense that has remodeled itself from the 26th ranked offense in DVOA to the 11th ranked offense in DVOA.

Despite having two different starting quarterbacks this season in Keenum and Sam Bradford, and starting RB Dalvin Cook go on injured reserve in Week 4, the offense has been able to withstand the turnover chiefly due to their consistency on the offensive line.

QB Teddy Bridgewater is set to return after a long recovery from a devastating knee injury, and once he enters the lineup, he will be dropping back behind the most competent OL of his young career. The only concern in the near future resides in RT Remmers being in the concussion protocol and missing practice time.

The uncertainty behind his possible absence could throw a wrench in the momentum they’ve built up front, but as long as the starters can remain in tact long-term this season, expect the Vikings OL to remain one of the most impressive turnaround stories in the NFL for the remainder of the season.

The 2017 Minnesota Vikings do not make sense. Before the season began, it seemed this team’s best chance of reaching the playoffs involved replicating the formula it used back in 2015, when it finished 11-5. Minnesota has built through its defense, with a slew of highly drafted players in the secondary and a front four that’s turned into one of the league’s best. On the other side of the ball, the Vikings’ hopes appeared to depend on Sam Bradford staying healthy and rookie running back Dalvin Cook powering the ground game and facilitating a reliable if unspectacular unit.

Instead, Cook tore his ACL in Week 4, Bradford hasn’t completed a game since Week 1, and the Vikings stillhave a 7-2 record that’s built largely on the strength of their offense. After hanging five touchdowns on Washington in Sunday’s 38-30 win, Minnesota is now averaging 24.1 points per game, the 10th-best mark in the league. It headed into Week 10 ranked 11th in Football Outsiders’ offensive DVOA and eighth in passing DVOA. Given the roster that’s in place and the identity this group has maintained for the entirety of head coach Mike Zimmer’s tenure, this high-flying version of Minnesota simply doesn’t compute.

It all starts with the guys up front. The Vikings lost a combined 57.2 games from their offensive line last year, according to Football Outsiders’ adjusted games lost metric, the most of any team this century. After showing some bright spots during a 5-0 start to the 2016 campaign, the offense cratered, failing to hit 20 points in seven of its final 11 games. General manager Rick Spielman spent most of his resources this offseason remaking the offensive line. Tackles Riley Reiff and Mike Remmers both secured sizable deals in free agency, and the front office spent its third-round pick on Ohio State center Pat Elflein. With three new starters installed, Minnesota has found a combination that both works and has stayed relatively healthy. (Remmers missed his first start of the season in Week 10 with a concussion.)

The line has provided the rest of Minnesota’s offense with an opportunity to function, and that’s allowed some of the unit’s skill players to prove how special they truly are.