2021 Offensive Line Discussion

The Minnesota Vikings’ offensive line has gone through several changes over the season. First, Rashod Hill got himself outright benched for Christian Darrisaw. After a stint on COVID-19/IR, Garrett Bradbury lost the starting center job to Mason Cole. Just as that began to gel, Darrisaw hurt his ankle and has been out ever since. Oli Udoh moved from right guard to left tackle to replace him. Cole shifted to right guard, and Bradbury took the center job back over.

Udoh has struggled, but the interior of Ezra Cleveland, Garrett Bradbury, and Mason Cole is thriving. In the last two games against the Detroit Lions and Pittsburgh Steelers, that interior has been more of an asset than a liability. The three of them all had major issues to sift through and have made progress this season. We’ve only seen this combination for two games against relatively weak interior defensive lines (Cam Heyward excepted). But if we look closely at each player, we can see apparent changes regardless of the opponent.

COMBINING THE THREE
At all three positions, better play compounds on itself. With Cleveland playing more aggressively, his combination blocks with Bradbury become more formidable. Cole’s quicker hands allow him to combine with the linemen on either side of him as well. A combination block starts as a double team on one lineman, then the two separate. One lineman climbs to the second level, and the other has to finish off the original block, often having to execute a reach block.

To execute these, everyone must be on the same page, and nobody can pull a punch. The result looks a lot like what we saw Thursday night against the Steelers. Giant creases, no tackle opportunities, and an explosive day of fantasy football for Dalvin Cook or anyone else

The long-standing bugaboo for the Vikings was actually a strength. At least for one game. Of course, we must respect the caveat that these improvements won’t continue. Rashod Hill improved his footwork, only to regress back into old habits to begin this season. It happens, and there’s no way for us to know if it will happen this time. It’s at least nice to see steady progress. Few things in football are prettier than the big uglies kicking ass. It’s nice to be on the right end of that for once.