There is no denying reality. The (5-2) Minnesota Vikings do not have any great options at left tackle. They certainly do not have any more Christian Darrisaws lying around TCO Performance Center in Eagan, that’s for sure.
Yet, it is very possible the Vikings do stick with an in-house option, to try and replace one of the best offensive tackles in all of football. And if they decide to go that route, Blake Brandel — who currently plays left guard — sliding one spot over makes the most sense.
Why Brandel? According to PFF, Blake has played 926 offensive snaps in his NFL career. 273 of those reps have been at left tackle. Before he was drafted by Minnesota in the 6th round of the 2020 draft, Brandel attended Oregon State University from 2016 to 2019, where he logged a total of 3,320 snaps on the offensive line, all as a tackle. The former Beaver played 2,711 snaps from the left side, 597 at right tackle (all as a freshman).
Blake Brandel, Minnesota Vikings still figuring out plan at left tackler
While there have been plenty of rumors connecting the Vikings to various left tackles, in both free agency and on the trade block, Blake Brandel met with reporters on Friday and all but admitted the decisions happening on the offensive line are fluid, but a lot of things are being discussed.
A couple of things appear quite obvious, given Brandel’s answer to the questions surrounding whether or not the Minnesota Vikings have talked to him about moving over to left tackle. He’d do whatever asked. But it sounds like he wants to play left guard.
And you can’t blame the guy. He has been going much of his NFL career as a backup. Now, he seems to have finally mastered a position, with left guard. If I were Blake Brandel, I wouldn’t want to let Dalton Risner slide into my starting spot at left guard, while I replace one of the best offensive tackles in the league, and look like a shell of the guy I did when Darrisaw was healthy.
It is worth noting that there isn’t a very big difference in Brandel’s PFF grades, when he has played tackle in the NFL, vs guard. In 2022, when he logged those 275 snaps at left tackle, the former Beaver graded at pretty much the exact same thing he did in 2023, when all 163 of his snaps came at RG. 2024 is his real first blow up year, according to Pro Football Focus.
| Blake Brandel |
Snaps | PFF OFF | PFF RBLK |
PFF PBLK |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 423 (LG) | 64.9 | 69.0 | 65.9 |
| 2023 | 163 (RG) | 55.1 | 63.8 | 52.2 |
| 2022 | 273 (LT) | 55.3 | 61.2 | 55.0 |
