The Minnesota Vikings reported to OTAs on Monday, and the excitement is palpable, especially with second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy ready to take control of the franchise. We got to hear from multiple players on Tuesday, including running back Aaron Jones and safety Harrison Smith.
The main event was the media getting to hear from head coach Kevin O'Connell, who gave us a lot of interesting quotes about the status of the roster.
Christian Darrisaw's health could shift Vikings draft strategy
The Vikings NFL Draft strategy is an interesting one heading into Thursday afternoon. Will they end up prioritizing the interior of the offensive line like many have predicted? One reason why that might be the priority is the health of left tackle Christian Darrisaw, who ended up missing the second half of the year with a torn ACL and MCL.
O'Connell was asked about Darrisaw's status, and his comments were overwhelmingly positive.
"Christian has absolutely knocked it out of the park so far, working alongside our staff here, he's had a really, really good off-season up until this point. The latest update I got, he's lifting, he's running, he's doing things that are depending on timelines and all those things. You know, I've long since told you guys what diplomas I don't have on the wall, besides my one from San Diego, state that I'm very proud of a medical degree is not one of them, but the player that I see right now, and the player that I know his teammates came back to see today, people were pretty excited about where he's at now. It's just a matter of maintaining and he's had such a professional focus really, from day one. He's just had such a good attitude about attacking it, knowing exactly what he is and who he is as a player and and working his way right back to that, that place and beyond. So feel really good about that."
Knowing that Darrisaw is significantly closer to being healthy is a great thing for the Vikings. His timeline could line up with him being ready for week one, which would be massive going into the season.
Right now, Blake Brandel is set to return as the starting left guard, but is that the right move for the Vikings? Well, the splits with and without Darrisaw send a strong signal that he could be just fine in 2025.
Things looked really good for Brandel to start the season. He was destroying players early and often. He wasn't charted with a single pressure in the first two weeks and six in the first six games when Darrisaw was healthy. Against the Rams, Brandel struggled before and after Darrisaw was injured with four pressures allowed.
In every game without Darrisaw (the last 10), Brandel has been majorly inconsistent. He's allowed 31 pressures over the last 10 games, including a gaudy eight against the Lions. Brandel has struggled in many ways over the last 10 games, especially with stunts and players beating him with inside moves. Those elements are huge in pressuring Darnold.
Is that something worth committing a first-round pick towards? That's up for interpretation, but with the words from Adofo-Mensah about grabbing impactful players tell me that it won't be an interior offensive lineman. Not having to worry about Darrisaw's health is a big deal when projecting this team forward.
Thursday will be an interesting one, and one that will shape the Vikings for the next few years.
