The Vikings likely to beef up their offensive line in NFL free agency

Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell emerged from January’s playoff loss to the Rams knowing there was an obvious weakness in his offense exploited by Los Angeles. The rest of the world could tell, too, after quarterback Sam Darnold was sacked over and over and over — an NFL playoff record-tying nine times.

That feeling has not changed for O’Connell during six weeks of evaluations spent between the team’s playoff loss and the recent NFL scouting combine.

The Vikings offensive line, specifically the interior, needs to improve.

“We need to be able to have a level of execution and a level of physicality that holds up over 17 games,” O’Connell said Feb. 25 in Indianapolis. “Then as we learned this year, we have to find a way to — after playing really well in December, which was a goal of ours — we have to find a way to get in the dance and put our best foot forward in January.”

The Vikings can begin beefing up the offensive line starting at 11 a.m. on Monday, when unrestricted free agents can legally negotiate and agree to terms with other NFL teams. And their needs seemingly align well with strong O-line talent available in both free agency and April’s NFL draft.

Internally, the Vikings have only one contributor, guard Dalton Risner, scheduled to be a free agent. But the team has financial flexibility to move on from center Garrett Bradbury and guard Ed Ingram, as they’re out of guaranteed money in their contracts. Coaches benched Ingram last year, while Bradbury has started 88 of 100 possible games since he was drafted in 2019’s first round.

If Bradbury stays, it’s unlikely the Vikings would pursue free-agent centers like the Falcons' Drew Dalman or the Packers' Josh Myers.

But Minnesota could find two new starting guards from a decent free-agent class despite the top guard, Trey Smith, getting a $23 million franchise tag to stay with the Chiefs.

Good blocking isn’t cheap. And the Vikings will have to pay up should they want to land relatively young starters like the Colts' Will Fries, the Bears' Teven Jenkins or the 49ers' Aaron Banks. Aging starters like the Lions' Kevin Zeitler and the Jaguars' Brandon Scherff may come at a cheaper price.

The Vikings need both better pass protectors and better run blockers inside.

O’Connell said there’s “no doubt” the Vikings need to run the ball more consistently. They could use home-run speed from the backfield, but they also need finishing power upfront.

Over the last two seasons, only the New York Jets have fewer rushing touchdowns than the Vikings' 16.

“We improved a little bit in regards to like short yardage,” O’Connell said, “but red zone running: it’s about moving people, it’s about blocking people. It’s about how many blades of grass can you have before contact, limiting the negatives so that you can stack some more run opportunities on top of each other before you finally hit your head on the goal post.”

This year’s NFL draft is also considered to have many options for teams needing interior offensive line help, according to O’Connell and NFL Media draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah, who listed five blockers, including North Dakota State’s Grey Zabel, among his top 50 prospects.

“I’m in the very initial stages of getting to know this year’s group,” O’Connell said, “but I can tell you there’s a lot of versatility.”

Jeremiah said Zabel, the Bison tackle who projects as an NFL guard, is a first-round option for a team like the Vikings at No. 24 overall. Missouri’s Armand Membou, Texas' Kelvin Banks Jr. and Ohio State’s Donovan Jackson are also getting early-round hype as possible NFL guards.

“The fact that it is, I believe, a deep draft at the position is an exciting thing,” O’Connell said, “and knowing that as we get into the evaluations, it’s about finding the players that meet the criteria: smart, tough, love football. Then you look at your scheme and where you want to evolve to and how they fit into that. But I’m excited to get to know these guys.”

The one reinforcement the Vikings are banking on is left tackle Christian Darrisaw, who went down in October with two torn ligaments in his left knee.

“It was a huge loss for a lot of aspects of our play style,” O’Connell said, “[and] what we really wanted to play like. … We were able to overcome it, but I’ll very much be looking forward to getting C.D. back. The rehab process, he’s absolutely killing it every step of the way. So, I look forward to seeing how this spring and summer go and get him ready to roll for 2025.”

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