2021 Position Recap: Offensive Line

2 pressing questions for 2022

1.Can the Vikings reduce their number of negative run plays next season?

The Vikings run game struggled to stack positive gains and prevent negative plays that undermined possessions throughout the season.

Minnesota’s rushing yards per game dipped from 142.7 (fifth in the NFL) and 4.88 yards per run (fourth in the NFL) to 113.5 (17th) and 4.30 (19th).

The Vikings totaled 1,930 rushing yards on 449 carries, but consider the following split:

Run plays that gained 2 or fewer yards: 211

Net yardage on such plays: 17

Run plays that gained 3 or more yards: 238

Net yardage on such plays: 1,913

Minnesota totaled 66 rushes that lost between 1 and 8 yards for minus-136 yards, including two that lost 8 apiece.

2. How will big decisions affect the group?

Although the organization is undergoing significant changes after the departures of Zimmer and General Manager Rick Spielman, the Vikings offensive line will head into 2022 with Darrisaw, Cleveland and Bradbury still on their rookie deals and with O’Neill already extended.

Minnesota will need to decide by May if it picks up the fifth-year option on Bradbury, declines to do so or signs him to an extension. The Vikings also must determine if Udoh could take a leap with more time at the right guard spot, if Davis will launch or if another plan needs to be implemented.

The offensive line was led in 2021 by Phil Rauscher and assistant Ben Steele. Rauscher was promoted when Rick Dennison was excluded from being in the building because of COVID-19 protocols.

O’Neill was asked specifically about playing for Rauscher during his end-of-season press conference and said, “I’ll play football for Phil Rauscher any day, anywhere, anytime, anyplace.”

“I respect him as a coach. I respect him as a man in what he was able to do in the situation … with Rick Dennison and how Phil was able to come in and do an unbelievable job with our group,” O’Neill added. “I’m proud of the way he coached us and proud of how he grew throughout the year.

“He grew with us, and we grew with him,” O’Neill continued. “We went through the growing pains together, and I think we’re better now than at the beginning when he first got here. I think he’s going to be an o-line coach in the NFL for a long time, and I’d love to have him coach me and our guys because I know our guys in our room feel the same way.”

The retention of coaches/hiring of new ones will likely fall on Minnesota’s next head coach, but the young core of players is probably in place thanks to the ample investments of high draft picks since 2018.