Christian Darrisaw Receives ‘A-’ Grade for…

We’re just about at the midway point of the 2021 season, which means CBS Sports’ Chris Trapasso rolled out his rookie grades for all first-round picks.

Trapasso assessed each rookie selected in the 2021 NFL Draft. He spoke highly of left tackle Christian Darrisaw, whom the Vikings drafted 23rd overall, giving him an “A-minus.” The former Virginia Tech standout missed most of Minnesota’s offseason training program, as well as the first four games of the season, so a lot of question marks remained when he made his first career start against the Panthers. So far, though, he’s silenced any uncertainty. Trapasso wrote:

It was a long road for Darrisaw to see the field – a groin injury kept him off the field until Week 5. And he was worth the wait for the Vikings. Believe me. He’s allowed just three quarterback pressures against the likes of Brian Burns and Randy Gregory on 183 pass-blocking snaps, and many of his wins have looked effortless, just like they did at Virginia Tech.

Darrisaw has experienced some problems on super-speedy outside rushes, but he’s been ready for everything else. Maybe most importantly, Darrisaw has handled those pure power bull-rush situations, plays where most rookies have major problems.

Since the Vikings are playing the Ravens this weekend, let’s also take a look at Trapasso’s evaluation of Baltimore’s first-round pick. The Ravens selected former Golden Gophers receiver Rashod Bateman 27th overall. Bateman received a “B-minus.”

An injury kept Bateman on the shelf until Week 6, and the early returns have been encouraging, which is big news for Lamar Jackson and the Ravens passing offense. Before Baltimore’s bye in Week 8, Bateman demonstrated his deceptive field-stretching skills with 80 yards on three grabs against the Bengals.

This grade could fluctuate quite a bit down the stretch of Bateman’s rookie year, when he’s bound to be a central part of what Baltimore tries to do through the air.