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The Vikings, in learning from the past and trying to correct their course, have spent a lot of draft capital on the offensive line in recent years.
After taking just one offensive lineman in the first three rounds of the draft from 2010-16, the Vikings have picked one in the top three rounds of every subsequent draft: Pat Elflein (2017, third round), Brian O'Neill (2018, second round), Garrett Bradbury (2019, first round), Ezra Cleveland (2020, second round), Christian Darrisaw (2021, first round) and Ed Ingram (2022, second round).
Those last five picks made up the Vikings' starting offensive line for the first half of this charmed season, seemingly solidifying a longtime area of concern.
And then it started to fall apart.
Darrisaw, the left tackle, has missed time with two separate concussions and hasn't looked as dominant since returning to the lineup. Bradbury, the center, is out for now with a back injury. Ingram, the right guard, has been healthy but inconsistent. And the biggest blow came with O'Neill's calf injury against the Packers, which landed the right tackle on injured reserve Tuesday.
There's a chance the line could rally in two weeks when the Vikings open the playoffs. But there's also the chance that this might be another in a long line of Vikings seasons significantly impacted in a negative way by O-line struggles, which I talked about on Tuesday's Daily Delivery podcast.
Here's the brief but painful history:
2016: A decimated offensive line was a huge culprit in the Vikings' collapsing from a 5-0 start to an 8-8 finish.
2017: A remade line behind tackles Riley Reiff and Mike Remmers helped the Vikings to a 13-3 season. But the line was overwhelmed in a 38-7 NFC title game loss to the Eagles, including a game-changing pick-six on which Case Keenum's arm was hit as he threw.
2018: The line was overrun in a Week 17 loss to the Bears, with the Vikings mustering just 164 yards of offense in a defeat that kept them from making the playoffs.
2019: With the line playing a major role, the Vikings gained just 139 yards in a late-season loss to the Packers that eliminated any chance at the NFC North title and then gained just 147 yards in a 27-10 division round playoff loss to the 49ers.
2020 and 2021: There was blame to go around for two consecutive seasons that fell short of the playoffs, but the No. 26 offensive line in 2020 (per Pro Football Focus) and No. 23 in 2021 played a big role.
2022: TBA, but the pattern is clear and O'Neill's absence is particularly concerning.
