2018 Season Preview: How good can the Minnesota Vikings’ offense be?

Is the offensive line a championship hurdle?

When the Vikings took on the New Orleans Saints in their opening game last season, it was the first time that Minnesota’s five starters on the offensive line had ever taken the field together at the same time.

All the group of Riley Reiff, Nick Easton, Pat Elflein, Joe Berger, and Mike Remmers went out and did was give up just one sack and help the Vikings rush for a total of 129 yards during the team’s win over the Saints.

For the 2018 season opener, Minnesota is going to be rolling out another different combination of starting offensive linemen.

The Vikings could possibly have three new starters when they take on the San Francisco 49ers next Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium. Due to injuries and Berger retiring, Reiff and Remmers are expected to be joined by Tom Compton, Rashod Hill, and either Brett Jones or Danny Isidora.

Throw in the fact that the unit was already dealing with the unfortunate passing of former offensive line coach Tony Sparano in July and this all seems like a pretty valid recipe for disaster.

But Minnesota head coach Mike Zimmer has been here before. He’s dealt with tragedy in his career and he’s dealt with uncertainty on the offensive line during his tenure with the Vikings.

Minnesota Vikings

Despite these hurdles, Zimmer has still been able to find success.

This year, the Minnesota head coach has a new offensive coordinator in John DeFilippo that he hopes will find ways to work around the offensive line’s weaknesses. To do this, DeFilippo has number of different options to turn to thanks to the talented skill players the Vikings’ offense is currently full of.

By getting the ball out quickly to some of his offense’s most talented performers, the deficiencies of Minnesota’s offensive line can be hidden pretty well.

At the same time though, who is to say that the Vikings’ offensive line cannot be successful in 2018? Minnesota’s offense did pretty well last season with a group of no-namers blocking for them up front, so why can’t they do it again this year?

The performance of the Vikings’ offensive line is certainly going to be a factor in how successful the team can be in 2018. But is the play of the unit going to be what determines if Minnesota makes it to the Super Bowl or not this season?

Not quite, especially when considering that Zimmer is still the guy leading the Vikings’ charge toward a championship.