How to fix the Vikings’ offensive line with their current roster

Using Young Players

Sure the Vikings will probably draft some fresh offensive lineman later this year. But they do already have some young guys on the roster who have potential and could be of some help in 2019.

Danny Isidora was a backup last season and Minnesota signed guys like Cornelius Edison, Adam Bisnowaty, and Storm Norton to future/reserves contracts.

Is it likely one of these guys emerges as a starter for the Vikings next season? No, but it has happened before. Sometimes it takes a player a year or two in the NFL for the light to come on.

Maybe one of these guys figures it out, shows well in OTAs and in camp, and works his way into a Minnesota’s starting lineup for a game in 2019.

Of the ones listed above, Edison has the best chance. That guy flashed in the preseason and many were surprised when he didn’t make the Vikings final 53-man roster. He could be a swing type of guy who plays guard or center and at the worst case, provides quality depth.

Getting Healthy

This one is mostly directed at Pat Elflein. You don’t dominate in one season and suddenly become a turnstile in the next. I just don’t think this guy was healthy in 2018.

He had offseason surgery on his shoulder and ankle and he didn’t play with the same level of nastiness that he did during his rookie season. Elflein missed the entire 2018 preseason and that was possibly a setback that he couldn’t quite recover from.

Elflein should be expected to bounce back in 2019 and play center the way he did in 2017. If he can do that, it would be a major upgrade to Minnesota’s offensive line without even changing one position.