Vikings pick center Garrett Bradbury at 18 overall in the 2019 NFL Draft

The Minnesota Vikings improved their offensive line at the 2019 NFL Draft by selecting North Carolina State center Garrett Bradbury with pick 18 overall.

Going into the 2019 NFL Draft, there were quite a few different ways the Minnesota Vikings could have gone with their first-round pick. With several spots on the roster in need of an upgrade, there were multiple positions the team could pick.

The most obvious need was the offensive line with rumblings that a tight end, cornerback, defensive tackle, or other position may be selected when the purple and gold were on the clock on Apr. 25, 2019.

The Minnesota Vikings made their decision by selecting North Carolina State center Garrett Bradbury at number 18 overall, fortifying the interior of their offensive line. Here is the announcement from the official Vikings Twitter account:

This move does open up some options for Minnesota. They may be able to move Pat Elflein to guard and plug Bradbury in at center or possibly vice versa, but this does confirm that the team is still looking to keep Riley Reiff at left tackle.

Bradbury should be a huge asset in both the run blocking and pass protection aspects of the Vikings offense, adding some stability where they used to have some weaknesses on the interior of the offensive line.

While there were other offensive line options on the board when Minnesota was on the clock, you can’t fault the team for making the smart move to do what they can to help out a struggling offense which looked quite rough at times during the 2018 NFL season.

Congratulations to Garrett Bradbury on becoming the newest member of the Minnesota Vikings and hopefully he can help the team return to the playoffs to make a deep run for 2019 and beyond.