Garrett Bradbury getting first OTA looks at center for Minnesota Vikings

(Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) Garrett Bradbury
(Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) Garrett Bradbury

As many fans and experts have expected, first-round draft pick Garrett Bradbury is working at center for the Minnesota Vikings at OTAs.

When the Minnesota Vikings drafted Garrett Bradbury at number 18 overall in the 2019 NFL Draft, it created an interesting situation where two high draft picks would both be able to fill the center position for the team going forward.

For the last two seasons, that job has gone to Pat Elflein, who was part of the All-Rookie Team in 2017. It looked like he was going to lock down that spot on a long-term basis, but a struggling 2018 season saw an opportunity for the team to go in a different direction.

When the best offensive lineman available for Minnesota in the 2019 NFL Draft happened to be a center, the Vikings didn’t hesitate to pick him. He was just too good of a fit for the team to pass up considering their passion for fixing the offensive line.

However, a team can’t have two starting centers. The question of whether Bradbury or Elflein would be snapping Kirk Cousins the ball during the 2019 season had to be asked.

Now that OTAs have started and things are getting figured out, questions can be answered. Recently the Star Tribune shared an article discussing things at OTAs and pointed out that Bradbury is getting the first-team snaps at center.

That means Pat Elflein is sliding over to guard at OTAs, where he played most of his time in college. This should help him to be more effective as well as secure a position where there was a lot of disappointing play last season. Elflein has been bulking up as well, something that will help him at guard.

Fans shouldn’t be surprised one bit if this is the configuration for the team going forward. The Minnesota Vikings want to be able to protect Kirk Cousins as well as establish a run game this season, and this placement of Bradbury and Elflein gives the best chance for success.

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