Pro Football Focus sees improved Minnesota Vikings offensive line

The offensive line of the Minnesota Vikings was quite disappointing in 2018 and Pro Football Focus likes some of the things the team did this offseason.

Last season didn’t go the way the Minnesota Vikings hoped it would. Struggles offensively led to the team being unable to control the time of possession of a game, going from third best at 32:07 in 2017 to 24th at 29:10 in 2018 according to Team Rankings.

A big part for that struggle came due to the offensive line. Injuries and disappointing play from some of the linemen resulted in a struggling run game and difficulty protecting quarterback Kirk Cousins.

After Week 17 of the 2018 season, Pro Football Focus ranked the offensive line of the Minnesota Minnesota near the bottom of the barrel, putting them at 29th and placing much of the blame on the interior of the line.

The Vikings went out to fix that problem this offseason. They made a financial investment by signing free agent guard Josh Kline and made getting linemen a focus of the 2019 NFL Draft by selecting center Garrett Bradbury, guard Dru Samia, and tackle Olisaemeka Udoh.

Minnesota’s plan: plug Bradbury in at center and shift Pat Elflein over to left guard, leaving the right guard position open for competition between Kline and Samia. Plus, the Vikings best offensive lineman from last year, Riley Reiff, will be bookended by impressive rookie Brian O’Neill, who should continue to improve into his sophomore NFL year.

Still, those changes aren’t going to change a lot of people’s minds on the unit until they prove they can play as a cohesive unit. Pro Football Focus does think the group has the potential to be better, but hasn’t quite bought in.

According to a recent ranking of NFL offensive lines released by PFF, the Vikings have moved up to 25th. They praised some of the moves the team made this offseason, predicting Kline to win the right guard battle.

Here is what they had to say:

"“Taking Bradbury in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft opened a lot of doors for the Minnesota Vikings, including pushing Pat Elflein out to guard — where he earned his highest season grade at Ohio State. Returning tackles Riley Reiff and Brian O’Neill will need to step it up, though, with the NFC North edge defender group getting even stronger this offseason.”"

Not only will the Minnesota Vikings need to be able to pass protect better, but they will need to open run lanes to keep the offense on the field and give the defense a rest. Time of possession and efficiency will be the key to a successful season in 2019 and it all starts with the big men up front wearing purple and gold.