Dakota Dozier – LG
The Vikings’ offensive line was once again a problem in 2020. They were pretty solid on the outsides with Brian O’Neill and a resurgent Riley Reiff bookending, but the interior was very porous. The biggest offender on this substandard offensive line was left guard Dakota Dozier.
Dozier has been awful all season, but his horrible play was being masked early in the year due to the disaster occurring on the right side. Pat Elflein struggled badly in Week 1, and his replacement Dru Samia was even worse. This took the spotlight away from Dozier, but after Ezra Cleveland stepped in at right guard, Dozier was clearly the weakest link on this unit.
Dozier was overpowered, outmatched, and just not quick enough to gain an advantage over the man he was blocking. He drew his fair share of penalties on the season, racking up four holding calls and four false starts. A few times, it also appeared that Dozier was confused and would come charging at Cousins, even bringing him to the ground. His play was truly baffling.
Why the coaching staff never made a change here was mind-boggling. They had to know nothing would change with this guy but rolled him out week after week. Dozier’s play was far below average and that was very disappointing.