7 best moves of the Minnesota Vikings 2021 offseason

Using early-round draft picks to improve the offensive line

For just about every year in which Rick Spielman has been the general manager of the Vikings (since 2012), the team has needed to make some sort of attempt at improving their offensive line during the offseason.

This was the case, once again, this year after the unit had another underwhelming performance for Minnesota last season. Combine this with the Vikings’ decision to release Riley Reiff and they headed into the 2021 NFL Draft with at least two open spots on their starting offensive line.

To the surprise of some, Minnesota potentially filled these two openings within the first three rounds of the draft.

First, the Vikings used their top pick on former Virginia Tech left tackle Christian Darrisaw. He’s expected to start from Day 1 for Minnesota and it shouldn’t take long for him to be an upgrade over Reiff.

Then in the third round, the Vikings had former Ohio State guard Wyatt Davis fall into their laps. A two-time All-American in college, Davis could see some starting action as a rookie next season, and most expect him to be a permanent fixture in the starting lineup by 2022 at the latest.

Despite the unit’s recent struggles, Minnesota can’t be criticized for not investing early draft capital in their offensive line. With this year’s selections, the Vikings have now used a pick from the first three rounds of the draft on an offensive lineman six times since 2017.