Minnesota Vikings 2021 first-round draft pick, Christian Darrisaw, made his long-awaited first start in Week 6, and he did not disappoint.
Against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, rookie left tackle Christian Darrisaw made his first career start for the Minnesota Vikings.
Darrisaw had the tough task of blocking a Panthers defense that ranked among the best in the NFL in several categories (sacks, points, yards allowed). He came through his first task with flying colors and showed signs that he should only get better as the 2021 season progresses.
Darrisaw stepped in Minnesota‘s starting lineup on Sunday and he looked comfortable right away. A Carolina team that came into the matchup with the fifth-most sacks in the NFL, could only manage four pressures on Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins on 49 dropbacks.
Darrisaw allowed no sacks and only one pressure on his 52 pass-blocking snaps in his first start. More than anything else it was a breath of fresh air for Minnesota fans for the team to have a young rookie left tackle come in and actually look good.
Of there were some mistakes, with regards to awareness and a mental error or two, but Darrisaw was almost flawless in his first NFL start.
Minnesota Vikings rookie Christian Darrisaw still has room for improvement
Although Darrisaw only gave up one pressure officially, these numbers were helped by how quickly Cousins was getting rid of the ball on Sunday.
There were still a couple of occasions that Darrisaw was looking likely to get beat upfield because he got off the ball a little slowly, allowing the defensive end to beat him outside.
These are things that will most certainly get cleaned up by the time the Vikings return from their bye in Week 7. There is a lot to be happy with regarding Darrisaw and no one should be happier about the rookie performing well in his starting debut than Cousins.