Can Garrett Bradbury turn things around in 2022 with the Vikings?

After a disappointing three years, Minnesota Vikings center Garrett Bradbury has a chance to resurrect his NFL career during the upcoming 2022 season.

When they selected Garrett Bradbury in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft, the Minnesota Vikings thought they were adding someone who could settle in as their starting center for the next decade.

Bradbury felt close to a sure-thing and the Vikings believed he could help an offensive line that was never consistent during the Mike Zimmer era.

Three seasons later and the selection of the former North Carolina State center seems like it was a gigantic mistake by Minnesota. Bradbury has easily been one of the worst centers in the NFL since 2019, and despite this, the Vikings still have him on track to be their starter next season.

Will the 2022 season be the last time we see Garrett Bradbury in a Minnesota Vikings uniform?

In each of the last three seasons, PFF has graded Bradbury as the 25th-best center in the league or lower. Last year he ranked 29th by PFF and they gave him the third-worst pass-blocking grade out of 37 eligible centers.

With a new coaching staff and a new general manager in the building for Minnesota this year, some thought Bradbury’s time as a starting offensive lineman with the franchise was likely over. Surprisingly, however, this hasn’t been the approach that the new regime has taken.

Instead, Bradbury has been working with the Vikings’ first-team offense during this spring’s OTA practice sessions and there doesn’t appear to be much competition for him at center. The job is basically Bradbury’s to lose.

Minnesota’s new coaching staff obviously feels as though they can utilize the 26-year-old center in a way that the old staff was unable to do. It’s a big gamble, especially since the Vikings currently don’t have a legitimate backup option if Bradbury continues to perform at a very low level next season.

There’s still a chance that Minnesota could add more competition at center before the team returns for training camp in the summer. But so far this offseason, all indications point to Bradbury beginning the 2022 campaign as the Vikings’ starting center.

Whether or not he finishes the 2022 season as Minnesota’s starting center though is the question that will be on the minds of much of the fan base.