Dalton Risner could be part of Vikings plan to replace Christian Darrisaw
By Adam Patrick
On Friday, the Minnesota Vikings shared the incredibly disappointing news that left tackle Christian Darrisaw is done for the season as he needs to undergo surgery to repair a knee injury that he suffered in the team's loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday.
While Darrisaw prepares for surgery, the Vikings still have more than half of a season to finish, and they don't have much time to figure out who is going to start at left tackle before they return to the field in Week 9 to take on the Indianapolis Colts.
Minnesota could potentially search outside of its organization for a replacement for Darrisaw, but it's also possible that the team decides to just utilize some of their current players to help solve their new problem at left tackle.
Dalton Risner included in possible solution for Minnesota Vikings to replace Christian Darrisaw
As the Vikings attempt to figure out how to replace such a massive piece of their offense, The Athletic's Alec Lewis recently shared an idea that involves two offensive linemen who are already members of the team.
Lewis suggested that Minnesota could shift current starting left guard, Blake Brandel, over to left tackle, and Dalton Risner could take over the starting job at left guard. It might seem like an odd idea at first, but it's actually one of the few scenarios that could legitimately play out.
Before landing the starting left guard job this season, Brandel spent his first four years with the Vikings as an offensive tackle. During his final college season at Oregon State in 2019, he started 12 games at left tackle, and he finished with the highest PFF pass-blocking grade among all qualifying FBS offensive tackles.
Then when it comes to Risner, who is still waiting to be removed from the team's injured reserve list and added to the active roster, he's only started at left guard during his NFL career. So, instead of having him try a new position at right guard as a replacement for Ed Ingram, Minnesota can just keep him in the spot where he's the most comfortable.
The Vikings could also just keep Brandel at left guard and give reserve offensive lineman David Quessenberry the opportunity to be the team's new starting left tackle. However, Quessenberry did not play well at all when he replaced Darrisaw at left tackle in the second half of Minnesota's loss to the Rams on Thursday.
So, the Vikings have several paths they can take to pick a new starting left tackle for the rest of the season. Hopefully, Minnesota's first choice is one that ends up working out, but this is something that has the potential of being a problem for the team for the rest of the 2024 campaign.