The Minnesota Vikings have been struggling to find a quality offensive line since the days of Brad Childress.
When he took over the Vikings in 2006, he correctly identified that the trenches needed a massive upgrade and then spent his first four years doing just that. His mission ended up leading the Vikings to the NFC Championship Game against Sunday’s opponent New Orleans Saints in 2009.
The Vikings have struggled to fix the line ever since the departure of Steve Hutchinson in 2011. In his parting gift to the current rendition of the Vikings, former general manager Rick Spielman selected Christian Darrisaw. His results this season, along with his running mate Brian O’Neill have been nothing short of impressive.
ESPN has two offensive line metrics: run block win rate and pass block win rate. Both players have a great score on one of them.
I hope people are also paying attention to what Vikings RT Brian O'Neill is doing. He currently has the NFL's best Pass Block Win Rate (96.6%), based on ESPN's formula.
Not taking anything from Darrisaw. Just (deservedly) adding O'Neill to the discussion.
— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) September 26, 2022
With the Vikings offensive line showing improvement this season, a lot of that credit goes to Darrisaw and O’Neill.
