Without left tackle Christian Darrisaw, the Minnesota Vikings have been playing third-year pro Blake Brandel at the position. He has done a very serviceable job over the three games he has seen extensive playing time, but has it been enough?
During pregame warmups, Oli Udoh was seen rotating in with the first-team offensive line with Brandel.
Blake Brandel got the initial reps at left tackle during warmups here — as expected — but Oli Udoh is rotating with the starters as well. Coach Kevin O'Connell said Friday that Udoh could get some reps while the Vikings patch things together until Christian Darrisaw returns.
— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) December 4, 2022
We should have seen this potential coming. As Seifert mentioned, O’Connell said that this was a possibility during his Friday press conference.
“Blake will be in there to start, but we’ve had Oli take some reps and be ready as well. Oli gives us a great option as a true swing guy on either side and then allows our interior depth to stay where we want it to be and just keep on letting Blake build on some of the thing he’s been able to do. I thought he played a really solid game on Thursday on a short week against a really good front, and we’re going to need that same kind of effort against this crew. They’re one of the best in our league.”
Udoh has some experience playing left tackle but does have some better quickness and foot speed than Brandel. Watching how the Vikings rotate in Udoh will be fascinating during Sunday’s game.
