The Minnesota Vikings did not impress the rest of the league a season ago despite managing to sign former Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins via free agency. While Cousins was believed to be the missing piece to the puzzle in Minnesota, the Vikings offensive line did not hold up its end of the bargain — nor has it for quite some time.
As Arif Hasan of The Athletic points out, the Vikings have had some major issues while attempting to solidify the team's offensive line.
“The Vikings have dealt with offensive line problems since 2010, ranking above 15th just once in the Pro Football Focus pass-blocking grade in that span and 20th or worse every year since 2014. Despite repeated investments in the offensive line, the Vikings still haven’t figured out how to solidify the position group.”
However, the Vikings once again looked toward the NFL Draft to help bolster the team's unit up front. In the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft, the Vikings notably selected former North Carolina State interior offensive lineman Garrett Bradbury.
“Bradbury's body control, core strength, movement skills and intelligence check very important boxes for teams looking for immediate center help,” reads Bradbury's 2019 NFL Draft profile on NFL.com. “His pass-pro tape against Clemson proves he can hold his own against a variety of pass-rush flavors while his strength and athleticism make him scheme flexible. He is a candidate to become an early and long-time starter in the league.”
The Vikings finished the 2018-19 regular season at a nearly even 8-7-1.