The news of Christian Darrisaw’s injury is a nightmare

Offensive tackle is one of the most important positions in football. Great pass rushers who can ruin games against poor tackles have many of the best defenses (see Super Bowl 55). Over the past few seasons, the Minnesota Vikings have had plenty of holes on their roster to work on. However, since Christian Darrisaw came in 2021, offensive tackle was not one of them. Darrisaw connects with Brian O’Neill creating one of the best duos in the league.

Darrisaw was the highlight of Rick Spielman’s recent draft class with the team. He has allowed only 4.5% pressure throughout his career, often drawing the most difficult schematic assignments. Whether you leave out the PFF grades or the eye test, Darrisaw is easily one of the top five left tackles in football. Sometimes he looks like the best in the business. He is a key piece of the lineup and has played a key role in most of Minnesota’s offensive success to this point in the season.

However, following his damage it will be the Vikings on Thursday night without him for the remainder of the season. Losing a starter is always difficult, but losing someone of Darrisaw’s caliber means a significant drop in talent at the position.

If the Vikings don’t make a significant move, they will likely start David Quessenberry at left attack.

“I prepare like I’m going to start every game,” Quessenbery said.

However, there is no clarity yet on how the team will replace Darrisaw.

Other options include kicking the left back Blake Brandel to the offense, where he spent some time earlier in his career, and inserting Dalton Risner at left guard. They could also play Risner on the left wing, where he has some college experience.

“No matter what they ask me to do,” Brandel said when asked if the Vikings could move him to attack on the left wing. “I’ll do it.”

Regardless of their direction, no one will have the influence of a healthy Darrisaw.

“He is without a doubt one of our offensive pillars and one that we relied on a lot.” Kevin O’Connell – said the 25-year-old.

When Darrisaw is active, he not only maintains his position, but also provides the rest of the offensive line with additional resources. The Vikings can leave an attacker like Darrisaw on the island and move away from him to allow for double teams or to help other players attack.

“We’re all going to have to do a little bit more,” O’Connell said of Darrisaw’s absence.

Darrisaw performs incredible physical feats every game. However, his contributions often go unnoticed, especially from standard TV shots. The All-22’s focus on its representatives is absolute cinema. Darrisaw’s incredible strength allows him to gain a reputation, even when his matchup may provide an advantage. Watching his “grab” technique is like a matador being another bull with a red flag.

The Vikings will also miss him in the running game. Darrisaw finishes blocks ruthlessly and is elite when attacking. He has the athleticism and football cunning to fly into space to track down and neutralize potential attackers. This season in particular, the double teams he combined with Brandel in the running game were inventive.

Quessenbery can be a solid blocker and we’ve seen something like that this season. But from an athletic standpoint, you simply can’t teach what Darrisaw does as a pass blocker.

In addition to his physical acumen, his O-line teammates spoke enthusiastically about Darrisaw’s approach to the game and preparation.

“He is able to understand it at a high level,” said the right-back Ed Ingram Darrisaw’s ability to analyze his opponent’s film. “His level of consciousness is off the charts.”

“He focuses on the little things every day,” Brandel said when asked what he learned from Darrisaw. “His approach, his preparation, I learned a lot from that.”

Many offensive linemen who know the type of person Darrisaw is are emphasizing their confidence that “CD” will come back even stronger from this injury.

In the meantime, offensive coordinator Wes Phillips, head coach Kevin O’Connell and the rest of the offensive staff will have to find a way to get stronger. Sam Darnoldblind side in Darrisaw’s absence. Whether it’s chip help at the tight end, running back on that end, or more six- and seven-man safeties, something is going to have to change. The offense will be forced to rely more on O’Neill, who will go one-on-one in pass protection to stop Ingram and Garrett Bradbury insulated against strong internal bars.

Perhaps this will force O’Connell to use more quick route concepts to get the ball out quicker. While the O-line gave up a lot of pressure, the Vikings took advantage of the fact that they had two tackles on the books by calling an excessive number long developing conveying concepts. O’Connell will have to pick his spots, firing deep shots forward, and whoever takes over on the left wing will have plenty of room to play.