This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. If they weren’t a big factor, he may be a bust or at least much more of a project than a 3rd round draft pick should be. This coming off/pre-season may help define his best position, but it may be inside at guard. Rotowire Sep 6, 2020. He is a restricted free agent now, and perhaps a guy the Vikings may want to extend another season.He’s not quite the backup tackle you want, and I’m not sure he’ll get much better at this point (better coaching gives him a chance), but given the alternatives on the roster he deserves a chance to compete for the swing tackle job. ©2020 FOX Television Stations,Vikings punter Britton Colquitt sits down with Paul Allen,Stefon Diggs talks frustations amid trade rumors,Vikings' Kirk Cousins wants to 'make amends' after bad loss in Green Bay,Vikings 0-2 for first time under Mike Zimmer after 28-11 loss to Colts,Vikings get first taste of road life under strict COVID-19 protocols Sunday at Colts,Vikings offensive lineman Pat Elflein out at least 3 games after being placed on IR,Vikings DE Yannick Ngakoue vows for better Week 2 after quiet debut,Vikings reunite with Xavier Rhodes Sunday at Indianapolis,Vikings seek to learn from mistakes in 43-34 loss to Packers,'I know how much Minnesota values me': Vikings RB Dalvin Cook on contract extension,NFL reminds teams to follow sideline rules on face coverings,Vikings give up 522 yards, 5 TDs in 43-34 loss to Packers without fans at U.S. Bank Stadium,Fans, businesses looking for normal amidst most abnormal Vikings game day in Minneapolis,Packers 'stand united for social justice,' stay in locker room for anthem,MPR parts ways with The Current DJ one day after MPR News reporter's resignation,Armed residents confront COVID-19 testing team in Minnesota,How Ginsburg's death could reshape the presidential campaign,Trump to Senate: Vote 'without delay' on his SCOTUS pick,1 dead after crash involving motorcycle in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.
Jones also earned much better grades than Elflein last season with the Giants.So, with that lead-in, let’s evaluate the Vikings offensive linemen and coaching.After the death of Tony Sparano, the Vikings went with Assistant OL Coach Andrew Janocko and TE Coach Clancy Barone as co-OL Coaches. Osborn made Minnesota's 53-man roster, The Athletic reports. He needs to get stronger and improve his anchor. That could leave Pat Elflein, Nick Easton, Brett Jones and.Or maybe the Vikings could trade for a center (or guard) as well.But given the depth at other positions, and age of starters, the Vikings could make a concentrated effort in the draft to improve the weakest position group on the team for the past several years - offensive line.But just focusing on the offensive line in the draft will not be enough. The first was that he was overpowered and had difficulty sustaining blocks; the second was he lost the hand fighting which led to defenders getting past him; and third he sometimes didn’t block the right guy, letting a defender by him unchecked.At his best Elflein did well helping out on double-teams in pass protection; staying low and moving a defender in zone blocking; or getting a nice open field block at the second-level. I’m not sure Elflein has demonstrated the leadership the Vikings are looking for among offensive linemen, which starts by leading by example.Is Elflein a bust? From all the positions he was tried at, he looks to be either a swing tackle or possibly a starting guard. I’m not sure what the exact natures of Elflein’s injuries were (other than shoulder and ankle), but it seemed like a long time to be out, and there didn’t seem to be much urgency with Elflein to get back into active status.In any case, Elflein struggled all season. But the Vikings salary cap situation is tight, so whether they extend Hill or not may come down to that, and available alternatives.Aviante Collins broke his arm late in training camp, which sidelined him for the season. Maybe. It was another bad season for the Vikings offensive line. If so, he still has a lot of work to do to get healthy, stronger, improve his technique and attitude on the field. Get exclusive videos, pictures, bios and check out more of your favorite moments from seasons past. In 2017-18, Remmers allowed 27 pressures and no sacks at (mostly) right tackle - on about 240 fewer pass blocking snaps.Worse, Remmers’ run blocking grade by PFF was his worst since he started in the league.His failure to make it at right guard, combined with his salary cap number, and the fact that he’s not needed at right tackle anymore, should be enough for the Vikings to part ways with Remmers this off-season, which would save $4.55 million in cap space, while creating $1.8 million in dead cap. He needs to improve his hand technique. And there is no guarantee he gets there. Catch up on season 4 of Vikings, only on HISTORY'. He got back to playing at about his career average performance level (which is about average), and was one of the most consistent linemen as well. To learn more or opt-out, read our,In terms of individual starters along the offensive line, only.Vikings OL coach Tony Sparano suffered a fatal heart attack just before training camp, leaving assistant OL coach Andrew Janocko and TE coach Clancy Barone to take over as co-OL coaches. He didn’t have many poor games (although 12 of his 42 pressures allowed came against Buffalo). Mid-way through the season O’Neill overtook Hill and became the starter, and looks like he will continue to improve with another full off/pre-season to work on his game and build strength.There is some possibility that O’Neill could eventually move to left tackle (and have Reiff move back to the right side) as O’Neill has better length and athleticism than Reiff, if he can improve his technique.But at either tackle spot, O’Neill looks to be a keeper and a good draft pick. But these were not as frequent as you’d hope, and he was not a guy that ever dominated an opponent - or showed the tenacity or mean streak to finish blocks consistently.Bottom line, Pat Elflein has a lot of work to do to improve his game. Before that, however, he was getting plenty of attention from the coaching staff - and at every position but center. The Vikings coaching staff will know more about the extent of his injuries and to what extent they were a factor in his regression this season. And he needs to improve his awareness. He has alternated between OL coach and TE coach, but has had a hard time holding onto either position for more than a couple years since becoming an NFL coach in 2004. He had a number of good games in pass protection (SF, Buffalo, Philly, AZ.Overall he gave up 35 pressures on the season, including 7 sacks, and had 7 penalties. No offense to Janocko, but he’s a young guy that could use a few more seasons as an assistant OL coach before being really ready to be the position coach.Clancy Barone had been an offensive line coach before with a couple teams, but never for very long. Eight of those years since he’s been a TE coach, and that may be the better spot for him.