Dru Samia – Syndication Server

A Vikings draft question: Will Minnesota address the offensive line?

The Minnesota Vikings had a guard problem this year. Do you think the team will do anything in the NFL draft?

The Vikings offense was pretty successful this season. But the team still had its flaws on that side of the ball.

One of the more glaring flaws was the interior offensive line. Dakota Dozier struggled as Minnesota’s starting left guard this year. Pat Elflein and Dru Samia both were inconsistent playing opposite to Dozier. The guard positions did not look remotely decent until Ezra Cleveland came in at right guard. Even he had his share of downsides in that role.

So, Bleacher Report attempted to answer a pretty obvious question: What will the Vikings do in the NFL draft to make sure that position group improves? Here’s what the outlet said:

“Minnesota won’t be forced to use its first-round pick to address the position, either. Once the second round rolls around, the Vikings can concentrate on their offensive interior and likely find an instant starter.

Either one of the top two guard prospects—USC’s Alijah Vera-Tucker and Ohio State’s Wyatt Davis—could be available. If not, Tennessee’s Trey Smith and Ohio State’s Josh Myers could excel in Gary Kubiak’s offense.”

I think there should be a competition for the left guard spot next season. It remains to be seen what the Vikings do with Riley Reiff’s contract, but that will probably dictate what Minnesota does with right guars Ezra Cleveland. If the team wants to move Cleveland over to tackle, the team might have find two new guards. It starts in the NFL draft.

Vikings announce G Dru Samia is out with an illness

Minnesota Vikings G Dru Samia is out with an illness and now the Vikings are pretty thin at the right guard spot.

With Ezra Cleveland stepping into the right guard role and playing well there, the Vikings ended up waiving guard Pat Elflein, the starter before getting hurt.

Elflein might not have been the starter upon returning, but now, that position group could have used the depth that Elflein would have provided had he not been released.

That’s because Dru Samia will be out for the Bears game with an illness, the team announced on Sunday.

Samia was probably not going to be a starter again this season after he struggled in the right guard role earlier. However, losing him makes that position group pretty thin.

Interior lineman Brett Jones was elevated to the Vikings’ 53-man roster, per Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press. That marks the third time the team has done that, so Jones is now signed to the 53-man team.

Earlier this week, the team announced that tight end Irv Smith Jr. would be out for the Bears game as well, due to injury.

Poll: What is the Minnesota Vikings’ biggest weakness?

If you had to pick, what is the biggest weakness on the Minnesota Vikings right now?

The Vikings, even after retooling their roster this offseason, seemed like a pretty complete team heading into 2020.

Sure, Kirk Cousins wasn’t considered an elite quarterback, but he was coming off a good year. The offense lost Stefon Diggs, but Minnesota drafted Justin Jefferson and still had Adam Thielen.

Those players and Dalvin Cook made for a decent offense. With the defense, there were some uncertainties, but Xavier Rhodes and Trae Waynes were so inconsistent in 2019, that some thought rookies could make for an upgrade.

Just six games into the season, opposing teams have revealed a variety of weaknesses on the Minnesota roster. It’s hard to choose the weakest link on a 1-5 team, but Vikings fans — if you have to — what would you say is the most glaring weakness on this team right now?

[opinary poll=”what-is-the-vikings-biggest-weakness_usa-7XflNm” customer=”usatoday]

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer talks about Dru Samia’s performance at guard

“It was really him being in bad position most of the time,” Minnesota Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said.

When Pat Elflein went on the IR, Dru Samia ended up being his replacement as the Vikings’ starting right guard.

It’s safe to say that Elflein has garnered a bad rap from plenty of Vikings fans for his performances in the past, but Samia has struggled as the fill-in.

Samia is ranked as the worst guard among qualifying candidates on PFF.

The Vikings also took three penalties on account of Samia in the loss to the Seahawks. He committed a fourth that ended up being declined. Minnesota coach Mike Zimmer recently talked about those penalties with reporters:

“It was really him being in bad position most of the time, or being over-aggressive,” Zimmer said, via Andrew Krammer of the Star Tribune. “You’ve got to keep working on being in the right position and understanding that on double teams, you can go ahead and be as aggressive as you want, but if you’re reaching a guy or cutting a guy off, you’ve got to make sure [you know] where your hands are.”

Samia was thought by many to be an eventual starter for the Vikings after the team drafted him out of Oklahoma in the fourth round. Based on these 2020 performances, it seems like he may need more time until he’s fully ready for that role.

Who will take Vikings OL Pat Elflein’s spot at right guard?

Now that Vikings guard, Pat Elflein is on IR, Minnesota OL Dru Samia will likely step up, according to a report.

The Vikings moved Pat Elflein over to right guard for this season. He played pretty well there against the Packers, but now the team will be on the search for a replacement.

Elflein has been placed on the injured reserve, meaning he’ll be out for at least three weeks. Elflein will reportedly require surgery on his thumb and is expected to be out longer than three games, per Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press.

So who will take Elflein’s place? Tomasson reported that second-year offensive lineman Dru Samia has been working with the first team in practice at right guard. Samia is expected to start on Sunday vs. the Colts, according to Tomasson.

There are also options like Ezra Cleveland, Brett Jones and Aviante Collins. Collins seems like a long shot at this point, because he’s on the practice squad still. Jones, however, has been reportedly signed to the 53-man roster.

The three most enticing Vikings training camp battles

Minnesota will have new faces vying for key positions on the team. Which training camp battle are you most looking forward to?

Yes, yes, there are training camp battles every year across the NFL. But for the Vikings, this year is different.

This is a new-look Vikings team after a mass exodus in free agency, and a big haul of rookie talent.

Younger players from previous seasons will have to step up, and first-year players could become starters in what’s gearing up to be an incredibly unconventional NFL season.

The Vikings will have at least two new starters on offense after the team traded Stefon Diggs and terminated the contract of Josh Kline.

On defense, Minnesota will have at least four new starters after Everson Griffen, Trae Waynes, Xavier Rhodes and Linval Joseph all left the team. It should be said that Griffen has yet to sign with a different NFL team.

As training camp starts up for the whole roster on July 28, there are plenty of positions up for grabs.

Here are the most enticing battles for spots next season:

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Vikings offensive line ranked 23rd by PFF

Minnesota is in the bottom half of Pro Football Focus’ offensive line rankings. Fair or foul?

Minnesota’s offensive line improved in 2019 after a system change, but now the group will have to improve again — without one of its starters.

The Vikings terminated Josh Kline’s contract this offseason. Kline started at right guard for Minnesota. Dru Samia, Dakota Dozier and others will compete for that spot.

Pro Football Focus recently compiled a rankings of all 32 offensive line units heading into 2020. The outlet put the Vikings at No. 23. Here’s what it said about the choice to do so:

“A new offensive system and play-action-heavy approach helped the Vikings move up to 19th in our final rankings last season, and they return fourth-fifths of last year’s unit. … The Vikings have a good zone-blocking line that gave their running backs the third-highest percentage of positively graded blocks per rush last season, but there are holes in pass protection that can be exploited, especially in must-pass situations against good defensive lines.”

I think much of the offensive line’s success for next season will be dependent on how quick Ezra Cleveland can adjust to the NFL. Cleveland, drafted in the second round by the team, is more of a project player.

If he can come in and play tackle, then I think Riley Reiff could move over and the unit as a whole could get better.

Three project players who might pay off for Minnesota

Here are some project players on the Vikings who could be contributors in the near future

The Vikings have many established veterans who will have to be big contributors in 2020, but what about the younger players who might need more time?

Sure, you may not see these Vikings players as game one starters in 2020, but these three options still have high ceilings.

They can develop into good players down the road. For some, the technique isn’t there. For others, they’ve been on the bench and now it’s their turn to shine.

Bleacher Report recently listed Alexander Mattison as Minnesota’s most-intriguing project player. Personally, I don’t think Mattison is a project, because he had over 400 rushing yards in limited reps his rookie season.

Here’s who I think might be good players for the Vikings in the near future:

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Three Vikings reserves who might be starters next season

From defensive linemen to defensive backs, here are some Vikings players who might have to become starters in 2020-21.

The Vikings have lost a lot of talent this offseason, which means players from 2019-20 who didn’t play as much might have to step into bigger roles.

Everson Griffen reportedly announced on Instagram he was leaving. Both starting corners from last season reportedly signed elsewhere. Wide receiver Stefon Diggs was also reportedly traded to the Bills.

Sure the team has 12 draft picks and the rest of free agency to try and fill those holes, but some of the starters who left could be replaced by backups if those backups are good enough.

Here are some of the reserves who might be receiving more playing time next season:

Defensive end Ifeadi Odenigbo

With Griffen reportedly leaving, filling a void at defensive end becomes crucial. Danielle Hunter is coming off a season in which he had 14.5 sacks, much thanks to Griffen, who kept opposing offensive lines from honing in on Hunter.

Griffen had eight sacks, and the team also reportedly loses Stephen Weatherly, who had three. That’s a lot of production to replace. Maybe the Vikings go to the draft to find an edge rusher, but Odenigbo might be able to step up into a bigger role.

Either way, Odenigbo will receive more playing time now that Weatherly is gone, and the Vikings might just find out that he’s ready to start.

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Vikings’ free-agency watch: Guards

The Vikings have both starters set to return in 2020.

Under contract:

The Vikings have 2019 starters Josh Kline and Pat Elflein under contract. Elflein is due $1.1 million, while Kline is due just over $6 million.

Dru Samia, who is entering his second season out of Oklahoma, is also in the second year of his rookie contract. He’s set to make $769,279, per Spotrac.

Free agents:

Rashod Hill, a guard/tackle hybrid who made $2 million last season, will be a free agent after four years with the team.

Hill appeared in 15 games last season and has started 16 games over the last three seasons.

Potential Cap Casualties:

There aren’t any obvious candidates, but keep an eye on Elflein. The 2017 third-round pick has been somewhat of a disappointment in his three seasons with the Vikings.

Elflein has a cap hit of just $1.1 million in 2020, but if the Vikings decide they want to move on, they would save more than $800,000.