Tag: Oli Udoh

Battle for starting Vikings right guard position has a frontrunner

After the first week of training camp, the offensive line picture is already coming together.

Right guard is a position that the Minnesota Vikings have struggled like crazy to fill since Joe Berger left the team after 2016. From Tom Compton to Mike Remmers and Dakota Dozier, it has been a turnstile in more ways than one.

During training camp this year, the Vikings are having another battle for the starting right guard position. After converted tackle Oli Udoh won the job out of training camp last season, he comes into this year having to battle for that same position.

As we head into the second week of camp, offensive coordinator Wes Phillips alluded to one player already having a leg-up on the competition.

This is quite the compliment for Davis, as he is currently competing with Udoh, former Indianapolis Colt Chris Reed and last year’s third-round draft pick Wyatt Davis.

Having come over from the Miami Dolphins, Davis has starting experience all across the offensive line. His best season as a pass blocker, which the Vikings desperately need on the line, came in 2018 as right guard with a Pro Football Focus grade of 69.3.

The competition is far from over, but Davis is in the driver’s seat for the starting position.

[listicle id=65460]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbyjpbajmjvnqmj player_id=none image=https://vikingswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Vikings players currently slated for free agency in 2023

Multiple key starters are set to become unrestricted free agents in 2023

The Minnesota Vikings are juggling multiple one-year contracts in an effort to potentially compete for a Super Bowl in 2022. They’ve essentially kicked the can on future headaches in hopes of reaping a present-day reward.

But out of sight doesn’t necessarily mean out of mind.

This is the time of the year where general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will start to fade more into the background making roster adjustments with both the present and future in mind. The Vikings are going to have some seriously tough decisions ahead that includes multiple starters.

Keep in mind, they’ll have to work within the confines of potentially extending Kirk Cousins and Justin Jefferson to massive deals at some point, assuming they plan on going in that direction.

In his first year as general manager, Adofo-Mensah managed to keep the core of the team intact for the most part. But that certainly won’t be the case after this season.

Here are the current contracts set to expire in 2023.

Vikings 2022 offseason preview: Where does Minnesota stand at OL?

Offensive line is a clear trouble spot that needs addressing

One of the biggest problem spots for the Minnesota Vikings last season was along the offensive front. Yes, I know blaming Kirk Cousins for everything is becoming football’s greatest pastime, but the Vikings quarterback didn’t have the luxury of a great offensive line to help him out.

Of course, bringing in true difference-makers is tough to do when the quarterback’s cap hit ($45 million) accounts for around 21.2 percent of the team’s entire salary cap, too—but I digress.

The Vikings need some of their players, particularly on the interior portion of the line, to start living up to their draft stock. It doesn’t matter how many explosive weapons the team has offensively if they can’t consistently win in the trenches.

So the offensive line will be a top priority for general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O’Connell in their first season together.

Here’s where things stand right now:

[listicle id=60969]

Stock up, stock down from the Vikings’ loss to the Lions

Here is the stock report from the Vikings’ Week 13 loss:

The Vikings had high expectations before the year.

Minnesota loaded up in 2021 free agency. The team kept most of the pieces from a high-octane offense in 2020. The Vikings looked to be among one of the two best teams in the NFC North in 2021.

While Minnesota may be the second-best team in its division, the Vikings have failed to meet other perceived goals. Minnesota sits at 5-7. On Sunday, the Vikings were on the losing end of their biggest disappointment of the season thus far: an upset defeat to the Lions.

Minnesota needs to find out what went wrong. Here is the stock report:

Stock up, stock down from the Vikings’ win over the Chargers

Whose stock rose and whose stock fell in the Vikings’ Week 10 win over the Chargers?

In a game where the Viking were favored to lose, Minnesota pulled off the upset over Los Angeles. The Vikings notched their record to 4-5 with the victory.

This is a Vikings team that has been relatively unpredictable this season. Minnesota kept the surprises coming with its Week 10 victory. The Chargers were tied for a share of the AFC West lead heading into the matchup, while the Vikings looked to be in a free fall. Look at what’s changed.

Whose stock rose and whose stock fell in the Vikings’ Week 10 win over the Chargers? See the Vikings Wire stock report from the game here:

The Vikings should stick with Oli Udoh — for now

The Vikings should keep Oli Udoh in the starting lineup. Here’s why:

Oli Udoh made great strides this offseason.

After two NFL seasons where he played sparingly, Udoh earned the starting right guard position in 2021 after a strong training camp and decent preseason.

Udoh looked good in the first three games of this year. Then, he hit a snag. The right guard tallied a PFF grade of 54.9 in the Browns game in Week 4. 

Udoh dropped off harder after that. He earned a PFF grade of less than 42 against both the Lions and Panthers.

Look, PFF grades are helpful, but the scoring is not the end-all-be-all. Looking at other things, though, Udoh has not been great. He is among the most-penalized players in the NFL with six accepted so far. Udoh had highlight-reel blocks against the Cardinals in Week 2. But recently, it’s gotten harder and harder to notice his positive qualities during games.

OK, here’s why the Vikings should stick with him. Yes, yes, the Browns game where he gave up seven hurries was horrendous. Outside of that, he has allowed six hurries. That isn’t perfect — and of course, you can’t just discount bad games —but Udoh has shown enough promise against some decent competition to keep his starting spot.

Also, Udoh tallied four penalties in the Carolina game alone. The same thing goes for the Panthers game: you can’t rule it out; it’s still a bit concerning, but there have also been games where he’s played pretty cleanly.

The Vikings should be reluctant to give the starting reigns to someone else with the team’s current guard depth. Dakota Dozier, serving on the team’s practice squad, is most likely not a starting-caliber guard in 2021. Dozier struggled in a starting role in 2020.

There’s also Wyatt Davis. I know some Vikings fans are clamoring for Davis, but the rookie might need time to adjust to the NFL. He was a third-round pick for a reason. In my mind, there is a tendency among fans to look at unknown quantities on the roster — like Davis, who has zero starts and no offensive snaps this year — and think they must be better than players who are earning more reps and faltering at times.

However, Dru Samia is proof an enticing draft prospect isn’t always going to thrive as a starter in the league.

Udoh’s strong start to the year should help him keep his starting job through a few bad games. Based on the bust rate of draft prospects and the lack of depth strength on the interior of the Vikings’ offensive line, the team should stick with Udoh.

However, if Udoh struggles in his next several games, it might be time to say that his hot start was a flash in the pan. For now, the Vikings should keep Udoh in the starting lineup. Let’s see how he plays against the Cowboys and Ravens.

Vikings RG Oli Udoh among the most-penalized players in the NFL

Does Vikings G Oli Udoh have a penalty issue?

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbyjpbajmjvnqmj player_id=none image=https://vikingswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Certain Vikings players have surprised this season to help the team get to .500 before the bye week. Among them is the team’s right guard, a former sixth-round pick who converted to that position from tackle.

In his first year as a full-time starter, Oli Udoh has highlight-reel blocks on J.J. Watt and decent games against the Bengals, Cardinals and Seahawks. However, the Vikings guard has possibly developed a penalty problem in 2021.

Udoh currently ranks No. 3 in the NFL for most penalties this season. The Vikings guard has six, including four penalties (H/T The Athletic’s Greg Auman).

The only players with more? The Cowboys’ Connor Williams and the Raiders’ Alex Leatherwood.

For an offensive lineman, penalties aren’t always the worst thing. For instance, an offensive lineman who is rarely penalized, but is getting constantly beaten, is much worse. Udoh has been decent this year with a PFF grade of 55.9.

I’m sure the Vikings would rather him try and get away with a holding call, rather than just let a defensive player get a free pass to the quarterback. However, the truly elite linemen in the NFL don’t get penalized and don’t allow too many pressures. Udoh might not be there yet, but it is his first year with starter reps.

The Vikings need him to progress. If that happens, Minnesota may have finally filled a guard spot.

Vikings top PFF offensive grades from the win over the Seahawks

Here are the top-graded Vikings offensive players from the game vs. the Seahawks.

In case you didn’t know, the Vikings played well on offense. Just ask Minnesota coach Mike Zimmer.

“I told the team that it’s the best offensive performance that I’ve seen in the eight years that I’ve been here,” Zimmer told reporters.

Minnesota put up 30 points and ran out the clock on a Seattle team that could not keep up. The Vikings  had plenty of players step on offense to pull off the upset.

Here are the top three, according to Pro Football Focus.

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer talks about Oli Udoh at guard

Oli Udoh could be the Minnesota Vikings’ right guard in 2021.

Minnesota entered the offseason with some question marks at guard.

Ezra Cleveland played OK at right guard in 2020. Will the team keep him there or move him to a different position? As of now, it seems as though Cleveland will be the team’s left guard.

So then right guard becomes a spot up for grabs. A lot of Minnesota fans thought Wyatt Davis could be the one to take the right guard position, but right now there is a surprising candidate to emerge for that spot: Oli Udoh.

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer talked about Udoh recently:

“I like Udoh at guard,” Zimmer said. “Big-bodied guy. If he’s going to be the guard, we have to keep giving him reps, so he get comfortable with all the things that happen in there.”

Udoh, drafted in 2019, had good measurables, but seemed like a project. Maybe that project has paid off and Udoh has formed into a starting-caliber player. The Vikings still have the preseason to find out.

Report: Vikings G Wyatt Davis has missed two consecutive practices

Vikings G Wyatt Davis has been out with an injury.

The Vikings have struggled at guard as of late.

The Minnesota offense is coming off a year where it was 11th in points per game, but the team had a weak spot on that side of the ball: protecting the quarterback on the interior part of the offensive line.

In the third round of the year’s draft, the Vikings drafted Wyatt Davis, a true guard with the potential to start as soon as 2021.

However, the Davis hype train has slowed to a stop for the time being. Despite a down year in 2020, Dakota Dozier has still been taking first-team guard reps. And Davis has been out with an injury.

According to ESPN’s Courtney Cronin, Davis has missed two straight practices with what appears to be a left ankle injury. He has been working with a trainer on the rehab field, per Cronin.

Oli Udoh has emerged as an interesting starting-guard candidate this training camp. Udoh has taken first-team reps at guard. On Monday, he moved to left tackle, per Andrew Krammer of the Star Tribune.