After Saturday’s Vikings loss to the 49ers, it was pretty obvious San Francisco was the better team.
It was also extremely obvious that the Vikings need help on the offensive line, and bad.
Minnesota’s front five didn’t give Dalvin Cook any room to run and didn’t give Kirk Cousins any time to pass.
How will the Vikings fix this concern?
There are some young pieces there that should naturally improve. Right tackle Brian O’Neill is solid and the team could maybe, one day, think about moving him to left tackle.
The question mark with the young players, however, is inside. Rookie Garrett Bradbury had a rough season at center and was far from the “safe” pick he was made out to be when the Vikings drafted him in the first round.
The guard to his left, Pat Elflein, wasn’t much better in his third season and you have to wonder if the team will bring in competition for Elflein this offseason. In three seasons in the the league, Elflein has been a below-average player.
Right guard Josh Kline was fine in his first season and is under contract for just $4.75 next season.
Left tackle Riley Reiff was also fine, but took a step back from last season. Reiff is due $11 million next season and it would be a huge surprise if the Vikings didn’t restructure his contract or let him walk for a $4.4 million penalty.
I would expect the Vikings to address the offensive line early in the draft and through free agency however they can. Fine isn’t good enough for a team with Super Bowl aspirations. It’s been a problem for this team and while it has been able to push it aside some, it was fully exposed against the 49ers. And while not every team (or any team) has a defensive line like the 49ers, that’s where the bar is at in the NFC right now.