10-16-2022, 01:59 PM
When Garrett Bradbury spoke in June about wanting to play with the Vikings beyond 2022, it did not seem fully realistic. After all, the Vikings declined to pick up his fifth-year option for 2023 a month earlier, and he was a low-ranked center each of the past three seasons.
Things, though, have changed since then. Bradbury, who was rated by Pro Football Focus as the No. 29 center in the NFL in 2019, No. 26 in 2020 and No. 30 in 2021, carries a 2022 ranking of No. 9 for the 4-1 Vikings into Sunday’s game at Miami.
That’s a big change. But here’s what hasn’t changed: Bradbury still wants to remain with the Vikings long term.
“Absolutely,” he said. “I love this team, I love the offensive line here, I love the coaches. We’ll let that work itself out in the spring because I can’t do anything about it this week.”
Bradbury, taken with the No. 18 pick in the 2019 draft out of North Carolina State, had his share of struggles in pass protection in his first three seasons but this year actually has a higher Pro Football Focus rating in pass blocking than run blocking.
Bradbury talked in June about putting on about 10 pounds of muscle during the offseason to match up better against big nose tackles, and that has helped.
“I feel like he’s playing pretty well this year, especially going against him in training camp, I feel you could tell he was a little bit more stronger than he was last year,” Vikings defensive lineman Dalvin Tomlinson said Friday.
“He’s been incredibly consistent, and I think he’s trusted the techniques and fundamentals in our system,” O’Connell said.
Bradbury faced more than his share of criticism during his first three seasons with the Vikings. And it was no surprise in May when his fifth-year option, for a whopping $13.202 million, was not picked up.
“You kind of focus on the here and now,” Bradbury, making a base salary of $2.25 million this season, said of past criticism. “So I’m focused on this week. Whatever is said is said, and I just kind of move forward and try to get better.”
“We’ve been doing good as a team,” Bradbury said. “It’s been going good, but it’s one day at a time. Nothing in the past you’ve done matters.”
The 6-foot-3 Bradbury says the weight he put on during the offseason “helps probably strength-wise and confidence-wise.” Bradbury, listed at 300 pounds, said in June he played at 295 last season and that he then weighed between 305 and 310 pounds. He declined to provide an estimate this week on his weight.
Bradbury also said that simply getting more NFL experience has helped his game.
“I think the more snaps you have, the more snaps you have playing with the guys next to you, it all matters,” he said.
Bradbury has been helped by a much improved offensive line this fall. Left tackle Christian Darrisaw is ranked as the NFL’s No. 3 tackle by Pro Football Focus, and right tackle Brian O’Neal is No. 14. Left guard Ezra Cleveland is rated as the No. 11 guard, and rookie right guard Ed Ingram is No. 35.
“The top five guys, we all believe in and trust in each other, and when we’re out there, we try to make each other’s jobs easier,” Darrisaw said. “I feel like Garrett has been dominating for sure this year. He added those pounds, and clearly you can see he’s having a great start to the season.”
As for the future, Bradbury will become a free agent in March, and the Vikings will have a chance to re-sign him. O’Connell was asked Friday if he regards Bradbury as a potential long-term piece on the Vikings’ line.
“I’m a big fan of Garrett, how he’s playing, how he projects in our offense,” the coach said. “He knows how we feel about him. … I know Kirk feels great having him in there as well as those other four linemen. So I love where Garrett’s at right now. He’s just got to keep playing at the level that he’s playing at, which has been pretty darn good.
https://www.twincities.com/2022/10/14/garrett-bradbury-has-shown-great-improvement-in-2022-and-wants-to-be-back-with-vikings-in-2023/
Things, though, have changed since then. Bradbury, who was rated by Pro Football Focus as the No. 29 center in the NFL in 2019, No. 26 in 2020 and No. 30 in 2021, carries a 2022 ranking of No. 9 for the 4-1 Vikings into Sunday’s game at Miami.
That’s a big change. But here’s what hasn’t changed: Bradbury still wants to remain with the Vikings long term.
“Absolutely,” he said. “I love this team, I love the offensive line here, I love the coaches. We’ll let that work itself out in the spring because I can’t do anything about it this week.”
Bradbury, taken with the No. 18 pick in the 2019 draft out of North Carolina State, had his share of struggles in pass protection in his first three seasons but this year actually has a higher Pro Football Focus rating in pass blocking than run blocking.
Bradbury talked in June about putting on about 10 pounds of muscle during the offseason to match up better against big nose tackles, and that has helped.
“I feel like he’s playing pretty well this year, especially going against him in training camp, I feel you could tell he was a little bit more stronger than he was last year,” Vikings defensive lineman Dalvin Tomlinson said Friday.
“He’s been incredibly consistent, and I think he’s trusted the techniques and fundamentals in our system,” O’Connell said.
Bradbury faced more than his share of criticism during his first three seasons with the Vikings. And it was no surprise in May when his fifth-year option, for a whopping $13.202 million, was not picked up.
“You kind of focus on the here and now,” Bradbury, making a base salary of $2.25 million this season, said of past criticism. “So I’m focused on this week. Whatever is said is said, and I just kind of move forward and try to get better.”
“We’ve been doing good as a team,” Bradbury said. “It’s been going good, but it’s one day at a time. Nothing in the past you’ve done matters.”
The 6-foot-3 Bradbury says the weight he put on during the offseason “helps probably strength-wise and confidence-wise.” Bradbury, listed at 300 pounds, said in June he played at 295 last season and that he then weighed between 305 and 310 pounds. He declined to provide an estimate this week on his weight.
Bradbury also said that simply getting more NFL experience has helped his game.
“I think the more snaps you have, the more snaps you have playing with the guys next to you, it all matters,” he said.
Bradbury has been helped by a much improved offensive line this fall. Left tackle Christian Darrisaw is ranked as the NFL’s No. 3 tackle by Pro Football Focus, and right tackle Brian O’Neal is No. 14. Left guard Ezra Cleveland is rated as the No. 11 guard, and rookie right guard Ed Ingram is No. 35.
“The top five guys, we all believe in and trust in each other, and when we’re out there, we try to make each other’s jobs easier,” Darrisaw said. “I feel like Garrett has been dominating for sure this year. He added those pounds, and clearly you can see he’s having a great start to the season.”
As for the future, Bradbury will become a free agent in March, and the Vikings will have a chance to re-sign him. O’Connell was asked Friday if he regards Bradbury as a potential long-term piece on the Vikings’ line.
“I’m a big fan of Garrett, how he’s playing, how he projects in our offense,” the coach said. “He knows how we feel about him. … I know Kirk feels great having him in there as well as those other four linemen. So I love where Garrett’s at right now. He’s just got to keep playing at the level that he’s playing at, which has been pretty darn good.
https://www.twincities.com/2022/10/14/garrett-bradbury-has-shown-great-improvement-in-2022-and-wants-to-be-back-with-vikings-in-2023/
