Samia...

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Possibly could have this line: Reiff, Samia, Bradbury, Kline, O'Neil. Elf is a valuable backup

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@FSUVike said:
The exciting thing for me is that Dru has a higher Floor AND a higher Ceiling than Isadora.

Think about the nterior depth now. Jones is a League Average Center who was completely mishandled by the doofuses that replaced Tony. Kubiak and Dennison doubtlessly had a hand in him coming back as I'm sure they see that he still has value. And a Veteran presence for the young guys. That’s a luxury to have as a backup that most teams don't have. And Edison may develop.

Elf has Samia and a hopefully healthy Collins to push him. Kline also has Samia to push him. I see no spot for Izzy on this team now.

To me there are now 3 keys and they're all at Tackle. Can Reiff stay healthy? Can Gary & Rick coach up Hill to be a better replacement when Riley inevitably gets hurt?  Could Udoh step in on a short-term basis at RT if needed this year?

If the answer is yes to any two of the three questions things are finally looking up on the O-Line.

Great points, though I would add a couple possible revisions:

• Isadora seemed far more promising in 2017 than in 2018; could he also have suffered from the coaching issues? He fits the athletic mold we seem to be seeking now.
• I like Aviante Collins a lot, but given the sudden influx at OG, and the shortage at OT, I think he'll move away from the interior. He could compete at RT if O'Neill moves over to LT.
  

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@Wetlander said:
 I know you're not a fan of Elflein, Maroon...  but he can get out in space and lay down blocks.  It's not pretty, but he if he can find his landmark, he gets the job done. 

I have nothing against Elflein. Nothing would make me happier than to see him bounce back and have a great year at guard. There are better athletes on the team now, but I would imagine he still has the upper hand on winning one of the two guard positions. 

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@MaroonBells said:
@AIIBS

That's what I was thinking. Listened to PA yesterday talk about how athletic Elflein was and how great it was to now have great athletes like Brad, Elf and O'Niell playing next to each other. 

Elflein is not athletic at all. It could even be argued that he doesn't even fit very well in this scheme. He struggles getting to the 2nd level, he struggles with reach blocks. Last year he struggled big time in calling out blocking assignments. Bradbury will be a huge upgrade from Elflein in all three areas. 

The question then becomes who are the three best inside? And is Elflein even part of that? Is Collins an option?

I know there's more to it than just athleticism, but the most purely athletic line might be O'Neill, Collins, Brad, Samia and Udoh. 

Elflein is incredibly athletic and one of his strengths is getting to the second level.      How do you know he struggled calling assignments?  Never heard that critique either.   How Bradbury will be better at Center than Elf but to say he isn't athletic and can't get to the second level is just plain wrong.

From https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/sports/football/4534868-vikings-center-elflein-hopes-offensive-line-making-former-position-coach


Maybe the most impressive play of the night came late in the first quarter when Cook took a screen pass 26 yards to pay dirt thanks in large part to a critical block from Elflein at the second level.
“It was a great call by (offensive coordinator John De Filippo),” Cook said Sunday. “Then (Elflein) got out there and got a great block on (linebacker Blake) Martinez. 
“That’s one of my favorite plays,” Elflein added. “I know Dalvin is getting the ball, and if I can give him a little bit of air he’s going to take it to the house almost every time. It was dialed up against a good defense, and everyone did their job and it worked out.”
Those types of plays show why Sparano pushed the Vikings to select Elflein in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft. He boasts uncanny athleticism for a 6-foot-3, 300-pound center that manifests on plays like the screen pass to Cook.


From MileHigh site on Elf:
Elflein is one of the most pro-ready prospects on the offensive line in this year's draft class. He has valuable experience at right guard, left guard and center and would provide positional flexibility for the team and give Denver a long-term option at several positions. While his pass protection could use some improvement, he is an absolute road-grader in the running game and would boost the team's efficacy in this regard and give them a tenacious and fierce presence in their trenches

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Me thinks Elf's shoulder, and steaming piles of garbage on either side of him had more to do with his performance than his talent level. As pointed out, he and Easton were regularly blocking the second level 2 yrs ago. Way too early to toss him aside for the shiny new penny we just found.

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Elflein has had all off-season to heal up and regain his strength, hopefully he will get back to where he was before the injuries.  Along with signing Kline, drafting Bradbury and Samia...the Vikings are laying the foundation for the interior line.  Also, they have O'Neil and Reiff at tackles with Hill, Collins and that big ass rookie as backups.  The front office is finally taking the necessary steps to improve the offensive line.

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I guess I'm less concerned with him beating someone out, and more mindful of us finally having the depth to put the best man out there and still have quality depth should someone get injured.  I do think Elflein will be better after rebuilding his body, but if he's not I'm glad we have a Samia type player to compete with either him or Kline.

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@ArizonaViking said:
Elflein has had all off-season to heal up and regain his strength, hopefully he will get back to where he was before the injuries.  Along with signing Kline, drafting Bradbury and Samia...the Vikings are laying the foundation for the interior line.  Also, they have O'Neil and Reiff at tackles with Hill, Collins and that big ass rookie as backups.  The front office is finally taking the necessary steps to improve the offensive line.

We do seem to be rebuilding the OL with higher draft picks now (finally).  We have a young interior core... and a young RT (maybe, soon to be, LT).  Next off season we need to make OT a priority... and continue to reinforce our OL core with young, GOOD players.  Conceivably (if Samia develops), we could have our IOL set for the next decade.  And maybe one of our OTs, as well.

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Samia is not going to start ahead of Elflein....he's set up for a nice comeback season at starting guard. Samia has things to work on before he's ready to compete, and one is core strength.

[Guest]

Oklahoma on espnu now and at 8 est.