Blake Brandel, starting center for your Minnesota Vikings

Hope springs eternal. He wasn't bad last season, grading 16th of 40 centers on PFF, and with a full training camp at center, he has a chance to improve considering he had never played there before.

I was hoping we'd draft one a little sooner than we did, but there are plenty of starting centers who were drafted late, or even after the draft.

Here's the kid we drafted at the end: Gavin Gerhardt, 6'4", 310 lbs. Not sure if he has a shot down the road, but he'll need time in the incubator and probably add 7-10 lbs. For a positional blocker, seems to have more natural heft than some. If he can make the practice squad, it'll be a decent move for him. I think Minnesota wanted to draft a center, but the board didn't come to them for that position and it wasn't worth maneuvering for one. I like Brandel fine....if he can be average, it'll be good.

Overview

Gerhardt is a 49-game starter with outstanding leadership qualities to go with adequate size and length. He’s going to be more of a positional blocker than a people-mover, with the ability to find landmarks and fight for positioning. He’s aware of protection and makes the most of his length to keep rushers out of his frame. He’s a center-only prospect, which hurts his roster chances, but the tape is good enough to give him a chance.

Strengths

• Four-year starter with three seasons as team captain.

• Adequate length and play strength at the point of attack.

• Good initial quickness to hit his reach and seal landmarks.

• Maintains proper level in playing through twists.

• Throws hands quickly into extension to pester pass rushers.

Weaknesses

• Below-average athleticism by positional standard.

• Loses track of proper pad level.

• Average redirect strength on his edges.

• Inconsistent reacting and landing on moving targets.

Can’t have studs at every position.  Not super worried about Brandel.

I like him best as an all purpose backup, but as the one non-premium (money or draft pick) player on the Oline, I’m ok with it.

If healthy I don’t think I have questions on offense. I think QB will work itself out.

I really don’t have any questions except the DB room as a whole.

I think with decent QB play we’re a playoff team.

I actually liked Brandel at C. I was not a fan of his game in other positions, but he settled in immediately at C fairly well. A little bigger than I'd prefer at C, especially for a guy with Murray's height, but he has been solid and should only get better with more playing time and consistency with the o line playing as a full unit.

Brandel's size at the position is impactful, and that was referenced by the offensive line coach last year. I'm not super worried and think Jurgens is a serviceable backup. After years of Bradbury and essentially a no-show year last year from Ryan Kelly, getting some consistency at the position and a guy who isn't constantly susceptible to the bull rush will be a nice change.

He's over 6'7. If you've ever seen him standing next to O'Neil, brandel is taller.

It'll be noticeable in preseason, but he'll be playing at close to 330lbs this year.

I'm biased, but he's gonna play a lot better than i anyone is expecting.

I think Brandel will be just fine. A lot of folks focus on the physical aspects, while important, to me more importantly is going to be getting the line calls right. You can have all the All-Pro's you want, if the line is shifting left and the blitz is coming from the right, you're screwed. Brandel seemed to have done well with the line calls last year having been in the system for a bit and I think is a better option then even some of the top ranked rookies simply based on the offense intelligence.

I honestly don’t understand how many people are good with Brandel. The Vikings line didn’t have much continuity last season, but there were definite problems with letting pressure in, up the middle. I don’t think Brandel was good enough. Same as his previous stints at Guard. I see this as the biggest problem for the whole roster.

What was the weakest link for the team last season? QB play

We hope that either/both JJM & Kyler are better than what happened at the position last season. So why wouldn’t we want to give the QB the protection needed to help whoever is there to succeed?

Brandel, not good enough.

Im good with the movr and have said as much all off season, I would have added depth sooner at the position, as in early enough for true competition, but overall am fine with how the OL looks today. Could maybe find a veteran cut to add as the offseason progresses.

SkolVikings44 wrote:

I honestly don’t understand how many people are good with Brandel. The Vikings line didn’t have much continuity last season, but there were definite problems with letting pressure in, up the middle. I don’t think Brandel was good enough. Same as his previous stints at Guard. I see this as the biggest problem for the whole roster.
What was the weakest link for the team last season? QB play
We hope that either/both JJM & Kyler are better than what happened at the position last season. So why wouldn’t we want to give the QB the protection needed to help whoever is there to succeed?

Brandel, not good enough.

After he settled, he played fairly well, especially as a pass blocker. In his last 8 games at center, Brandel gave up 0 sacks, 2 hits, 3 hurries and 6 pressures. HIs full season ranked him 16th among 40 qualifying centers. Super Bowls have been won with worse centers.

Brandel has played well wherever they have put him and thought he did a solid job at center with limited action there. I like having a big center and think he can do really well there with more experience.

MaroonBells wrote:

After he settled, he played fairly well, especially as a pass blocker. In his last 8 games at center, Brandel gave up 0 sacks, 2 hits, 3 hurries and 6 pressures. HIs full season ranked him 16th among 40 qualifying centers. Super Bowls have been won with worse centers.

It doesn’t pass the sniff test to me. So many times watching the game and the other team disrupts the play, it sure looks like Brandel was in the heart of it. I have numerous texts during the game with buddies complaining about Brandel. We can’t have as much pressure up the middle as we did and Brandel be this great solid piece. Donovan Jackson was really solid when he played. Where else did all the pressure up the middle come from?

Mattyman wrote:

He's over 6'7. If you've ever seen him standing next to O'Neil, brandel is taller.
It'll be noticeable in preseason, but he'll be playing at close to 330lbs this year.
I'm biased, but he's gonna play a lot better than i anyone is expecting.

6’7” and 330 lbs?

That’s gonna make him one of the bigger/biggest Centers in the NFL

SkolVikings44 wrote:

It doesn’t pass the sniff test to me. So many times watching the game and the other team disrupts the play, it sure looks like Brandel was in the heart of it. I have numerous texts during the game with buddies complaining about Brandel. We can’t have as much pressure up the middle as we did and Brandel be this great solid piece. Donovan Jackson was really solid when he played. Where else did all the pressure up the middle come from?

I think that's called being a fan. In 2024 I was horrified by our inability to stop the run. As fans, we see every breakdown, every weakness, and we tend to think it's worse than it really is. But in context, we were a top 5 run defense that year. If we thought that run defense was bad, 2025 came along and said "hold my beer."

Mattyman wrote:

He's over 6'7. If you've ever seen him standing next to O'Neil, brandel is taller.
It'll be noticeable in preseason, but he'll be playing at close to 330lbs this year.
I'm biased, but he's gonna play a lot better than i anyone is expecting.

So this is by design, correct? They wanted him to bulk up a bit for center? That's a grown-ass man right there if that's the case. Yeah, he measured 6'7" exactly at the Combine. That's a monster offensive line now for 2026.

MaroonBells wrote:

I think that's called being a fan. In 2024 I was horrified by our inability to stop the run. As fans, we see every breakdown, every weakness, and we tend to think it's worse than it really is. But in context, we were a top 5 run defense that year. If we thought that run defense was bad, 2025 came along and said "hold my beer."

Totally agree about the run defense in 25. In 2024, we faced liked the 4th fewest rush attempts in the league, so that also contributed to us having a top 5 run defense. Run attempts against us went from 392 in 2024 to 529 in 2025. Assuming my quick internet research is correct.

Magnus1018 wrote:

Totally agree about the run defense in 25. In 2024, we faced liked the 4th fewest rush attempts in the league, so that also contributed to us having a top 5 run defense. Run attempts against us went from 392 in 2024 to 529 in 2025. Assuming my quick internet research is correct.

That's caused everyone watched Vikings v Bijan...

From The Athletic on Brandel:

Blake Brandel

"The Vikings could have selected a center in the early rounds of the draft, but they didn’t. Instead, the team doubled down on its long-held belief in Brandel. For years, coaches felt he had the physical traits to play center. They thought he could thrive if he ever got the full-time job.

Brandel validated some of those opinions in 2025, when the Vikings tossed him into the fire against the Cleveland Browns’ vaunted front. He didn’t sink. He swam. His 6-foot-7, 315-pound frame offers a sturdy barrier in the middle. Because Brandel has played every position on the offensive line, he has the pre- and post-snap understanding to handle whatever coach Kevin O’Connell throws at him.

As long as he doesn’t suffer a summer injury, he should enter training camp with a clear path to the starting job."