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Christian Darrisaw’s Big Claim Would Be A Huge Boost for Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings are back to work, with training camp well underway, and one of the best sights so far is a happy and healthy Christian Darrisaw getting to work without any limitations.

Darrisaw missed the start of last season due to still being on the road to recovery from a knee injury that occurred during the 2024 season. When he returned he didn’t look right and wasn’t the dominant tackle we had been used to seeing on the left side of the Vikings’ offensive line. His knee was visibly still a problem, with stiffness leading him to sit out practices, and at times going through pre-game fitness checks to see if he could play.

Eventually, he ended up back on injured reserve to finish the season. It was a bitterly disappointing end to the year for both Darrisaw and the team, as Darrisaw had proved himself to be one of the best tackles in the game before this knee injury stopped him in his tracks.

Health has been an issue for Darrisaw ever since the Vikings drafted him with the 23rd overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft. Fully healthy and at his best, Darrisaw has shown that he is right up there with the likes of Penei Sewell and Tristan Wirfs. However, injuries have been a regular occurrence that have held him back. He only played in 10 games last season, but even more concerning was that he only played in 100% of snaps in half of those. The offensive line is not an area where players rotate in and out through choice.

Asked if he expects to play every snap going into the start of this season, Christian Darrisaw said: “100%. That’s the goal. Just go out there and dominate.” That is welcome news for Minnesota as whoever winds up being the Vikings quarterback will greatly benefit from a fully healthy Christian Darrisaw protecting the blindside. Speaking to the media during training camp Darrisaw has claimed he “feels the best I’ve felt in two years,” and that he is “just feeling like myself”. Great news for anyone associated with Vikings football

A Healthy Christian Darrisaw Can Be the Catalyst For a Dominant OL

Minnesota invested heavily in their interior offensive line last year since a poor performance was a big reason they were dumped out of the playoffs in 2024. Will Fries was signed to a huge contract and Donovan Jackson was drafted in the first round to give the Vikings two new guards. Ryan Kelly was added to give the team a solid veteran presence at center. Adding that trio to a very good pair of tackles in Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill was supposed to solve the Vikings’ problems.

That’s not what happened.

Kelly had recurring concussions that led to his retirement, Jackson had some early injury trouble but overall a solid rookie campaign. Fries struggled to live up to his price tag – though he was the only lineman who managed to stay healthy for all 17 games. We have touched on Darrisaw’s issues and O’Neill had knee and heel injuries that caused him to miss three games and he had to play through the pain in others. A fully healthy Darrisaw helps his teammates. He can be left one-on-one with any edge rusher, leaving help for extra help at other points of the line.

Minnesota recently extended Brian O’Neill’s contract ensuring the Vikings duo will stay together for the next few seasons.

A big key will be getting the play on the interior somewhere near the standard the Vikings have on the edge. Development from Jackson and Fries will be important as will the success (or not) of the move of Blake Brandel to starting center. Brandel has been a solid depth player who could play all across the OL but now he is being entrusted with one of the most important positions in the game.

First and foremost, a fully healthy Christian Darrisaw would be the key that makes the rest of the OL, and ultimately the offense, work. There could be no bigger boost for Minnesota than Darrisaw back at 100%