The Vikings can talk all they want about a healthier Christian Darrisaw, a more aggressive trench approach under Keith Carter and Frank Smith, and the hope that Kevin O’Connell’s offense gets back on track. But if this season is going to swing the way Minnesota wants, the center spot may be the quiet hinge that decides it all.
That puts Blake Brandel right in the middle of the conversation.
Last season, Brandel was forced into a job he had never played before. He was an offensive tackle at Oregon State, shifted to guard in the NFL, and hadn’t taken a snap at center until Ryan Kelly suffered his second concussion of the season in a Week 4 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. With Michael Jurgens also out injured, the Vikings had to scramble, and Brandel was dropped into the lineup with almost no runway.
By season’s end, he had logged 438 snaps at center. It was a mixed bag, but not a disaster.
In pass protection, Brandel held up better than many expected. According to Pro Football Focus, he gave up 15 quarterback pressures on 277 pass-blocking snaps and finished with a 67.6 pass-blocking grade, good for 15th among 40 qualified centers. That kind of immediate adjustment earned praise from O’Connell, who told KFAN’s Paul Allen last spring:
“With Blake, specifically what I can remember talking to you about him last year, just his willingness to step in there without a lot of time on task, and play the center position and how he handled it, it was really impressive. I wasn’t surprised by that, just knowing how Blake had really culminated playing all five spots across the offensive line.
We just feel like it’s time to allow him to really focus on that center position. We think like he’s got a ton of upside with his smarts and athleticism and his ability to get to the second level on certain defenders. So we want to get Blake to get comfortable in that spot.”
The other side of the ledger looked rougher. Brandel’s first extended action at center came with a 56.8 overall grade in Week 5, which placed him 37th among 42 qualifiers at the position.
His run blocking also lagged, as he posted a 61.9 run-blocking grade that ranked 28th among qualifiers. He was flagged six times, and some of that can be tied to the natural growing pains of learning a new spot on the fly.
But the most alarming issue is the one that can ruin a drive in an instant: the snap.
One of the ugliest moments came in a Week 7 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, when a botched snap sailed over Carson Wentz’s head and turned what could have been a touchdown into a field goal in a 28-22 loss. That problem has shown up again in camp, too, and Bring Me The Sports’s Will Ragatz called it “a legitimate area of concern.”
That matters even more with the Vikings expected to lean more on pistol and shotgun looks so the 5’10” Murray can see over the line and attack downfield. Murray may be a smaller target than the average quarterback, but the snaps still have to be clean, and Minnesota knows it.
The team hasn’t exactly built a crowded safety net behind Brandel. The Vikings appear comfortable with his upside at center and did not sign or draft much outside help, beyond returning Michael Jurgens and seventh-round pick Gavin Gerhardt, who was waived and then signed to the practice squad after the 53-man roster deadline on Sunday.
So while plenty of attention will go to the bigger names and broader changes around the offense, Brandel’s transition at center could end up being one of the most important and least discussed storylines of the season.
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For players in that group, surviving the initial cuts is only part of the battle, because the roster remains fluid before the regular season begins. But the fact that Minnesota kept them around says plenty about how the staff viewed their camp work and how each might fit if the Vikings need depth, special teams help or a surprise contributor once the games start to count. [Read more 🡒]