A healthy Vikings tackle duo could be one of the cleaner building blocks on Minnesota’s roster, and Christian Darrisaw is still the name drawing the strongest praise.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler recently released his top-10 rankings at each position, built from a survey of league executives, coaches and scouts. Darrisaw didn’t crack the top 10 at left tackle, but he did land as an honorable mention, and an AFC scout had a strong read on what still makes him special:
"Still one of the best combinations of good feet and hands in pass protection and can be a force in the run game, too."
That kind of evaluation lines up with why Vikings fans have been so eager to see more from him. Darrisaw’s 2025 season never really got on track.
A lingering knee injury and uneven play limited him to 325 pass-blocking snaps, and he missed seven games. In that stretch, he allowed 19 pressures, four quarterback hits and two sacks, while also drawing eight penalties.
Pro Football Focus gave him a 65.6 overall grade, which placed him 47th among 89 tackles.
The bigger picture is still encouraging, though. Since Minnesota took him in the first round in 2021, Darrisaw has generally been a strong offensive tackle and one of the better players at his position.
The one thing that has kept him from reaching a higher tier is availability. He has never played all 17 regular-season games, and in five seasons he has only twice started 14 or more.
Minnesota had another tackle mentioned in the survey, too. Brian O’Neill showed up in the “also receiving votes” group, though without any accompanying note.
O’Neill’s 2025 was much steadier. He gave up 21 pressures, two sacks and one quarterback hit across 446 pass-blocking snaps, and he was flagged six times. PFF graded him at 81.6, good for 13th among tackles, and his run blocking stood out as well with an 84.5 grade that ranked ninth.
For the Vikings, the takeaway is straightforward: the tackle pair still gives them something real to hang onto. If Darrisaw and O’Neill can stay on the field, Minnesota has a chance to lean on one of the stronger tackle duos in the league.
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