Garrett Bradbury’s name still carries baggage in Minnesota, and Sunday gives the Vikings a shot to make it work in their favor.
Now with the Chicago Bears, the former Vikings first-round pick is back in the spotlight for all the reasons that once kept him from becoming the long-term answer at center in Minnesota. He was praised for his intelligence, his athleticism and his quickness when the Vikings took him in the 2019 draft, but his issues against bigger and stronger interior defenders never really went away.
That’s what makes this matchup so interesting. The Vikings know Bradbury’s game well, and they also know where the soft spots are. If Minnesota’s defensive front can get into the middle of Chicago’s protection, Bradbury could be the weak point that changes the feel of the game and helps slow down Ben Johnson’s high-powered offense.
Bradbury arrived in Minnesota with a lot of hype. Rick Spielman picked him seventh overall after the Vikings had already cycled through John Sullivan, Joe Berger and Pat Elflein at center. NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah was especially high on him, calling him “The Grim Reacher” and comparing him to Jason Kelce and Ryan Kalil.
“This is the best center in the draft and one of the best to come out in the last handful of years.
I call him the ‘Grim Reacher’ because I’ve never seen somebody reach more guys in the run game than what Garrett Bradbury does.
He is outstanding with his quickness. You think about the guys he reminds you of, you go back and look at Jason Kelce and Ryan Kalil, he is that type of center. The quickness is off the charts.”
The problem was never the feet. It was what happened when the play got physical.
Bradbury’s pass protection became a recurring issue almost immediately, and he opened his Vikings career with a 0.0 pass-blocking grade from PFF. Akiem Hicks and Kenny Clark both gave him fits in the same way that bullies take lunch money from smaller kids on the playground, and over six seasons he finished in the top five in quarterback pressures allowed five times, according to PFF.
That history caught up with him in 2024, when he led all centers with 38 pressures allowed. Minnesota moved on, releasing him before he landed with the New England Patriots.
His time in New England had some mixed results. Bradbury gave up only 20 pressures and no sacks in the regular season, but his Super Bowl outing went the other direction. Against the Seattle Seahawks pass rush, he allowed six pressures, a sack and a penalty.
That helped push him to the Bears last offseason, where his first game in Chicago was solid enough but still showed the same old cracks. In the win over the Panthers, he allowed two pressures and a penalty on 38 pass-blocking snaps.
That’s why Minnesota’s front should see an opening here. The Vikings’ interior defensive line has been a problem area in recent years, but it was one of the bright spots in last week’s win over the Packers. Levi Drake Rodriguez posted three pressures and a sack, Jalen Redmond added two pressures, and rookie Domonique Orange came through with a key stop in the fourth quarter.
Chicago did get production on the ground against Carolina, with D’Andre Swift running for 124 yards and three touchdowns, but PFF gave Bradbury only a 51.3 run-blocking grade on 35 snaps. That leaves the Vikings with a clear idea of where to try to press their advantage.
Minnesota also has its own center issues to sort through since Bradbury left, with Ryan Kelly dealing with concussions and Blake Brandel struggling to learn his new position. But none of that changes the equation for Sunday. If Bradbury looks like the player Vikings fans remember, it could be enough for Minnesota to flip the script in a game where one weak link may decide everything.
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