2009 Offensive Line Analysis - Minnesota Vikings

2009 Projected Starters:
Left Tackle: Bryant McKinnie
Left Guard: Steve Hutchinson
Center: John Sullivan
Right Guard: Anthony Herrera
Right Tackle: Phil Loadholt

2008 Injuries:
T Bryant McKinnie: Weeks 1 to 4 (Suspension)

2008 Statistics:

ALY (Adjusted Line Yards): It is an alternate measure for yards per carry developed by Football Outsiders that takes into account various factors including down, distance, situation and opponent.
Source: www.footballoutsiders.com

Overview:
After averaging 5.3 yards per carry in 2007, the Vikings running game averaged only 4.5 yards per carry and that included Adrian Peterson who averaged 0.8 yards per carry less than in his rookie year. The Vikings offensive line also continued to allow a high number of sacks, 43 to be precise, a tenth straight season with 35 or more sacks allowed.

At left tackle, the Vikings can count on their 2002 first round pick Bryant McKinnie. McKinnie is a freak of nature at 6’8” and 335 lbs who possesses a very large wingspan and uses it to his advantage in pass blocking. He has decent technique and feet for a big guy that make him a good pass blocking left tackle but he will get beat to the outside too often by faster defensive linemen. McKinnie is a very good run blocker but he could be much better if he built up more strength and played with more intensity. He has potential to be a Pro Bowl level left tackle but he will need to improve his attitude and work ethic if he ever wants to reach that level. McKinnie missed his first four starts in six years last season due to a four game suspension because of an off the field incident. 2009 second round pick Phil Loadholt should be the starter at right tackle. Loadholt is an intimidating blocker at 6’8” and 330 lbs who has long arms and pretty good balance. He is a hard worker and will finish his blocks, two qualities that could make him a dominant run blocker in the NFL. The downside with him is that he does not have the quickest feet and needs to improve his lateral movement so he will get beat by quicker defensive ends. For that reason he is not a good fit to play left tackle in the NFL but if he improves on those two aspects he could become a very good right tackle. Providing depth at right tackle are Ryan Cook and Artis Hicks. Cook was a starter for the last two seasons but he lacks strength and will be overpowered too often. Cook has the ability to play all positions on the line and is a much better fit as a backup. Hicks is a good backup who started 24 games in his three years with the Vikings. He is a hard worker who is pretty agile for his size and has the ability to play most positions on the line.

At left guard, the Vikings can count on one of the best in the NFL in Steve Hutchinson. Hutchinson has been named to six straight Pro Bowls and has not missed a single start in those six seasons. Hutchinson was signed away from the Seahawks in 2006 when the Vikings offered him a contract that contained a poison pill. The contract would have forced the Seahawks to guarantee the entire 49 million offered by the Vikings because he was not the highest paid lineman on the Seahawks. The Seahawks yards per carry average dropped from 4.7 in 2005 to 4.0 in 2006 after Hutchinson’s departure. Hutchinson is the complete package with size, strength, excellent work ethic and very good awareness. Those attributes make him arguably the best run blocking guard in the NFL and a pretty good pass blocker as well despite allowing 7.5 sacks in 2008. On the other side of the line, Anthony Herrera is a strong guard at 6’2” and 315 lbs who showed very good improvement in the past few seasons. Herrera is very aggressive in run blocking and has shown great work ethic but still has to improve his technique. He remains a below average guard but will likely continue to improve and become a decent starter. 24-year old Drew Radovich was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2008 and has been pretty impressive so far but he is still a project at this point.

At center, the Vikings will count on 2008 sixth round pick John Sullivan to replace six-time Pro Bowler Matt Birk who signed with the Ravens in the off-season. Sullivan is a very smart center with good athleticism so he should be fine in pass protection but run blocking could be a concern. Sullivan doesn’t have great strength so it will be hard for him to create holes in the running game and he will get overpowered by big defensive linemen. Birk was already pretty big for a center and his excellent technique helped him to become even more effective. Sullivan is a hard worker and he will do everything he can to become an effective center in the NFL but he could struggle in his first season as a starter.

2009 Outlook:
The Vikings will still have four of the five starters from last year on their roster which is good news. At right tackle, Loadholt will probably be a slight upgrade in run blocking but should also be a slight downgrade in pass protection, at the beginning of the season at least. As for Sullivan he will be a downgrade in both pass protection and run blocking but it is anyone’s guess as to how much of a drop he will be compared to Birk. In terms of depth, the Vikings are in good shape with Hicks and Cook who can play most of the positions on the line and have started many games in their NFL career. Overall we expect pass protection to be as much of a problem as it was last year while run blocking will still be above average but is unlikely to be as good as it was last year.

See all of our 2009 Offensive Line Analysis Articles