A Loud Vikings Concern Proved to Be No Problem in Week 1

Is Blake Brandel going to be good enough as the Vikings’ starting center? He was in Week 1.

The effectiveness of Brandel has been a longstanding Vikings concern. On Sunday, Brandel played at a level that made people forget that there was reason for pause. Seeing that continue would mean the Vikings proved wise to shift the snapping responsibility to the veteran.

Blake Brandel Not a Vikings Concern in Week 1

At no point did the mental and verbal component of the job appear to be an issue.

Blake Brandel precedes Kevin O’Connell in Minnesota, meaning he’s a well-respected leader who understands the scheme as well as anyone. Being able diagnose the defense before the snap before then adjusting the blocking based on the threat that’s being presented isn’t too much to demand of the 29-year-old blocker who got drafted in the 2020 NFL Draft.

The college offensive tackle began as an NFL offensive tackle, albeit as a depth option. He then kicked inside to guard before then sliding further inward, adding snapping to his list of responsibilities. Brandel’s journey has mostly involved being an injury fill-in but he did function as the starter at left guard for all of 2024.

The snaps were gloriously boring on Sunday. Like the hold on a field goal — a different concern but one that Brett Thorson quietly overcame in Week 1 — Brandel did things at such a level that people got lulled into watching the play rather than wondering if the play could begin with a clean snap.

Now, Mr. Brandel wasn’t perfect. He committed a false start at one point, an obvious blemish where he appeared to get tangled up mentally. The end result was being caught leaning prior to the ball getting sent back to the quarterback. Some yellow laundry hit the field shortly thereafter.

More promising is that he allowed just a single pressure in Week 1 (PFF). No sacks or QB hits appear on his report card.

Added together, Brandel’s positive and negative pass blocking snaps led to a 78.4 grade. Minnesota’s coaching staff (and fans) will be doing cartwheels if that sort of effort can get repeated throughout the season.

On Sunday, the Vikings will be taking on the Bears at Soldier Field. That’s an environment that’s going to be a lot more difficult.

Look for the Chicago fans to be loud. As a result, the communication is going to be tougher to sort through. Guys such as Dayo Odeyingbo, Montez Sweat, Devin Bush, and various others are going to be tough to corral. Is Brandel up to the challenge?

The Week 2 game sees kickoff scheduled for 12:00 p.m. CT.

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