Dalton Risner will get reps with the Vikings' first-team offensive line this week, head coach Kevin O'Connell said on Wednesday. The coaching staff has a decision to make, but it appears there's at least a solid chance Risner enters the starting lineup against the Panthers on Sunday, presumably in place of Ed Ingram.
"This week is another huge step for him," O'Connell said of Risner, who was signed last week. "He's absorbing things very well. We're going to get him in there with the first group a little bit throughout practice and kind of have a real calculated mindset of reps for that whole interior group with Garrett (Bradbury) coming back. Whether it's at left or right guard, we'll see kind of a rotation in practice.
"And then I really do mean what I say: We're going to, as a coaching staff, collectively decide the best five we can put out there and then how our depth looks in the event we've gotta play a new combination of guys, which has come up a lot."
The Vikings used eight different offensive linemen in their first two games alone, with Austin Schlottmann stepping in for Bradbury at center and Oli Udoh coming in for Christian Darrisaw at left tackle, followed by David Quessenberry when Udoh went down. Darrisaw returned to the lineup this past Sunday and Bradbury will be back for the first time since the opener this week.
The constants have been Ezra Cleveland at left guard, Ingram at right guard, and Brian O'Neill at right tackle. Although Ingram played a great game as a run-blocker against the Chargers, he has continued to struggle mightily in pass protection.
Last week, on his first day in the Vikings' facility, Risner spoke candidly about not knowing what he was doing just yet. One week later, he said he feels much more comfortable in this new environment.
"So much better," Risner said. "I went to the cafeteria, no one (had to help) me. I got back. I can get to meeting rooms by myself. I got a vehicle here, got an apartment, got some furniture in that apartment. Things are looking up for me, man. I know what I'm doing, I know where I'm at now."
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More importantly, the same is true regarding his knowledge of the Vikings' playbook.
"I'm feeling really good," Risner said. "Every single day it gets better and better, but I've been in that thing knee-deep for a week. (There are) still things here and there, sometimes you hear that you're like 'Oh OK, let me get refreshed on that.' Once you get the playbook down, then you want to start building that camaraderie with your offensive line around you and the calls that they make against different fronts, if there's an audible or shift or a blitz or motion or whatever it is that changes the look, then 'OK, how are we going to quickly get to the next look?' For me, it's just kind of getting to that next level."
Risner said he's been working at both left guard — the position he started at for four years with the Broncos — and right guard.
We'll see if O'Connell and the 0-3 Vikings make the change and put their new veteran guard into the lineup on Sunday.
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