Vikings: Kirk Cousins and 2 more scapegoats if things go wrong in Minnesota

If the offense sputters, this will be Garrett Bradbury’s last season in Minnesota

One of the seemingly unsolvable issues throughout the Mike Zimmer era in Minneapolis was porous offensive line play. No, it did not help that Zimmer was a defensive-minded head coach, but we never looked at the Vikings’ front-five over that stretch and ever thought it was an elite unit. One player who has not panned out for the team thus far has been center Garrett Bradbury.

Minnesota used a first-round on the Rimington Trophy winner out of North Carolina State in the 2019 NFL Draft to serve as the fulcrum on its offensive line. Three seasons later, the Vikings decided to not exercise their fifth-year option on the former No. 18 overall pick. If the offense sputters to some degree under new head coach Kevin O’Connell, Bradbury may be gone by March.

While the offensive line is a unit-driven position group, it can only be as strong as its weakest link. Not to say Bradbury will surely be that in a new offensive scheme, but if the Vikings take a step back in the ground game and the passing attack is not as prolific as it probably could be, then Minnesota may look to make a change at the center position. It is now or never for Bradbury…

Elevating the entire offense should be a primary goal for O’Connell in season one with the team.