In a Week 11 win over the Tennessee Titans, the Minnesota Vikings benched starting right guard Ed Ingram and replaced him with veteran Dalton Risner.
Following the 23-13 victory in Tennessee, head coach Kevin O’Connell addressed the decision behind the move and refused to tip his cap to either guard for the remainder of the season.
“I wanted to take a look with Dalton being healthy now, seeing if we could get a little bit more just of a veteran presence there,” O’Connell stated on November 18, 2018. “We are going to allow some competition to play out while the season is still seven games left, and the ability to attempt to find that best five and get the most out of all those guys.”
O’Connell said that he gave Risner no favors by giving him his first career start at right guard against “two of the best” interior defensive linemen in the NFL, Jeffrey Simmons and T’Vondre Sweat.
As a midseason addition to the Vikings squad in 2023, Risner won the starting left guard position, but Blake Brandel took over in training camp after Risner was placed on injured reserve due to back problems.
Sunday marked Risner’s 74th career start as a 2019 second-round pick. He signed a one-year veteran minimum contract in the summer and has earned $11.5 million in his career.
“We’ll look at the tape and see how Dalton did,” O’Connell added. “I was also pleased with Ed’s performance throughout the week. He knew he’d be one snap away; he was asking fantastic questions and was prepared and ready to go.”
Vikings Running Game Suffered With Risner
Ingram has faced criticism this season because he has not had the breakout third year in the league that many had predicted. Ingram has made a positive influence on several plays, but he has a history of making big mistakes.
O’Connell has stated that he wants to see Ingram exhibit greater consistency, which he applauded Risner for in his Week 11 performance.
While Risner did not make any major mistakes, the Vikings’ running game suffered with the shift at right guard.
Minnesota rushed the ball 33 times for 82 yards, averaging 2.5 yards per carry. Their longest run of the game was only 12 yards. The Vikings had an average of 4.2 yards per rush heading into the Week 11 clash.
Ingram is more agile and capable of shedding his blocker and moving to the second level, similar to the Vikings’ zone running strategy.
Risner lacks the mobility of Ingram, but compensates with his balance and pass-blocking.
O’Connell stated that he does not want to make the right guard slot a weekly competition, which means he must commit to one of the two lines and accept their inadequacies.
Risner PFF Grades From Week 11
Risner, like the rest of the offensive interior, struggled against Tennessee, earning a 50.0 offensive grade from Pro Football Focus (PFF). He allowed two hurries in pass protection and had a 47. 9 run-blocking grade.
Sam Darnold was frequently flushed from the pocket during Week 11. However, he did hold onto the ball for an average of 3.06 seconds.
Overall, the Vikings kept Darnold standing and poised. O’Connell’s future decision at right guard will most likely be determined by how much he is prepared to give in the running game.
