Vikings’ Top 10 Player Projected to Miss Start of Season

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Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell.
Aside from the quarterback position and depth on the edges of the secondary, both areas that could pan out splendidly in the coming months, the Minnesota Vikings have built out one of the more talented rosters in the NFL.

However, the team will likely enter Solider Field against the rival Chicago Bears in Week 1 with one of its crucial offensive units incomplete.

Left tackle Christian Darrisaw, the anchor of what some analysts have projected as the league’s best offensive line in 2025, tore both his ACL and MCL during a contest against the Los Angeles Rams in the middle of last season. And while Darrisaw’s rehabilitation is progressing well, Alec Lewis of The Athletic recently projected that the fifth-year lineman probably won’t be back at full strength by September 8.

“Will he be back in time for Week 1? That’s probably a rosy expectation at this point,” Lewis wrote on July 2. “Still, Darrisaw has attacked his rehab. The Vikings have commended his progress.”

 
Christian Darrisaw Ranked 9th-Best Tackle in NFL Heading Into 2025
 
GettyLeft tackle Christian Darrisaw of the Minnesota Vikings.
Darrisaw, 26, inked a $104 million deal just under one year ago that keeps him under contract in Minnesota through the 2029 campaign.

He earned that money by performing as among the top tackles in the league, regardless of the left or right side of the line. Pro Football Focus ranked Darrisaw 11th overall at the position among 140 tackles who played enough snaps to qualify in 2024.

ESPN polled several of the league’s current coaches, front office executives and talent scouts in an effort to rank the top 10 at every position heading into the 2025 campaign. Darrisaw finished sixth in those rankings last season, with his highest-ever ranking slotting in at No. 5 overall. He came in at ninth this time around, per an article authored by Jeremy Folwer on Sunday, July 13.

Darrisaw’s severe knee injury is the primary issue with his standing on the list, as he’s recovering from a torn ACL and MCL. In minicamp, Darrisaw conducted individual drills but hadn’t graduated to 11-man work. The Vikings will take it slowly with him, and plenty of evaluators still see him as elite.

Despite the injury costing him 10 games, Darrisaw produced an 88.9 pass block win rate on 197 snaps along with a 79.7 run block win rate.
Fowler also quoted a “veteran NFL offensive coach” who spoke glowingly of Darrisaw.

“He’s got it all,” the coach told Fowler. “He has power, good feet, balance and range.”

 
Vikings Invested Heavily in Offensive Line This Offseason
 
GettyMinnesota Vikings offensive guard Donovan Jackson.
Minnesota surrendered nine sacks that cost the team 82 yards and contributed mightily to a 27-9 blowout loss at the hands of the Rams during Round 1 of the playoffs in January.

Darrisaw’s return should help fix that flaw, though the Vikings didn’t leave it at that. The team also signed guard Will Fries and center Ryan Kelly to substantial contracts this offseason to solidify the interior of the offensive line.

Minnesota then selected guard Donovan Jackson out of Ohio State with the No. 24 overall pick in this year’s draft, who is likely to begin the season in the starting lineup.
Max Dible covers the NFL, NBA and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns. He covered local and statewide news as a reporter for West Hawaii Today and served as news director for BigIslandNow.com and Pacific Media Group's family of Big Island radio stations before joining Heavy. More about Max Dible