INDIANAPOLIS — After walking back some of his comments on the interior of the offensive line, head coach Kevin O’Connell still made clear Tuesday at the 2025 NFL Combine that he’s looking for more out of the Vikings in the trenches.
“We need to have a level of execution and a level of physicality,” O’Connell said. “After playing really well in December, which was a goal of ours, we’ve got to find a way to get back in the dance and put our best foot forward in January.”
The good news for the Vikings is it sounds as if star left tackle Christian Darrisaw is trending in the right direction as he recovers from a torn anterior cruciate ligament. He suffered the injury while getting rolled up on during a Week 8 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
“It was a huge loss for a lot of aspects of our play style and what we really wanted to play like through the totality of 2024,” O’Connell said. “Even if we were able to overcome it, we’re very much looking forward to getting CD back.”
Where exactly is Darrisaw with his recovery?
“He’s absolutely killing it every step of the way,” O’Connell said. “I look forward to seeing how the spring and the summer go.”
Carter added to coaching staff
After losing Shaun Sarrett to the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Vikings have hired Keith Carter as an offensive line coach.
In his past, Carter has spent time as the offensive line coach of Tennessee Titans and the New York Jets. In his new role, Carter will report directly to Chris Kuper, who has been the Vikings’ offensive line coach since O’Connell took over.
“I wanted to take the opportunity to get a former No. 1 and a guy that’s been involved in some of the best rushing attacks,” O’Connell said. “He really wanted to come to Minnesota and he’s going to be able to help us a lot and infuse some things into our run game.”
Though some have criticized Carter for his approach, the Vikings did their due diligence and felt comfortable hiring him.
“You’ll find some things about him in regards to being tough on his players,” O’Connell said. “I think in the No. 2 role, he’s going to be really good for us, and he’s in a great spot in his career to really help us.”
Udinski will be missed
Maybe the biggest loss for the Vikings so far this offseason came when Grant Udinski was hired as the offensive coordinator of the Jaguars. In his previous role, Udinski served as the Vikings’ assistant quarterbacks coach, meaning he worked closely with O’Connell.
“Just getting to work with Grant over these past three years has been absolutely one of the highlights of my time in Minnesota,” O’Connell said. “I’ve joked that if we added up all the hours that I’ve spent with Grant one on one, and then we added up all the hours that I’ve spent with my wife over the past three years — even if I’d like to think Leah won out — it’s probably going to be a pretty close finish there.”
The confidence that O’Connell has in Udinski was palpable as he talked about him taking the next step in his career.
“He’s prepared for this opportunity,” O’Connell said. “He’s going to do great things for them.”
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