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The Minnesota Vikings understood how valuable offensive line depth was last when starting tackles Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill missed games due to injury.
Swing tackle Blake Brandel, a 2020 sixth-round pick, filled in admirably at left tackle while Darrisaw was out — ultimately earning himself another year in Minnesota.
The Vikings typically haven’t pursued their exclusive rights free agents before the opening of the free agency period in mid-March. However, Minnesota wanted to lock up Brandel, announcing their re-signing of the Oregon State product on February 17.
Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press reported that Brandel signed a one-year, $940,000 tender.
After spending his rookie season on the practice squad, Brandel has played in 22 games over the past two seasons. He made three starts at left tackle in 2022 when Darrisaw was out with a concussion and filled in twice when Darrisaw exited two games with concussion symptoms. Brandel suffered a knee injury on December 11 against the Detroit Lions and missed the remainder of the regular season. He returned for limited action in the playoff loss to the New York Giants.
Vikings Coach Laud Brandel for Stepping Up in Win Over Bills
Brandel stepped up immensely after Darrisaw was knocked out of the first half of the Vikings’ eventual win over the Buffalo Bills in Week 11.
Facing a vaunted Buffalo pass rush, Brandel did not “flinch” in head coach Kevin O’Connell’s eyes.
“What I love the most about Blake – there was just zero flinch to him. I mean, it was the next-man-up mentality,” O’Connell said, per Vikings.com. “A real challenge with Von [Miller] and the way the Bills can rush the passer, and we were kind of in the mode where we had to throw it quite a bit, getting back into that football game and ultimately winning it. So I think Blake deserves a ton of credit for what he went in there and did, and I think it can give him a lot of confidence moving forward that he can step in, really, at multiple spots, I do believe, and help us win a game.”
Offensive coordinator Wes Phillips added that Brandel offers value to the offensive line group and did not allow an elite pass-rusher like Von Miller to break the game.
“Sometimes these guys who haven’t played a lot — this was his first real playing time on the offensive line. He’s played some kind of extra tight end stuff last year, but sometimes they don’t even realize what they did,” Phillips said, per Vikings.com. “They just go in there, and after the game, I said, ‘Great job, man. Von Miller, man, you know?’ And he’s like, ‘Yeah, it was awesome.’ He had a great time — didn’t even realize, you know, this guy has had 100-plus sacks over here and came in and did a great job. It should definitely help his confidence going forward.”
At 6-foot-7, 315 pounds, Brandel has also lined up at center and was even the bonus tight end in heavy packages.
Blake Brandel the Vikings’ Bonus Tight End
Brandel had earned high praise even from the past regime.
In a Thursday Night Football matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2021, Brandel lined up as an extra tight end on the right side across from T.J. Watt, the league’s highest-paid pass-rusher.
Brandel engulfed Watt, setting the edge for a 29-yard touchdown run by Dalvin Cook, who went untouched to the end zone.
Back in 2021, Brandel’s only way of getting reps was to own that bonus tight end spit, where he was asked to run routes from time to time.
“We practice them every week, but I’ve never run routes in my life,” Brandel said, per Vikings.com. “But when they put it up there, I ask who I need to ask, in terms of what I should be doing. Then just try to go out and execute and hope it works.”
Tyler Conklin praised Brandel for his performance that game, which proved to be a stepping stone in the young lineman’s career.
“Blake, first of all, he’s really smart to be able to move around and do stuff at tight end, and he’s even in motion sometimes,” Conklin said, per Vikings.com. “He’s a heck of a blocker. Anytime you can put some size in there that can handle moving a spot over from tackle, I think that’s beneficial.”
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