Five Options For the Vikings at Left Guard in 2020
It's no secret that one of the Vikings' biggest weaknesses in 2019 was the play of left guard Pat Elflein. In his third season, the former third-round pick from Ohio State moved from center to guard and really struggled with the transition. Starting 15 games, Elflein allowed a team-high 32 pressures, gave up six sacks, and was penalized eight times (six holds, two false starts). He ranked 70th out of 80 qualifying guards in PFF's pass protection grades, consistently having difficulty holding up against interior pass-rushers. Along with the average play of left tackle Riley Reiff and the rookie struggles of center Garrett Bradbury, the left side of the Vikings' offensive line wasn't nearly good enough.
As we head into 2020, Elflein's status as the starting left guard seems to be in serious jeopardy. Here are five options for the Vikings at the position next season.
Sign a top-tier free agent
If money were no issue, the Vikings would love to make a splash by signing an elite guard in free agency this offseason. There are three hitting the market: the Redskins' Brandon Scherff, the Patriots' Joe Thuney, and the Lions' Graham Glasgow. All three ranked among the top 12 guards in the league in 2019, according to PFF, and would provide a major upgrade for the interior of the Vikings' offensive line.
Unfortunately for Minnesota, money is an issue. The Vikings are roughly $12 million over the cap right now, and need to clear a good amount of space just to sign their upcoming draft class and retain a few internal free agents. It seems unlikely that they'll have the means to make a big move beyond that. Scherff, Thuney, and Glasgow will all likely command upwards of $11 million annually. It's not completely out of the question, but it would be surprising to see the Vikings land one of these three guys.
Sign a cheaper free agent
If the Vikings are intent on bringing in a veteran from outside the organization to take over for Elflein, they'll likely have to try to recreate their successful signing of right guard Josh Kline (3 years, $15.5 million) last offseason. But finding a bargain guard in free agency for a second straight year won't be easy, and the Vikings may not even have the cap space to realistically go with this option without sacrificing elsewhere. Austin Blythe, Greg Van Roten, and Mike Iupati are a few potential names the Vikings could look into.
Read: How Can the Vikings Improve Their Offensive Line?
Draft a guard early
The cheapest way to add a player at any position is through the draft, and the Vikings could certainly use one of their early picks on a guard. There likely aren't any that would be a good value at No. 25 overall, but Rick Spielman could look to grab a guard as soon as the second round or wait until the third or fourth. Any guard taken in the sixth or later would be a longshot to contribute. I'll probably do a full breakdown of the guard class at some point, but some names to know are Nick Harris (Washington), Robert Hunt (ULL), Damien Lewis (LSU), Jonah Jackson (Ohio State), Shane Lemieux (Oregon), and Ben Bredeson (Michigan).
Move Reiff inside
The Vikings might be able to find an upgrade at LG without spending money on a free agent or using a valuable draft pick. One possibility that has been widely discussed this offseason is to add a new starter at left tackle – whether through free agency or the draft – and to move Riley Reiff to guard. The Vikings tried that with Mike Remmers a couple years ago, but the experiment was unsuccessful and Remmers ended up being cut. However, there's reason to believe it could work better with Reiff, who played some guard in college and has better hands and lateral movement ability than Remmers did. Reiff's contract would almost certainly need to be restructured for this to happen.
Stick with what they have
Lastly, the Vikings could simply stick with what they have. Specifically, that would mean having Elflein and 2019 fourth-round pick Dru Samia compete for the left guard spot. For all of his struggles in pass protection, Elflein did finish 15th of 80 guards in PFF's run blocking grades. Maybe with better play from Bradbury to his right and a new tackle to his left, Elflein (who turns 26 in July) could improve as a pass-blocker in year four. Samia is also an intriguing prospect. At 6-foot-5, he's bigger than Elflein, and the Vikings like the toughness and tenacity he showed in practice last season as he essentially red-shirted. If Reiff is cut for cap purposes and the Vikings don't want to prioritize adding a guard in free agency or the draft, this might be the route they end up going.
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