Kevin O'Connell Hints at Starting Center Plan, Jonathan Greenard's Future

Blake Brandel, at least for right now, you are the starting center for the Minnesota Vikings.

That was already the speculation since Minnesota lost Ryan Kelly to retirement and didn't sign a veteran center in free agency, but O'Connell, via phone from the NFL owners' meetings in Phoenix, Arizona, on Monday, made it abundantly clear that Brandel is the frontrunner for the starting center job, albeit with some competition from Michael Jurgens and anyone they take in the draft.

"I think we want to have a competitive situation there," O'Connell began in a conversation with KFAN's Paul Allen. "With Blake, specifically, what I can remember talking to you about him last year, just his willingness to step in there without a lot of time on task, and play the center position, and how he handled it, it was really impressive. I wasn't surprised by that, just knowing how Blake had really culminated playing all five spots across the offensive line."

"We just feel like it's time to allow him to really focus on that center position. We think like he's got a ton of upside with his smarts and athleticism and his ability to get to the second level on certain defenders. So we want to allow Blake to get comfortable in that spot, compete a little bit as well with Jurgens as well," O'Connell continued.

"Michael Jurgens has continued to grow and ascend as a young player. And then I'd be remiss if I didn't mention some of the depth there at that position in the draft. We feel really good about the guys we have in that position right now, with the opportunity potentially maybe to add a player as well in the draft, where we see a talented group of guys who could be available."

O'Connell locked onto Brandel when discussing the center question, with Jurgens and the draft serving as complementary parts of his answer. It was very clearly a sign that Minnesota is focusing, at least for now, on Brandel starting at center next season.

That means the offensive line, from left to right, will feature Christian Darrisaw, Donovan Jackson, Brandel, Will Fries, and Brian O'Neill. Darrisaw, O'Neill, and Kelly, who suffered three concussions last season, were held back from their full potential by injuries. If healthy, and if Brandel can make the leap to a solid starting center for 17 games, the offensive line in 2026 should yield significantly better results.

Jonathan Greenard's future

Jonathan Greenard, Viking — Dec 7, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings outside linebacker Andrew van Ginkel (43) reacts with linebacker Jonathan Greenard (58) during the second half at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Before hopping on the phone with KFAN, O'Connell had breakfast and met with local media who made the trip to Arizona for the owners' meetings. During that roundtable discussion (they literally sat at a round table), O'Connell was asked about Greenard, who has been involved in trade rumors as he reportedly seeks a new contract that pays him his market value.

"Yeah, I expect him to be part of our team. I know there's always conversations, there's conversations this week, there's conversations throughout the offseason," O'Connell said, according to ESPN's Kevin Seifert.

"And we'll continue to kind of attack things at the different phases. We're getting ready to really jump heavily into draft meetings when we get back, but at the same time, we're always going to try to do what's best for our team and also what we think is best for each one of our individual players. And that's an ongoing thing throughout every offseason."

Clearly, the Greenard situation is fluid, and therefore, a trade cannot be ruled out.

The issue may be the fact that there don't appear to be many teams in the market for a high-priced edge rusher. At least not many teams that are willing to give up the draft captial Minnesota would surely ask for to part with Greenard.

The Colts could use an edge, but they may be hesitant to part with second-round picks after trading their 2026 and 2027 first-round picks to the Jets for cornerback Sauce Gardner last season. The Eagles have picks, but are they willing to pay Greenard when they had Jaelan Phillips on the roster and let him leave as a free agent? Philly, historically, hasn't doled out massive contracts to edge rushers.

As we recently discussed, the Vikings don't need to rush to a conclusion with Greenard.