Colts Loss at Left Tackle Could Hurt Worse Than Minnesota Vikings’

Last week, the Minnesota Vikings suffered one of the worst injury losses possible, entering the season. Christian Darrisaw has quickly become the shut down left tackle that this franchise has been desperate for since Bryant McKinnie left for Baltimore after the 2010 season.

They tried to replace him with a top-5 draft pick in Matt Kalil (2012), just to find out he was softer mentally than the poop in your backyard when the dog eats something it shouldn’t have. Riley Reiff was okay, but not a long-term answer.

But the last two seasons, Darrisaw has developed into one of the best offensive tackles in football, and a guy who the Minnesota Vikings expect to protect JJ McCarthy’s blindside for the next decade. How good is Christian
Darrisaw?

Minnesota Vikings will desperately miss Christian Darrisaw

We’ll talk PFF scores momentarily. But this one highlight, from a couple of weeks ago vs the Lions, tells you everything you need to know about how good Darrisaw really is. Watch him push the EDGE directly into Blake Brandel before spinning to his right where he met a shocked interior lineman who thought he had an open lane to Sam Darnold.

this stunt pickup from LT Christian Darrisaw is an OT in complete control of his game pic.twitter.com/dq3cr0DZGw

— Mike Renner (@mikerenner_) October 21, 2024

When Christian Darrisaw’s season ended, he had an 81.4 overall PFF grade. He excels in both run blocking and pass protection. There’s really nothing the 25-year-old out of Virginia Tech can’t do. Had he continued his dominance for the entire season, Darrisaw would have been in the running for 1st team All Pro.

Cam Robinson was a big get, especially since the Jacksonville Jaguars were so willing to get rid of the 29-year-old veteran that they paid the Vikings to take him. But nobody is going to mistake him for Christian Darrisaw, over the next 9 weeks of football.

Related: Current and Former Minnesota Vikings Excelling with New Teams

Instead, the Minnesota Vikings will play the rest of the 2024 season without their franchise left tackle. But they aren’t the only team playing on Sunday Night Football without their starter at that position. Like the Vikings, the Indianapolis Colts released their final injury report of week 9 on Friday afternoon, and their left tackle Bernhard Raimann was listed as “OUT”.

Indianapolis Colts down a starting left tackle, too…

Not all injuries are treated the same in the NFL, even if it’s the same position. But in the Colts vs Vikings’ case, the significance of both left tackle injuries are astronomical. Raimann is only 27-years-old, and his performance in 2024 has been VERY comparable to Darrisaw’s.

The Vikings left tackle’s aforementioned 81.4 overall PFF grade ranks 10th among all offensive tackles in the NFL. Raimann’s is just .5 better, at 81.9, which ranks one spot higher (9th). PFF doesn’t have him on the same level as a run blocker, as Darrisaw, but they grade him as a better pass blocker.

I’m not sure if it’s right or wrong, but without a doubt I feel better about the Minnesota Vikings’ chances on Sunday Night Football, knowing the Indianapolis Colts are also playing without one of the better left tackles in the NFL. Cam Robinson will fill in for Darrisaw. The Colts did not make any such trades.

Related: Ed Ingram’s Poor Play Pushed Vikings to Trade for Left Tackle?

The expected replacement at left tackle, for Indy, is Matt Goncalves, a 6’6″ 300 lb rookie who the Colts drafted in the 3rd round out of Pitt. He has been on the field for just 3 offensive snaps during his first NFL season.

On Sunday, he’ll be tasked with stopping Jonathan Greenard, who has proven himself as one of the best pass rushers in football this season, racking up 5 sacks while ranking 1st in QB hurries (33) and 3rd in total pressures (43). Which replacement left tackle, between Robinson and Goncalves, may be the difference in whether the Minnesota Vikings or Indianapolis Colts walk away Sunday night with a victory.