The Vikings are hoping a move to right guard will give Pat Elflein’s career the comfort level and kick start it needs after a backward slide at the other two interior positions the past two years.
“It’s something he’s had a comfort zone with before in his football life,” offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak told reporters on a video conference call earlier today. “We talked about that. … Just a decision made through talking through the process, talking to Pat, talking about how we were going to get started when we got back.”
Elflein was primarily a right guard early in his career at Ohio State. He started 12 of 15 games there as a sophomore and 13 the next season.
He then moved to center before his senior year and ended up winning the Rimington Trophy as the nation’s top center. The Vikings selected him in the third round of the draft and got a decent rookie season out of him at center in 2017.
Offseason ankle and shoulder injuries caused him to miss the start of the 2018 season. He joined the starting lineup in Week 4 but never fully recovered physically and struggled accordingly.
Elflein was moved to left guard when the Vikings used last year’s first-round draft pick on center Garrett Bradbury. Pro Football Focus ranked Elflein 98th among guards last season.
Offensive line coach Rick Dennison played a big role in the decision to move Elflein based on his comfort level at the position back in college.
“Obviously, there were no reps to go off of that this year,” said Kubiak, referring to an offseason that was limited to virtual learning only because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“I think we’re looking at the big picture. Pat’s a good player. He had a good year. Obviously, we’re going to have to fill the other guard spot. Rick and I sat down with Pat. Just felt like this was the best move for us to make right now and go get competitive. Let’s see what happens, but I think Pat’s very comfortable there and he’s a good football player who works his tail off.”
Meanwhile, Dakota Dozier and Aviante Collins are working with the first team at left guard. Rookie second-round draft pick Ezra Cleveland also is in the mix as the Vikings, per coach Mike Zimmer, want to settle on their starting five by the end of this week.
Kubiak seconded Zimmer’s urgency when it comes to finding the top five ASAP. After another light practice today, the full pads go on starting Monday.
“The more people work together, the better they play together,” Kubiak said. “So, yeah, obviously, without preseason games, you have … points where you’re trying to make decisions as you work to opening day.
“This is going to be a grinder week. We got a lot of football practice this week and a ton of reps. So everybody is going to get a good, hard look. We’ll get our pads on throughout the course of this week. So we should be able to take a good look at what’s going on and settle some people down as we get to later in the week.”