Replacing Ed Ingram with Dalton Risner is a complex equation that could cause more issues than solutions
The Minnesota Vikings' offensive line has been a contentious subject over the last decade-plus. It's especially been that way at guard since Steve Hutchinson's departure after the 2011 season. The current edition of the Vikings has another potential conundrum on their hands. It's not on the level of Dakota Dozier and Dru Samia, but it's […]
The Minnesota Vikings' offensive line has been a contentious subject over the last decade-plus. It's especially been that way at guard since Steve Hutchinson's departure after the 2011 season.
The current edition of the Vikings has another potential conundrum on their hands. It's not on the level of Dakota Dozier and Dru Samia, but it's a tough one nonetheless. 2022 second-round pick Ed Ingram has been the starter for his entire Vikings tenure and fans have been calling for him to be replaced by Dalton Risner, who has never played right guard in the National Football League with all of his snaps coming at left guard since he was a second-round pick of the Denver Broncos in 2019.
The big question here is: would Risner be an upgrade over Ingram?
Is Dalton Risner an upgrade over Ed Ingram?
Many want Risner to take over for Ingram this week against the Los Angeles Rams. It's been a major topic of discussion. It's been something that the beat writers have alluded to, including The Minnesota Star Tribune's Ben Goessling on The Access Vikings podcast.
“Ed Ingram had another tough day today. Maybe… we’ll see what happens. Everybody keeps saying, ‘why are you guys talking so much about Dalton Risner possibly being the starter’? That’s what we keep hearing, is that is something [replacing Ingram with Risner] they are considering very seriously.
"So, again… I said it to somebody on Twitter this week. We generally, our approach at the Star Tribune, is not to just spout opinions, especially on this show. I think, when we say stuff, it’s generally something we’re hearing, and that we’re fairly confident they’re at least thinking about doing.”
It's fair to be critical of Ingram, but the reason why he gets criticism isn't actually addressing the root issue. Most just look at the overall Pro Football Focus grades and pressure numbers and that doesn't tell the whole story.
The biggest issue for Ingram is his playstyle. My comparison for Ingram is former boxing heavyweight champion Mike Tyson. He wants to knock you out and will get himself out of position too often whether it be leaning in trying to knock you out or failing to get enough power on the punch. It's been an issue consistently. When he does lose, it's going to look significantly worse than other players because of the play style.
However, there are still plenty of really good reps from Ingram that haven't been discussed enough. He drives defenders with power in the running game and can stonewall the defensive line with more consistency than you might think.
The difficult part with Ingram's losses is how much it impacts the grades. Not all pressures are created equally and that is what Pro Football Focus' Dalton Wasserman told me on The Real Forno Show.
"So, the two things that think to look at are when you find pass rush win rates as well because that'll tell you even if Darnold gets rid of the ball before say the pressure is coming that'll tell you really how often that somebody like an Ed Ingram is losing his block and the pass rush grade is really the big thing right? So, you talk about, okay Ed Ingram got a 29 in pass blocking grade and Garrett Bradbury got a 50 but you know Ingram's only got four more pressures right? I'll even admit to you that four pressures is not going to in itself cost 20 points in our pass-blocking grades. That's not how it works.
"There's other blocks behind the scenes. Lets say again, if Darnold gets rid of the ball before pressure can get there, we still grade those blocks right and if you won or lost, then how quickly you won or lost. So, the pass-blocking grade is the biggest thing when it come to trying to boil that all together because it does factor in the amount of pressure but also the quality of it. That's just the sort of thing that our pass-blocking grades try to boil as much as we can into one number is the combination of the amount of pressure and the quality of it. You could give up three pressures in a game instead of 10 and still have a really bad pass-blocking grade if you really got beat bad on those three, so there is a lot of context that goes into it."
The issue with Ingram isn't so much that he has misses on tape, but that when he misses, it's a big whiff—kind of like swinging at a slider that's in the dirt. Those are much more visible to the naked eye on the game broadcast and impactful to a player's perception.
The element of perception is so crucial when talking about player, especially on the offensive line where they don't exactly get a lot of publicity or notoriety. Risner has a very positive perception on an overall level, mainly due to the fanbase latching onto him before the Vikings signed him last season after their week two loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Overall, Risner wasn't exactly great when he came in to replace a then-injured Ezra Cleveland. He ended up keeping the job and started the rest of the year after the Vikings traded Cleveland to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Here's the thing with Risner as a player: he would be a downgrade for the Vikings. While his pass blocking is more consistent than Ingram's, Risner can't run block well at all. With the Vikings running a lot of duo, you need to be able to drive defenders out of gaps.
Ingram can do it, Risner can't.
Another thing that Risner struggles with is climbing to the second level on run plays. In this offense, that's a requirement. If you don't do it at a high level, that puts the running game down a peg. Teams will be able to see that and they won't respect the run game nearly as much. That will hinder how the Vikings' passing game looks and works.
The Vikings are also asking their offensive line to play at an extremely high difficulty level. The Vikings are eighth in pass block win rate, which measures keeping a block for 2.5 seconds or longer. The Vikings are also 10th in the league in time to pressure at 2.62 seconds, meaning they are holding their blocks for a long time before allowing Sam Darnold to feel pressure.
Is a slight improvement in the passing game on a unit that is already playing well worth taking that kind of hit in the run game? I certainly don't think so, but the Vikings might be willing to take that bet anyway. Will it work? Only time has that answer right now.
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