Darrisaw has been a revelation

I was so upset during the draft when we passed on him and moved down.  Thank goodness for the Raiders taking leatherwood and Darrisaw dropping into our laps. Great pick by Spelly.
Darrisaw was my target pre-draft.  I liked him as much as Slater (who I think we tepidly put a feeler out for at 8) because he had the prototypical long arms of a LT while Slater's are shorter.

@"StickyBun" said: He's flat out dominating. Kicking ass in both the run game and pass protect. This is a legit top 3 LT in the NFL. I was hoping for above average, which would have been a nice upgrade, but he's so much more. His aggressiveness is something he really didn't have a ton of in college, but man you see it as a pro. His development has been rapid. So nice to see as a fan. 

@"MaroonBells" said:

@"StickyBun" said: He's flat out dominating. Kicking ass in both the run game and pass protect. This is a legit top 3 LT in the NFL. I was hoping for above average, which would have been a nice upgrade, but he's so much more. His aggressiveness is something he really didn't have a ton of in college, but man you see it as a pro. His development has been rapid. So nice to see as a fan. 

He's been a block of concrete this year. What's more, his highlights show a nastiness that rarely showed up in his college tape. He's got a great chance to make Pro Bowl or All Pro this year. So rare these days to have Pro Bowl-caliber players on both sides of the line. 

The gods owe us this one...

Been way to long since they've had a decent LT, let alone one who is legit Pro Bowl and sniffing All Pro air. 

While the mid-round draft picks derailed the roster's depth under Spielman, you do have to give him credit for pulling the trigger on both Jefferson & Darrisaw in back to back drafts in the 20's none the less. Getting two all-pro players at priority positions is huge. 

@"Geoff Nichols" said: While the mid-round draft picks derailed the roster's depth under Spielman, you do have to give him credit for pulling the trigger on both Jefferson & Darrisaw in back to back drafts in the 20's none the less. Getting two all-pro players at priority positions is huge. 

@"Geoff Nichols" said: While the mid-round draft picks derailed the roster's depth under Spielman, you do have to give him credit for pulling the trigger on both Jefferson & Darrisaw in back to back drafts in the 20's none the less. Getting two all-pro players at priority positions is huge. 

@"MaroonBells" said:

@"StickyBun" said: He's flat out dominating. Kicking ass in both the run game and pass protect. This is a legit top 3 LT in the NFL. I was hoping for above average, which would have been a nice upgrade, but he's so much more. His aggressiveness is something he really didn't have a ton of in college, but man you see it as a pro. His development has been rapid. So nice to see as a fan. 

He's been a block of concrete this year. What's more, his highlights show a nastiness that rarely showed up in his college tape. He's got a great chance to make Pro Bowl or All Pro this year. So rare these days to have Pro Bowl-caliber players on both sides of the line. 

Danielle Hunter on Christian Darrisaw:

"I have some of my guys ask me sometimes, how do I beat him? I'm like, bro... make it a stalemate or hope he messes up."

“I can see it in him. He has the opportunity to be one of the greatest tackles to ever play for this team.”

— Andrew Krammer (@Andrew_Krammer) November 4, 2022

@"Vikergirl" said: https://twitter.com/Andrew_Krammer/status/1588618012000768000?s=19

@"StickyBun" said:

@"Vikergirl" said: https://twitter.com/Andrew_Krammer/status/1588618012000768000?s=19

He's the real deal. 100 percent confident. It shows in his play. Think how he'll be next year. You just aren't going to get there through Darrisaw. Teams will have to gameplan against it. They are already doing it. This is a big compliment from Hunter.

@"AGRforever" said:

@"StickyBun" said:

@"Vikergirl" said: https://twitter.com/Andrew_Krammer/status/1588618012000768000?s=19

He's the real deal. 100 percent confident. It shows in his play. Think how he'll be next year. You just aren't going to get there through Darrisaw. Teams will have to gameplan against it. They are already doing it. This is a big compliment from Hunter.

In fairness he’s not gonna say hes a slouch. 

He probably didn't show much nastiness in college because he simply didn't have to. He was just that much better than everyone else. 

Darrisaw has only played the equivalent of one full regular season — 17 starts. That makes his steady play this year more impressive, considering his rookie campaign was undercut by a lingering core muscle injury that required two surgeries, the last during 2021 training camp.Vikings offensive line coach Chris Kuper arrived this spring with the new coaching staff and was surprised to hear how injured Darrisaw was, because the film of his 10 rookie starts didn't show a guy who had missed spring workouts and training camp.
"You know you got something to work with when a guy looks like that coming straight off the training room," Kuper said.
But Darrisaw wasn't exactly thrilled with his performance. He didn't give up a single sack during his last season at Virginia Tech despite playing through the abdominal pain that required operations.
He held himself to the same standard when then-Cowboys edge rusher Randy Gregory beat him for his first sack allowed in the NFL in Week 8.
"That was my second start, 'Sunday Night Football,' " Darrisaw said. "He was setting me up all game for this one move. He was going power, power, power consecutively. And then he kind of hit me with like a power and a spin move. ... I'd never seen anything like it."
Heading into this season, Darrisaw said he focused on improving pass protection. His footwork needed to become more consistent. He needed to vary the way he positions himself against a rusher, known as pass sets. Dropping back the same way over and over allowed rushers like Gregory to easily set him up with their moves.
Darrisaw said he's learning how to throw "curveballs" at defenders, from standard vertical sets — or a straight backward shuffle — to 45-degree angle sets or aggressive, "attacking" sets where he initiates the contact.
He has returned to his lofty standard. Through seven games, Darrisaw is one of just three NFL tackles to make every start and not surrender a sack, according to Pro Football Focus, joining the Buccaneers' Tristan Wirfs and the Giants' Andrew Thomas.
The improvement was showcased against then-Bears edge rusher Robert Quinn, whom Darrisaw recalled beating him for two sacks last season. The night before the Vikings' Oct. 9 win against Chicago, O'Connell called out Darrisaw's matchup with Quinn in the team meeting as one of the keys to victory.
After Quinn was held without a quarterback hit or sack, O'Connell gave Darrisaw a game ball.
"He challenged me to not let him get going," Darrisaw said. "You got the tools and everything to go out there and have a dominant day. I went out there and did that and we got the win, so it was a great feeling."
https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-vikings-washington-commanders-christian-darrisaw-homecoming/600222345/

Darrisaw grew up watching and idolizing Trent Williams, the longtime Washington left tackle who has long been one of the NFL's premier blockers and is likely headed for Canton after he retires.
The 34-year-old Williams, who now plays for the 49ers, has taken Darrisaw under his wing. They have texted each other weekly since first meeting after the Vikings' loss in San Francisco last year. When the 49ers came to town for joint practices this summer, Williams bestowed a compliment that resonated with Darrisaw.
"Watching him as a kid in FedEx Field, and like, him being my favorite player, the reason I wear 71," Darrisaw said. "Him telling me he sees, like, his younger self in me."
"Definitely a surreal moment," he added.
Darrisaw and Williams share tips about common opponents they face. The nine-time Pro Bowler has also given Darrisaw general advice about how to be his own harshest critic, telling him to pick apart his techniques even on winning reps. Right tackle Brian O'Neill, also a Pro Bowler, sees some Williams-like traits in his teammate.
"Just the sheer power and his ability to move people off the ball," O'Neill said. "His ability to sit down on bull rush. He's a physically explosive freak."
Younger Vikings edge rushers have asked Danielle Hunter how to beat Darrisaw in practices. Hunter said he doesn't have many good answers.
"I can see it in him," Hunter said. "He has the opportunity to be one of the greatest tackles to ever play for this team."
Darrisaw's bullish strength and nimble feet to mirror athletic defenders "opens up everything you want to do game plan-wise," according to Kuper.
"You rarely see that in a left tackle," he said. "Even if they do have it, some guys want to play a finesse type of ball, which a lot of times is OK at left tackle. But when he's doing the stuff he has been on film, being physical in the run game, being physical in protection, that bleeds into the rest of your group.
"https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-vikings-washington-commanders-christian-darrisaw-homecoming/600222345/

Darrisaw has lifted up quarterback Kirk Cousins on the field with steady blindside play — and off the field with a sparkling diamond chain.
In what's become a road-win tradition, players put their chains on Cousins during the team flight back to Minneapolis to give the quarterback some shine. Darrisaw's chain and diamond-studded pendant with the initials C.D. was the first put on Cousins, on the flight back from London on Oct. 2.
Laughing along with his teammates, Cousins called it "empowering."
And if the Vikings beat Cousins' former team in Washington on Sunday?
"It's going to be another video trending of Kirk with the chain on," Darrisaw said.

Christian Darrisaw vs. Montez Sweat today should be fun. By PFF grades, it's the No. 4 OT in the league against the No. 6 edge rusher. 🍿🍿🍿

— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) November 6, 2022