Blake
Brandel.
Blake
Brandel.
Oregon St.
"A 48-game Oregon State ironman, Brandel is a patient, cerebral pass protector whose experience and length give him a real floor as a swing lineman who can play tackle or guard."Pre-draft read
Brandel is a long, upright left tackle who made his living in pass protection, setting from a two-point stance with a patient, measured kick slide. He wins by staying square and keeping edge rushers on his outside shoulder, using his length to catch and steer rather than to strike. His hands are placed inside with good timing, and his balance lets him absorb speed without opening the gate too early.
As a run blocker he is a positional player: he reaches, seals and climbs in the zone game instead of moving bodies off the ball, and he can run his feet on combo blocks to the second level. He is not a knockback player at the point of attack. His separator is reliability, with snap-to-snap consistency and the processing to pass off twists.
Outside and mid zone running game that asks its linemen to reach, climb and protect with technique rather than displace defenders with raw power.
Year 1: developmental swing tackle and game-day reserve. Ceiling: a starting interior lineman who can also cover tackle in an emergency.
A downhill gap-and-power offense that asks its tackles to win one-on-one against bull rushers and drive defenders off the ball on early downs.
His value compounded as he added positions; each new spot made him harder to cut.
Blake Brandel Highlights
College highlight reel of his pass sets and zone blocking at left tackle for Oregon State.
Blake Brandel vs Oregon (2017)
Single-game cut-up of his reps at left tackle in the Civil War against Oregon.
Blake Brandel stepping into the role of center for the Minnesota Vikings
Report on his move to center for Minnesota, the final step in his path from tackle to interior starter.
Brandel projects as a smart, durable swing lineman whose floor comes from pass-protection polish and whose best path to a job runs through versatility. The buyer is getting a four-year starter who has already seen every look the Pac-12 could show a left tackle, not a traits gamble, and whose game translates to any zone-based offense.
The context is continuity. He started 48 straight games for Oregon State, the third-longest streak in school history, beginning with nine games at right tackle as a redshirt freshman before holding left tackle for three full seasons. His 2019 tape was his cleanest, earning second-team All-Pac-12 honors while allowing one sack. The flags are functional strength and anchor against power rushers, along with a frame that needed more mass to hold up inside.
Boards treated him as a Day 3 developmental tackle, and his pro day numbers were ordinary. Minnesota took him at No. 203 as a low-cost bet that his experience and length would grow into a backup role at tackle or guard.
- 01
Pass-set patience
Stays square in his kick slide and waits on rushers instead of lunging, keeping speed on his outside shoulder through the rush arc.
- 02
Four-year durability
Started 48 consecutive games for Oregon State, the third-longest streak in school history, without missing time along the way.
- 03
Mental processing
Passes off twists and stunts cleanly and recognizes pressure pictures early, a trait that later let him learn center in the NFL.
- 04
Length and hand timing
Uses his long frame to catch and steer defenders, landing inside hands on time instead of absorbing contact with his chest.
- 05
Zone-scheme movement
Reaches, seals and climbs to linebackers on combo blocks, running his feet well enough to finish at the second level in the zone game.
- 01
Functional strength
Lacks the lower-body power to displace defenders at the point of attack and rarely creates knockback on down blocks in the run game.
- 02
Anchor against power
Bull rushers could walk him back into the pocket when they got into his frame, a real issue against the stronger edges he faced.
- 03
Frame needed mass
Played around 300 pounds on a tall build, so he needed to add weight before he could hold up against NFL interior linemen.
- 04
Ordinary testing
His pro day times and jumps were modest for a tackle, which capped his outside ceiling and pointed toward an interior future.
| Yr | Team | G |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Oregon St. | 12 |
| 2017 | Oregon St. | 12 |
| 2018 | Oregon St. | 12 |
| 2019 | Oregon St. | 12 |
| Career | — | 48 |
Redshirted in 2015. Started 48 consecutive games from 2016 to 2019 (nine at right tackle as a redshirt freshman, then left tackle for three full seasons), which Oregon State lists as the third-longest start streak in school history. Oregon State did not play in a bowl game in any of those seasons. Offensive linemen carry no statistical line beyond games and starts.
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Converted small-school tackle who became a starting guard through versatility and technique.
Zone-scheme interior starter who wins with movement and processing rather than raw power.
Long tackle who bounced between tackle and guard as a reserve without locking down a starting job.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Minnesota kept Brandel on the roster but he did not appear in a game as a rookie in 2020. He logged 13 games without a start in 2021, made three starts in 2022 and two more in 2023 while serving as the reserve at tackle and guard. The breakthrough came in 2024, when he won the left guard job and started all 17 games for a playoff team. In 2025 he started nine more games and was moved to center for the first time in his career, snapping in London against Cleveland before holding the job through midseason and filling in at both tackle spots and left guard.
In hindsight the pick was a clear win for a sixth-rounder. The anchor concerns were real enough to push him off the edge, but his intelligence and snap-to-snap consistency let him learn three positions at the NFL level. He entered his seventh Vikings season in 2026 as the starting center, a late-round tackle turned interior starter through versatility.