Why Are the Vikings Still Sticking With Ed Ingram?
Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
If I was on “Family Feud” and Steve Harvey asked me what a poll of 100 Minnesota Vikings fans said their least favorite current player is, I know exactly what would happen. My hand would move with such quickness and force that I’d destroy that buzzer, tell him “Ed Ingram,” and celebrate getting the No. 1 answer. Ingram has built himself a reputation among the fanbase as the clumsiest Vikings interior offensive lineman in recent memory, with his penchant for forcing fumbles and tripping over his own quarterback.
This was the Vikings' first turnover, which happened just outside of the red zone in the first quarter.
Ed Ingram's left hand knocked the ball out of Cousins' hands. Never seen that before. pic.twitter.com/m1x3y9HNv9
— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) September 11, 2023
There’s been a lot of noise about the Vikings potentially benching Ingram in favor of veteran guard Dalton Risner, but that hasn’t materialized. I can relate to fans who want to see a changing of the guards, as I’ve been right there in questioning Ingram’s competency as a starter on numerous occasions. But it turns out that Ingram has played well over the last four games. Shockingly well, in fact. He’s boasting an average pass-blocking grade of 70.9 in that span, according to Pro Football Focus.
Granted, those numbers don’t tell the whole story. Even though Ingram has put up good stats as of late, he’s still very much prone to downright atrocious performances. Such was the case in Week 5 against the New York Jets, as he finished the game with a pitiful 19.8 PFF pass blocking grade. Ingram’s 2024 has been like the guard equivalent to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and you can only wonder which version of him will show up against the Tennessee Titans.
At his worst, the 2022 second-rounder is slow to react in pass protection. The phrase: “A chain is only as strong as its weakest link” proved to be especially true in this clip below. Notice how it only took Maliek Collins (No. 99) a mere two seconds after the snap to blow past Ingram before he was right in Sam Darnold’s face? One of the areas of deficiency that showed up on a scouting report was his “below-average reactive movements in protection”, and that was on full display here.
Ed Ingram got whipped by Maliek Collins on this play, but the rest of the blocking was good. Darnold did a nice job of navigating the initial pressure, but then kind of lost his bearing and ran into Bosa. I honestly feel like he could have scrambled for the first here. pic.twitter.com/6ux4OdT9iM
— Matt Fries (@FriesFootball) September 17, 2024
Processing stunts has been another issue for Ingram. Remember that lackluster performance against the Jets? The reason why he played so poorly in that game extends far beyond Quinnen Williams simply winning his individual matchup. Robert Saleh deployed all sorts of stunts against Ingram, attacking his lack of awareness in picking them up. That weakness was evident during this next play below where the guard puts all of his focus on picking up Williams (No. 95), which gave Micheal Clemons (No. 72) a wide-open lane to sack Darnold.
I'm not sure why Ed Ingram still struggles with stunts, but he's gotta see Michael Clemons looping here pic.twitter.com/hUrW7f6pVy
— Tyler Forness (@TheRealForno) October 7, 2024
Fortunately, Ed Ingram has shown positive development in recent weeks picking up stunts. In the Vikings’ Week 9 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts, Ingram did a great job of communicating pre-snap with Brian O’Neill in this rep below. Notice how he taps O’Neill’s head, telling the tackle to match up against rookie Laiatu Latu (No. 97) on the edge. This allows Ingram to easily take care of the much lighter Dayo Odeyingbo (No. 54), who gets washed out by the Vikings’ interior offensive line. It’s a perfect example of how good communication leads to great execution.
Has Ed Ingram figured out how to pick up stunts consistently? pic.twitter.com/wzmc6RRcIA
— Tyler Forness (@TheRealForno) November 5, 2024
Most importantly, Ingram’s single best trait as a draft prospect is finally starting to translate to the professional level. The biggest reason why Kwesi Adofo-Mensah drafted Ingram was because of his strength in pass protection. This last video features two plays where he holds his own against Leonard Floyd (No. 56) and the aforementioned Collins. In the first play, Collins tries to beat Ingram with speed again, but this time the guard picks him up and sustains his block until O’Neill finishes the job. Afterward, Floyd comes flying in only to get shoved to the ground by Ingram.
Ed Ingram out here taking Leonard Floyd to the woodshed… Sheesh lol pic.twitter.com/3WmNM8acWB
— Ben Fennell (@BenFennell_NFL) September 16, 2024
On the second play from the same video, the San Francisco 49ers attempt to attack Ingram with a stunt. Collins is going to occupy space in between Ingram and O’Neill, which gives Floyd an opening to generate pressure up the middle. Ingram gives up a little bit of ground to Floyd’s speed-rush, but uses his strength to bring Floyd to the turf, shoving him one more time for good measure.
Hopefully, we get to see the good version of Ingram on Sunday. The Titans pose a unique threat to the Vikings, with two physical specimens manning the interior defensive line. Jeffery Simmons is one the league’s best pass-rushing defensive linemen, and they have a 6-foot-4, 366-pound behemoth of a man in T’Vondre Sweat at nose tackle, and he moves impossibly well for his size. Titans defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson also carries an attack-first mentality, having coached under the tutelage of Jeff Fisher and the hated Gregg Williams.
The Titans’ two-headed monster on the defensive line will be a challenge for the Vikings’ interior offensive line to deal with. However one thing is certain: Ingram has shown signs of improvement and he does have the talent to execute it on the field. If that wasn’t the case, the Vikings would have benched Ingram for Risner by now. But he has to keep proving it, and at this point, the only thing that can stop Ed Ingram from reaching his full potential is himself.
Up Next