Quessenberry Deserves More Love For His Thankless Swing Tackle Role
Credit: Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images
Brian O’Neill had a bit of an injury scare in the Minnesota Vikings’ 30-12 win over the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football. On a first down run play for Aaron Jones, Bears defensive lineman Chris Williams (No. 91) made quick work out of Dalton Risner and Garrett Bradbury and had an opportunity to tackle Jones in the backfield for a loss. Williams dives into the backfield to try and wrap up Aaron Jones, but Jones proved to be too elusive for the 300-pound defensive lineman. Instead of tackling the runner, Williams unintentionally took out O’Neill’s legs.
Here's the replay of Brian O'Neill's injury. Looked pretty brutal in real time, surprised this wasn't a penalty against Chicago. https://t.co/dPWbsNeLAU pic.twitter.com/lZ6s7Z14s4
— 𝙩𝙮𝙡𝙚𝙧 (@TylerTalksBall) December 18, 2024
The play left O’Neill writhing in pain as he lay face down on the turf. At that moment, many fans feared that O’Neill suffered a serious injury, based on the way he reacted. The Vikings are already without Christian Darrisaw, who suffered a season-ending knee injury back in October, which made the thought of potentially losing O’Neill long-term even more devastating. Thankfully, O’Neill avoided a serious injury and was ultimately able to finish the game. Despite being concerned about O’Neill’s health, I wasn’t concerned about how David Quessenberry would hold up in his absence.
Quessenberry doesn’t get enough love for how good he’s been as a swing tackle. While he doesn’t stand out when you watch him play, that’s actually a good thing for a backup offensive lineman. In the past, I was always pessimistic whenever a starting tackle got hurt, because trusting someone like T.J. Clemmings to perform at an average level on a regular basis was impossible. But as I continued to watch Quessenberry fill in for O’Neill, I started to wonder when the last time I felt so comfortable with a backup tackle was. Then it hit me: Rashod Hill.
David Quessenberry doesn't get enough love for how good he's been as a swing tackle. Left side, right side, it doesn't matter. Dude plays well every time his number his called. Respect. pic.twitter.com/KZAIghY6bo
— 𝙩𝙮𝙡𝙚𝙧 (@TylerTalksBall) December 17, 2024
First, I needed to figure out how many backup tackles the Vikings have been forced to start in the post-Hill world. As it turns out, the answer is 3 with Blake Brandel, Oli Udoh, and Vederian Lowe starting at least one game in 2022, the season after Hill’s departure. Brandel got the most starts as a swing tackle, while Udoh and Lowe were only featured in a couple of games late in the season after Brandel was placed on injured reserve. So in the interest of having a decent sample size, let’s only compare Quessenberry’s stats to Brandel’s.
During his five-game stretch in 2022 (Weeks 10-14), Brandel committed three penalties and allowed seven sacks. Brandel had two great games in pass protection, earning an 80.2 PFF pass blocking grade in the Vikings’ miraculous win against the Buffalo Bills in Week 10, and a 72.2 pass blocking grade against the New York Jets in Week 13. However, he struggled mightily in Week 14 against the Detroit Lions (41.1 pass blocking grade) and was downright abysmal (26.5 pass blocking grade) in Week 11 against the Dallas Cowboys.
Meanwhile, Quessenberry hasn’t committed a single penalty this season and has only allowed a single sack. Quessenberry’s best performances as a pass blocker aren’t as dominant as Brandel’s, with his highest-graded outing coming in Week 12’s win, where he earned a 59.9 pass blocking grade in 38 snaps. However, Quessenberry’s lowest grades aren’t as bad as Brandel’s, bottoming out at 46.7 against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 8.
The main takeaway here is that there’s less variance in Quessenberry’s play compared to Brandel, even if Brandel had games where he excelled in pass protection. It doesn’t matter if you ask Quessenberry to play on the left side or the right side of the offensive line, he’ll consistently play at an average to above-average level for a backup.
Honestly, that’s exactly what I’ve come to appreciate the most about Quessenberry as a player. As a 34-year-old veteran swing tackle, he’s never gonna wow you with his level of physicality or his style of play. Quessenberry’s biggest impact is the fact that the offense doesn’t miss a beat when he has to sub in for O’Neill or Cam Robinson, which is the most you can ask for from a swing tackle.
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