Kevin O’Connell praises Ed Ingram, who is still holding onto Vikings' RG job

Ingram has been better lately, which means Dalton Risner remains on the bench.

Oct 20, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell reacts to running back Aaron Jones (33) touchdown during the first quarter against the Detroit Lions at U.S. Bank Stadium. / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Vikings right guard Ed Ingram has been a frequent target of criticism from fans since he was drafted in the second round in 2022 and inserted into the starting lineup. His inconsistency in pass protection has led to poor Pro Football Focus grades and frequent questions about his job security, particularly in recent weeks with Dalton Risner returning from a back injury.

Ingram's rookie season was extremely rough. Year two was better, but not great. This season, his PFF grade ranks 57th out of 60 guards who have played at least 300 snaps, largely due to more struggles as a pass blocker.

But don't expect Ingram to be benched for Risner soon. He remains an asset as a run blocker and is coming off of maybe the best two-game stretch of his career in pass protection, which led to some high praise from head coach Kevin O'Connell this week.

"He's been, from a play style standpoint, you start talking about putting it on tape of really coming off the rock, physicality, he's probably a guy that uncoils as good as anybody we have," O'Connell told KFAN's Paul Allen. "Really making a dent into fronts. I think him and BO (Brian O'Neill) have played a lot of football side by side, so they know, in those combinations, whether it is a zone combination, a gap combination, whether we're going vertical or we're going horizontal, whatever it is, those guys have a lot of time on task together."

The Vikings have stuck with Ingram into his third season, seemingly because of the physicality he brings to the run game and their desire to have continuity on the offensive line. But O'Connell admitted that he's talked to Ingram about things that need to improve. Where he's struggled most on tape is with his initial punch in pass pro and in the awareness of picking up stunts.

"Quite frankly, I've had a lot of conversation with him, knowing the landscape of that offensive line room as we progress through the season," O'Connell said. "I wanted to see some growth in certain areas. His ability to help clean up some things in protection where maybe he's doing his initial job, but then having great eyes, helping an inside move on (O'Neill). Maybe it's a line stunt where there's a wrapper coming from the other side and he feels it and can shut that off and do it with play style, do it with physicality, he's putting people on the ground when he does it. I think (those) have all been real positives."

41 starts into his career, Ingram has shown that he has the tools to do everything the Vikings want him to do. It's just a matter of becoming much more consistent. Even with Risner lurking on the bench, Ingram's going to get the opportunity to put that consistency on tape moving forward.

"Now ultimately, what we all want to see from Ed after 41 games is just consistency," O'Connell said. "The ability to do it snap in and snap out without any letdown is kind of the next step for him, and I think he's very much capable of doing it, and I continue to look forward to seeing it."