Week 1's weakest link: Vikings right guard Ed Ingram

It doesn't appear to be as simple as Ed Ingram having a Dexter Lawrence problem.

Ed Ingram (67) / Minnesota Vikings

Ed Ingram has started every game he's played in the NFL, but after his performance Sunday against Dexter Lawrence and the New York Giants, one can't help but wonder how long the Vikings can go with him starting at right guard.

Why the worry? Because his pass-blocking grade, per Pro Football Focus, was stunningly low. In fact, ahead of the Monday night game between the 49ers and Jets, there have been 69 guards who were on the field for at least ONE pass-blocking snap in Week 1 and Ingram is the lowest rated of them all.

PFF gave Ingram a 9.3 pass-blocking grade. It's the worst of his career, which is saying something considering the handful of duds he's had over the previous 32 games as the starting right guard. For context, Vikings left guard Blake Brandel was the No. 2 overall guard in pass-blocking situations, scoring a fantastic 87.3 against the Giants.

Ingram was charged with allowing one sack — on the Vikings' second offensive play of the game — and an NFL worst six pressures in Week 1.

Lawrence generated five pressures and was PFF's No. 1-graded interior defensive lineman with a pass-rushing score of 92.3. Lawrence kills pretty much everyone he goes against, but he feasts when he faces Ingram and the Vikings.

In 2022, Lawrence mauled Ingram and center Garrett Bradbury with seven pressures in Week 17 and he followed it up with seven more pressures — including four QB hits — in New York's upset of the Vikings in the playoffs.

The alarming part of the story is that Ingram just doesn't have a Dexter Lawrence problem. He allowed 42 pressures in 2023 and 58 as a rookie in 2022. No guard allowed more sacks (11) and total pressures in 2022, and while he cut down on sacks allowed (5) in 2023, he gave up the most hits (15) and third-most total pressures.

Is Dalton Risner the answer when he returns from short-term injured reserve in a number of weeks? Possibly, but Risner allowed the second-most QB hits (11) by guards last season. But he's an upgrade over Ingram, right?

The only backup guard who was active for the opener was Michael Jurgens. He's a 24-year-old seventh-round pick in his rookie season, so there's literally nothing on his resume to suggest that he can perform at a higher level than Ingram, but it might be a risk worth taking if Ingram doesn't prove that his problems stop as soon as Dexter Lawrence is out of the picture.

Is there anyone else? Tyrese Robinson and Henry Byrd are on the practice squad. The only other possible candidate is rookie Walter Rouse, whom head coach Kevin O'Connell believes has the ability to play tackle and guard. But O'Connell has said it would be unwise to throw Rouse into the guard fire this early in his career.

It won't get much easier in Week 2 against San Francisco because Ingram has to block Javon Hargrave, who is in his first season with the 49ers after being a staple on the Eagles defensive line where he earned the fourth-best passing-rushing grade among interior defensive lineman last season.