Luke Braun's Film Room: Is Ryan Kelly an Upgrade Over Garrett Bradbury? The Answer May Devastate Me

Luke Braun is forced to give up on one of his hallmark favorites when breaking down the film on Ryan Kelly and Garrett Bradbury. Learn about blocking technique (and feet. again) with him!

Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images

Over Garrett Bradbury’s six-year tenure with the Minnesota Vikings, I’ve spent countless hours arguing in his defense. I went to bat for him after his first NFL game where he took on the worst of Grady Jarrett. I sang his praises two years after that, and even criticized the team when they flirted with Mason Cole as a replacement later that year.

I stuck by Bradbury as fans clamored for Tyler Linderbaum, or free agents out of retirement, or even even someone totally made up. No, really. I posted a poll on Twitter, asking fans to decide between Garrett Bradbury and a fake free agent. They overwhelmingly chose the made-up guy.

This only emboldened me as a Garrett Bradbury defender. It confirmed to me that his critics weren’t thinking things through. Their minds were so made up that even though Bradbury had steadily improved, they still wanted someone they hadn’t heard of and knew nothing about. They just wanted a fresh name on the depth chart.

I focused one of my favorite Patreon videos — this guide to pro-level pass protection — on Bradbury while everyone else was wrapped up in the peak of The Josh Dobbs Moment. I praised him all the way up to this past season as he handed the Houston Texans their own asses on a platter.

Have I been wrong, frequently, for six years about the Minnesota Vikings center? Perhaps. I’ve been keenly aware that I might be too defensive of Bradbury out of a sense of spite or argumentation. But in the pursuit of real answers, I’ve learned more about center play, and the more I’ve learned about center play, the more I’ve understood Bradbury’s game.

So when I tell you that the Vikings unmistakably upgraded on Garrett Bradbury by signing Ryan Kelly, know that it brings me no pleasure. That it pains me to my core to turn on my pet player like this. Know that if there were an argument to be made that this was a mistake, I’d be the first one to make it.

In Fact, Let Me Make That Argument Real Quick

Queasy Kwesi has done it again! He’s taken one of the few pieces that a REAL GM, Rick Spielman, so generously left him with and kicked him out the door for another injured has-been! If Bradbury, at 300 pounds, was too light to be a center, is Kelly, at 307 pounds, really that much better? They’re paying him 50% more than Bradbury. For seven pounds? That’s $420k per pound! That’s not even enough excess meat to feed a family of four for a weekend!