Vikings eye first-round pick Garrett Bradbury as rookie starter at center

Vikings assistant head coach and offensive adviser Gary Kubiak said there is no longer any question about who will start at center for the team this season. It will be first-round draft pick Garrett Bradbury.

"Oh yeah, that is where he's going to be, and hopefully he will stay there for a long time," Kubiak said.

The 24-year coaching veteran, a Super Bowl winner as a head coach with three more championships as an assistant, said there's no question it will be a challenge for Bradbury.

"He is doing great. For a rookie to be put in there at center from Day 1, it's hard on him," Kubiak said. "But he is doing a good job."

Of course, this will be the second time in three seasons that the Vikings have had a rookie at center. Pat Elflein started there in 2017 but has moved to guard.

Elflein has been the center for every snap of his pro career, 863 snaps last year and 958 during his rookie campaign.

Still, Kubiak said the change to guard has been a positive one, and Elflein has been open to the move.

"Pat has moved over to left guard and been a big-time pro, stepped in there and working really hard," he said. "The guys are working good together."

And the feeling around the Vikings is that those moves, in addition to adding free agent Josh Kline, should make for a more complete and balanced line this season. That means the team's main priority in the offseason has been addressed.

"They're doing good," Kubiak said. "We have to keep them all in one piece, but we're doing good."

Does he believe this group can help improve the run game after last year produced one of the worst rushing seasons in club history?

"We better be able to run it," Kubiak said. "Obviously we want to be physical and run the ball, and if we do that we'll have a chance to make some plays."

With OTAs ending this past week and the team's mandatory minicamp running Tuesday to Thursday, the Vikings are getting their first look at a new offensive system under the guidance of offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski, with Kubiak having a lot of input.

The offensive coaching staff has changed drastically. Stefanski, Kubiak, Klint Kubiak (quarterbacks), Rick Dennison (offensive line), Brian Pariani (tight ends) and Drew Petzing (wide receivers) are all taking on new roles.

"It is going good. We're working hard," Gary Kubiak said. "The guys are working well."

When it comes to getting used to the offense, Kubiak said a big benefit is that the unit has to learn against such a strong defensive team.

"We're making some plays and we're going against a great defense every day," he said. "You know our defense is a hell of a defense, run by Coach Zim [Mike Zimmer], and so we get our work cut out for us, but it's making us better.

"We're challenged every day by who we go against in practice with our defense, but it has been good."

Does Kubiak feel like this is a complete overhaul of the offense for a team that finished 19th in scoring offense and 20th in total offense in 2018?

"I wouldn't say that," he said. "I would say we're taking a bunch of different concepts from different places that I have been doing it for a while, Kevin has been doing it, we're trying to get it all meshed and have a good Minnesota Vikings offense."

This is an interesting arrangement, having a Super Bowl-winning head coach working underneath a first-time offensive coordinator. Said Kubiak: "We're working good, doing just fine. He's a hell of a coach and I'm just trying to help him out."

When OTAs were getting underway, Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins talked about his hopes and expectations in working with a rookie center, especially when the team is going to have such high expectations.

"I [told Garrett], 'I'd like to have you and I work together for about the next decade, if that's OK with you,' " Cousins said. "So, we'll see what happens, but that would be my goal and, I think, the organization's goal. I just tried to set that vision for him to say, 'You be the guy here for the next 10 years, and let's not have to worry about having anybody else snap for the quarterback.' "

Kubiak said that Cousins is improving in the new offensive system and in working with Bradbury.

"He is doing really good," Kubiak said. "We have thrown a lot at him and he's working hard and making strides."

Cousins said last week that so far he thinks the team is taking to the offense.

"Even though things are a little new and there are some changes, hopefully it won't have an impact early in the year in a negative way," he said. "I don't think it will. But you know, there is no doubt that in some plays I'm breaking the huddle looking back at the coaches going, 'Now what do you want the read to be here?' or 'Versus this coverage you still want me to work here?' You're still asking those questions, and that's what OTAs are all about."

JOTTINGS

• As recruiting picks up for 2021, Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck described how he decides when to offer a player: "Every case is handled differently, but you do not know [if a player will succeed]. We've offered [high school] freshmen before, and then there has been guys we have had to wait all the way through their senior year to offer. I don't know if there is a time to say, 'That's the right time.' "

• Vikings coach Mike Zimmer talked about the importance of character on his roster and how he finds the right players. "I ask [equipment manager] Dennis Ryan all the time and I ask [head trainer] Eric Sugarman how is the locker room, and how are the guys in the cafeteria; I ask the cooks all the time how are the players treating you. I don't ever get any bad responses, but if I do, I kind of hit it on the head."

• New Vikings wideout Jordan Taylor is familiar with Gary Kubiak's system, as he played under Kubiak in Denver. Taylor could get a real shot on this team. In two years with the Broncos, he had 29 catches for 351 yards and two touchdowns.

• Vikings sixth-round pick Marcus Epps is a name to watch in the secondary as he has already impressed Zimmer. A safety, Epps had 63 tackles during his senior season at Wyoming.

• The Timberwolves might be up against the salary cap with a payroll of $110 million for 2019-20, but they still will have at least $22 million to spend before they hit the luxury tax threshold.

• Gophers men's hockey coach Bob Motzko got a big commitment when Noah Weber switched his from Air Force. Weber played at Shattuck-St. Mary's and this past season played for Madison in the USHL.

• Texas Christian 6-6 lefthander Brandon Williamson, a Martin County West product from Welcome, Minn., was selected in the second round (No. 59 overall) by the Seattle Mariners in this past week's MLB draft. He stands to sign for around $1.2 million.

Sid Hartman can be heard on WCCO AM-830 at 8:40 a.m. Monday and Friday, 2 p.m. Friday and 10:30 a.m. Sunday. • shartman@startribune.com