Vikings tackle Brian O’Neill added to Pro Bowl roster

The Vikings added a seventh Pro Bowler on Monday as right tackle Brian O’Neill was named to the Pro Bowl Games.

O’Neill replaces Lane Johnson of the Eagles, whose team will be playing in the Super Bowl. This is the second time O’Neill is making the all-star events as an alternate. He previously participated after the 2021 season.

The 29-year-old team captain had another stalwart season that coach Kevin O’Connell lauded as the best he’s seen O’Neill play in three years.

But O’Neill was a fourth alternate. He ranked seventh in Pro Bowl balloting for the NFC behind three all-star blockers — Johnson, the Lions’ Penei Sewell and the Buccaneers’ Tristan Wirfs — and three alternates ahead of him that included the Eagles’ Jordan Mailata and the Lions’ Taylor Decker. Mailata, like Johnson, is headed to the Super Bowl, and Decker was also named to the Pro Bowl roster as an injury replacement for Sewell.

O’Neill’s stellar year included four consecutive games without allowing as much as a single pressure on quarterback Sam Darnold, according to Pro Football Focus. But injuries appeared to take a toll. He played through a right knee injury sustained Dec. 16 against Chicago. And his worst outing came in the 27-9 playoff loss to the Rams; he exited in the fourth quarter and was evaluated for a concussion.

O’Neill was a second-round pick (62nd overall) in 2018 out of the University of Pittsburgh, where he began as a tight end.

The other six Vikings Pro Bowlers are receiver Justin Jefferson, Darnold, long snapper Andrew DePaola, cornerback Byron Murphy, and linebackers Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel.

The Pro Bowl Games are a two-part event beginning with a skills competition on Thursday night (ESPN) followed by a flag football game on Sunday at 2 p.m. CT (ABC and ESPN). Conferences will be coached by Peyton and Eli Manning on Sunday afternoon at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla. Other events include dodgeball, tug of war and a punting competition.