# Brian O'Neill (American football)

Brian Cormac O'Neill (born September 15, 1995) is an American professional football offensive tackle for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Pittsburgh Panthers.

## Early life

O'Neill attended Salesianum School in Wilmington, Delaware. Along with football, he also played basketball and lacrosse. Offensively as a senior he caught 33 passes for 614 yards and eight touchdowns. Defensively, he tallied 45 tackles, five sacks, 13 pass deflections, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. A 3-star recruit, he committed to play football for Pittsburgh as a tight end in July 2013 over offers from Coastal Carolina, Old Dominion, and Tulane, among other offers.

## College career

O'Neill redshirted as a true freshman in 2014.
O'Neill switched from tight end to offensive tackle in July 2015. Minus the first game of the 2015 season, O'Neill started every game for Pittsburgh from 2015 to 2017 (37 consecutive starts). In 2016 he was named to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Third-team and in 2017 the All-ACC First-team. After 2017, his redshirt junior season, he declared for the 2018 NFL draft.

## Professional career

O'Neill had an impressive performance at the 2018 NFL Combine. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.82 seconds, the fastest time among all offensive linemen and the best time for a lineman since 2013. It also was the fourth-fastest recorded time for an offensive lineman at the combine since 2006, trailing only Eagles' Lane Johnson (4.72), Saints' Terron Armstead (4.71) and Vikings teammate Aviante Collins (4.77). He also had the best time among offensive linemen in the three-cone drill, at 7.14 seconds.
Pre-draft measurables :
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press |
| 6 ft 6+7⁄8 in (2.00 m) | 297 lb (135 kg) | 34+1⁄8 in (0.87 m) | 9+3⁄8 in (0.24 m) | 4.82 s | 1.70 s | 2.83 s | 4.50 s | 7.14 s | 29.5 in (0.75 m) | 8 ft 11 in (2.72 m) | 22 reps |
| All values from NFL Combine ||||||||||||
O'Neill was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the second round (62nd overall) of the 2018 NFL draft. He entered the season as a backup tackle behind starters Riley Reiff and Rashod Hill. He made his first career start in Week 6 at right tackle after Rashod Hill was moved to left tackle in place of an injured Riley Reiff. He maintained that starting role the rest of the season over Hill after Reiff returned from injury to play left tackle.
On September 8, 2021, O'Neill signed a five-year, $92.5 million contract extension with the Vikings.
Following the 2021 season, O'Neill was named to the 2022 Pro Bowl, his first.
On January 3, 2023, O'Neill was placed on injured reserve. Shortly thereafter, he underwent surgery to repair a partially torn Achilles tendon.

## Personal life

O'Neill's father, Brendan, played football at Dartmouth and his mother, Elizabeth, swam at Northeastern. His older brother, Eamon O’Neill, was a two time Delaware player of the year for the Salesianum School soccer team. He went on to star at Northwestern. His uncle is Delaware Governor and Wilmington Mayor-elect John Carney, who also played football at Dartmouth. Brian married his high school sweetheart, Bryn Gorelick, in March 2024.