By Brian Murphy

There is not enough whiskey in Ireland to numb Vikings fans into processing what happened Sunday.

You could try, but how do explain turning a psychological siege into a party?

You could pour one after Kyler Murray threw a balloon-ball interception on his first reclamation pass as a Viking, then take another when he left the game after 11 snaps with a concussion following a dirty hit by Minnesota’s archrivals.

You could chase that with something stronger after Jordan Love started carving up Brian Flores’ defense and Green Bay built a 22-10 lead that dragged a needle across your favorite vinyl.

By then, responsible adults would have gone home and centered the ashes of another lost season in a decorative urn on the mantel.

Instead, the Vikings scored 29 straight points and won 39-22. With a backup quarterback. Again.

Of course they did.

Nothing simple. Nothing predictable. Perennially on the knife’s edge. Pure Vikings.

The afternoon began with the Murray coronation. Minnesota’s latest free-agent quarterback was supposed to provide the mobility, improvisation and electricity missing from Kevin O’Connell’s offense since Sam Darnold went west for his pot of gold.

The reboot lasted three drives.

His first pass was intercepted. Then he took a hard hit while scrambling, was knocked out of the game with a concussion and left the entire season’s quarterback narrative hanging from a thread.

Welcome to Minnesota, Kyler.

Carson Wentz, meanwhile, was standing on the sideline after being named the No. 2 quarterback earlier in the week, the spackled-together afterthought who was a spectator during the preseason like all of us to the Murray-J.J. McCarthy fugazi camp competition.

By lunchtime Sunday, Wentz was the most important man in Minneapolis.

Love was having his way with the Vikings despite missing Josh Jacobs in the backfield and with Green Bay’s defense sans Micah Parson. Love was magnificent early as he found Christian Watson slicing through the Minnesota secondary and the Packers took control. But they could not deliver the knockout blow.

Wentz and the Vikings hung around long enough to tip-toe into Green Bay territory before the end of the first half. A Packers defender jumped offside. Suddenly, Wentz had a fistful of house money.

He used the free play to fling a ball toward Justin Jefferson in the end zone, and the superhero receiver obliged with another incredible leap and grab for a 39-yard touchdown that jolted U.S. Bank Stadium from its wake.

Still, Green Bay led 22-10 with five minutes left in the third quarter. Dread was palpable. But the Vikings kept chopping and clawing their way to T.J. Hockenson’s 16-yard touchdown reception.

Green Bay was determined not to fold until its self-destruction made it inevitable. In the fourth quarter, Love and the Packers drove into Minnesota territory in the fourth quarter with a chance to take an 8-point lead.

However, after the Vikings jumped offside on Trey Smack’s 40-yard field goal, coach Matt LaFleur vaporized the three points and decided to go for it on fourth-and-1 from the Minnesota 17.

Even referee Shawn Hoculi seemed perplexed at LaFleur’s roll of the dice, clicking on his microphone to inform the world that the Packers coach had elected to “take the points off the board” and accept the dubious penalty.

Love was stuffed, the momentum shifted once again and the Vikings haphazardly drove 83 yards thanks to the generosity of Green Bay’s undisciplined defense.

No officiating martyrdom this week, folks, or you lose all street cred. The Vikings grabbed every golden horseshoe Green Bay tossed them, including three third-down reprieves.

Jonathan Ford jumped offsides. Javon Bullard’s illegal-contact penalty erased a third-down stop. Chris McClellan’s late hit on Wentz negated another. Suddenly, Jordan Mason ripped off 28 yards to the Packers’ 11.

On third-and-5, Evan Williams intercepted Wentz in the end zone, apparently ending the drive. Except Xavier McKinney was flagged for illegal contact, so the interception was wiped and the Vikings were spoon-fed another first down.

Aaron Jones scored on the very next play, the go-ahead score punctuated on the ensuing 2-point conversion when Wentz connected with Jefferson, who hunted the pylon like a pelican dive-bombing the Gulf.

And then Flores’ defense, which had spent much of the afternoon getting its teeth kicked in, reclaimed its identity and did what it was designed to do

The emerging Dallas Turner got home again on Love, who fumbled. Andrew Van Ginkel recovered and Minnesota was in business again.

Later, the unsurprisingly unretired Harrison Smith got a hand on another Love pass, James Pierre grabbed the deflection and the Vikings put the finishing touches on an unlikely salvation and season-opening victory.

Worth remembering more than Wentz’s three touchdown passes or Jefferson’s eight receptions for 92 yards and two scores is that O’Connell and his regiment absorbed yet another quarterback injury and emotional haymaker but didn’t panic.

They trailed by 12. They stayed with the run game. Wentz found Hockenson and Jefferson when it mattered. And the Packers handed them the rest.

It was not particularly logical or even Vikings-esque in that they discovered an inventive way to win instead of lose.

Nobody knows what Murray’s season looks like now. Nobody knows how long the concussion keeps him out. Nobody knows whether Wentz can turn a heroic afternoon into something more sustainable.

We certainly don’t know what to make of designated No. 3 quarterback J.J. McCarthy now sitting behind him as next man up after being drafted two long years ago to be the franchise quarterback.

Those are next-week problems. Sunday was about something simpler.

The Vikings got punched in the mouth by Green Bay. They staggered. They bled. They looked lost.

But they got up and started punching back using brains and brawn they may not have known they had.

If Wentz keeps oiling his hinges, taking his Lipitor and feeding Jefferson, the Vikings should be able to slither through early season uncertainties for once.

Meanwhile, Wisconsin was collectively calling in sick Monday, taking PTO Tuesday and will probably roll into work Wednesday still wearing Sunday’s regret.

And the Vikings are 1-0 and sitting atop the NFC North because of a Week 1 tiebreaker no one will remember.

Because of course they are.

By Matthew Coller

MINNEAPOLIS — Be honest: How many of you had to log back into your social media accounts and delete a bunch of messages that you sent out midway through the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers’ opening game at US Bank Stadium? I’m going to guess a very high percentage of you.

That’s not to be blamed. The first 40 minutes saw the Vikings lose their starting quarterback, struggle to move the ball, give up huge explosive plays to the Packers offense and come within a whisker of a special teams penalty ruining the last chance that the Vikings had to come back.

Instead they turned the game on its head with a go-ahead drive orchestrated by Carson Wentz (and the Packers) and caused turnovers that turned a close game into a blowout. Here’s how it happened from the players in the locker room.

Let’s start with Murray going down.

On the third drive of the game, the Vikings’ starting quarterback rolled out looking to convert a first down with his legs but as he slid down he was clubbed in the back of the head. Immediately players knew it was a bad situation.

“Frustration,” Jefferson said. “I hate to see one of my brothers go down, especially with that type of injury.”

Wentz went into the huddle with some anxiousness. This is new territory for him. He’s never had to come into a game when the starter gets hurt and pick things up immediately, especially when he hasn’t taken any reps with any of these players all summer.

“It was a different process [during camp], I’m not going to lie,” Wentz said. “Stay as ready as I could with mental reps, all the things, reps after practice, whatever that looks like. At the end of the day, leaving it in God’s hands. I know that’s for me coming here. I know there’s a lot of other things that could happen and transpire. And for me, I’m confident in what I bring to the table, what I can do, and if my number gets called, that I can step up when needed.”

Jefferson said that Wentz was calm and in command of the huddle, even if his head was spinning a bit internally.

“He just came in with poise,” Jefferson said. “Managed the offense and led us down [the field] to a great team win and some great scores.”

For head coach Kevin O’Connell, he wanted Wentz to play the way he needed to play to win and not worry about how he was entering the game.

“I just kept telling him, I want you to be aggressive and I trust you, I know you’re going to be able to make the next play,” O’Connell said.

Of course he spent all offseason preaching a new commitment to the run game and wanting to win games by any means necessary but now he would need to lean heavily into both thought processes. They weren’t likely to win a passing shootout with one of the NFL’s top quarterbacks.

“We learned late last year of just how to just keep playing and make them snap it one more time, make a play in the kicking game and get the turnover situation…we were able to win the turnover margin, which I thought was part of the avalanche there at the end,” O’Connell said.

Things weren’t going their way for the majority of the game as Jordan Love hit shots downfield that pushed the Vikings to the brink. An explosive play and Vikings penalty on a made field goal led to the Packers going for fourth down in attempt to put the game away. But rookie defensive tackle Domonique Orange knew when they trotted the offense out, they were going to QB sneak. He took that personally.

“It was disrespectful,” Orange said, emphatically. “So mindset was, ya’ll are going to go take that? Alright, cool. Turnover on downs.”

Orange anticipated that they were going to run the QB sneak and was ready to jump into action as soon as they took the snap.

“Absolutely I knew it was going to be [a sneak],” Orange said. “Fourth-and-1 and you have a rookie in front of you? If I was a quarterback, I’d try that too. But they don’t know about Big Citrus yet.”

From there, Wentz nearly threw the game away with a sack on third down that was negated by penalty and then an interception in the end zone that was also negated by penalty.

“I’m not going to sugarcoat it,” Wentz said. “We had a couple flags that kept our drive alive. I threw one to their safety right in the chest, and that was a flag too, so praise God for that. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good, but the momentum was in our favor and we capitalized whenever we had those breaks. And I was proud of the guys for doing that.”

Nonetheless, the Vikings were able to get an explosive run from Jordan Mason and then run the ball into the end zone with Aaron Jones and convert the 2-point conversion to take the lead. It’s worth going in reverse for a moment and pointing out that the Vikings were still in the game at all because of one particular huge play where Wentz got the Packers to jump offside with two minutes left in the half and hit Jefferson for a bomb touchdown when the Packers jumped offside.

“You want the quarterback to throw it up there,” Jefferson said of the touchdown. “That’s more of a 70-30, not as much a 50-50 ball. We work on that play all the time…free play, throw it up to Justin.”

Back to the fourth quarter… After the Vikings took the lead, Andrew Van Ginkel got a strip sack and took the ball to the 1-yard line. AVG on strip sack.

“I knew the ball was out and I knew I had to get it but I thought I was down by contact,” Van Ginkel said. “I got up and started celebrating and wish I ran to the end zone right away and then ended up with 300 pounds landing on me.”

Circling back again to the reasons the game was still close, the Packers missed opportunities earlier to put the Vikings too far out, in part because the Vikings stuffed their Josh Jacobs-less run game.

“It was very important to shut down the run,” outside linebacker Dallas Turner said. “Knowing how they played last year, we knew we were going to get a lot of downhill runs and stretches and stuff like that. All 11 of us were at the ball.”

After the Vikings went up by two scores, there was still enough time with Love’s arm to make things interesting. Instead, James Pierre picked off a pass that was batted by Harrison Smith. Welcome back, Harry.

“I’m still mad at myself,” Smith said laughing.

Smith said that he felt the power of the crowd start to take over the game as things unraveled for the Packers.

“The fans are such a weapon for us defensively,” Smith said. “Even after the play, you can feel the momentum. It’s real. The energy — I really noticed it in 2020 when the crowd was gone and big games happened but the energy wasn’t the same… I don’t know how you quantify it but it’s real.”

Just like that, it was a 17-point game and the rest was academic.

Now what? The Vikings head to Chicago to face the Bears, who blew out Carolina with a crazy offensive outburst on Sunday. They will very likely have Wentz back under center. If anything, they proved on Sunday that losing Murray doesn’t have to wreck the season, even if it put a road block and made the journey harder.

“That’s a really good team over there and today will be a special one,” O’Connell said. “And it’s not because of a statistical explosion. It’s not because we were. you know we did anything other than just be a football team that’s been built a certain kind of way from a standpoint of the people who are in that room that locker room the way this team stayed together even when it there was some unique hard circumstances losing your quarterback.”

“This one will stick with me for a long time.”

By Matthew Coller

MINNEAPOLIS — Imagine trying to explain Sunday’s game to somebody who didn’t see it.

First, Kyler Murray suffered a concussion in the first quarter on an ugly hit by Green Bay defender Lukas Van Ness, taking the air completely out of the building. Then the Vikings’ defense looked lost in the secondary, giving up an 81-yard touchdown pass to Christian Watson.

After Wentz put the Vikings on the board, the Packers took a 22-10 lead with five minutes left in the third quarter due to Vikings struggles to chase down Love and cover the speedy Pack receivers.

And then the Vikings won. By 17 points.

Carson Wentz, with almost no practice reps all summer long, came off the bench to lead the Vikings to a scoring drive that was driven by three key Packers penalties and then Andrew Van Ginkel recovered a Love fumble to completely turn the game upside down and put the Vikings ahead late. Then an interception and Wentz touchdown put it away.

Despite how ugly and shocking it may have been and the potential ramifications of losing Murray for possibly an extended period of time, nothing could have been better than surviving the starting QB’s injury and coming away with a victory — no matter how it happened. The Vikings kept up with the other NFC North teams and put the Packers in an immediate hole.

The Vikings will be talking about a lot of things that need to be fixed over the next week as they get ready to play the Chicago Bears, whose offense put up Indoor Footbal League numbers against the Carolina Panthers. They will need to block better. Cover better. Avoid special teams penalties. Run the ball more consistently. Be more consistently accurate.

But in the end, the win over the Packers demonstrated a lot of the things that gave people belief in the offseason that they could be good. They caught Wentz’s passes, regardless of the accuracy. They eventually ran the ball with a new scheme and Mason’s hard-nosed style. They forced turnovers by creating pressure. They showed a little magic and resilience.

All those things will have to continue regardless of who’s playing QB but the victory gives them breathing room to survive Murray’s absence.

It also gives this team a ton of confidence that they have the talent to overcome whatever comes their way.

Here’s how it went down…

Read more

By Matthew Coller

EAGAN — On the first play of the preseason, Christian Darrisaw and Donovan Jackson sent a message. The play was a handoff to the left side. They shot up out of their stances like gigantic sprinters and plowed the path in front of Aaron Jones, knocking away everything in blue on their way, and Jones cruised to a 9-yard gain.

This was the vision of the Minnesota Vikings when they drafted Jackson in the first round last year. Kevin O’Connell envisioned two wildly-athletic linemen melding together on one side of the ball to create a force of nature.

That would have happened in 2025 except injuries got in the way.

Darrisaw was still recovering from an ACL injury suffered in 2024 and didn’t have a complete training camp. When he got into the regular season, he was still dealing with discomfort and he struggled to consistently stay on the field. In Darrisaw’s first game, he and Jackson mauled the Cincinnati Bengals but Jackson suffered a wrist injury that kept him out for an extended period of time.

All said and done, Darrisaw and Jackson only played five start-to-finish games together.

This year has already been a completely different story. The two players have become very close during the course of learning a new run scheme and preparing for the 2026 season. They have mutal respect and those around them see how the left side of the line can transform the offense.

I talked to Darrisaw, Jackson, O’Connell, Brian O’Neill, Dallas Turner and TJ Hockenson about how the combination of chemistry and talent between the two linemen can be a factor this season…

“If you see one, you see the other”

Darrisaw and Jackson are birds of a feather. As large as they may be, both are soft spoken and smart. Humble and approachable. Jackson loves to learn and Darrisaw has seen everything there is to see in his five NFL seasons and he likes to share. They both like to build legos in the offseason. Darrisaw put together the Avengers Tower and got the Titanic for Christmas, so he’s got some work to do on that one.

“If you see one, you see the other on and off the field, which is really great,” O’Connell said.

Darrisaw and Jackson share both hobbies and a mindset of wanting to be at the top of their craft.

“I feel like he's like myself, man,” Darrisaw said of Jackson. “He's just all about his work and he wants to be great. You can see it, he's just a smart, smart football player. It's really fun playing next to him.”

Jackson took notice quickly when he arrived in Minnesota that his partner to the left was enjoyable to be around and had a meticulous way of going about his business.

“He's actually really funny, that is one of his great qualities but he's very humble,” Jackson said. “He's always very eager to learn and it rubs off when everyone else in the room, like, one of our top guys is showing up every day looking to be better… it's a testament to his character and what he does here.”

Vikings captain and O-line leader Brian O’Neill thinks that there’s nothing better for Jackson’s progression as a young player than having Darrisaw by his side.

“I think it's huge, I think CD [Darrisaw] is one of the smartest players we have on this team, and he's seen a lot of things,” O’Neill said. “He's seen a lot of football. He's a great resource for [Jackson], and they speak the same language, if that makes sense. And then just like different stuff off the field…. he's been through different coaches, different O-line coaches, different systems, has dealt with injuries, things that are inevitably gonna come up for Donnie, so he's already been able to go through it.”

“He’s a whole different player”

By rookie standards, Jackson had a good season. Guard is one of the most difficult positions to transition from college to the NFL and he finished 36th of 61 guards by PFF in overall grade and 25th in pass blocking. In terms of rookies, only Dylan Fairchild was ahead of Jackson as a pass blocker and it was by a tiny margin.

“He's athletic, he's gifted,” Darrisaw said of Jackson. “He's played left tackle in college and just having that ability…it's not easy. Now he's inside and his pass pro, he has great hands, his strength, he’s tough, he's really aggressive, physical.”

Jackson’s PFF numbers are more impressive when you know that he spent the majority of last offseason not practicing next to Darrisaw and the majority of the regular season not playing with the superstar left tackle. Not to mention that he had three different centers and came back early from his wrist injury.

“To see how he played last year and what he took from that to where he’s at now, he's come in as a whole different player,” Darrisaw said. “He's playing way faster. Just having a year under his belt, and then as far as us, we had the whole offseason together, training came together… there’s just a lot of excitement.”

Last year teammates praised Jackson’s toughness and attitude toward learning. One of the things that was mentioned often was that he wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. He would make a correction and go forward.

“The biggest thing for Donnie has just been the maturation of just seeing more football, seeing more pre-snap looks, moving right before the snap, and then the post-snap movement and being able to still play with the conviction to play across the line of scrimmage and be physical and understand exactly how plays are going to kind of transcend and change based upon movement and then what my job is at the second and third level.”

While Jackson’s development is at the center of he and Darrisaw aiming to be one of the best combos in the league, Darrisaw’s health is a major factor. During training camp, he took nearly every rep, including in the joint practices against the Baltimore Ravens. The explosiveness and confidence that we saw previously was back.

As a fella who played tackle for a year in college, Jackson is blown away watching the things Darrisaw does with ease.

“To manipulate set angles, manipulate rushers, and just play his game and dictate to the defense what he's going to do is very unique,” Jackson said. “It's very rare.”

In Darrisaw’s last full healthy season, he ranked as PFF’s sixth best graded overall tackle and No. 3 in pass protection.

Solving problems quickly

Where does the combination of talent and chemistry show itself most?

For that, we need to understand what’s been happening in the NFL in recent years with defenses. Once upon a time, the offense and defense would line up across from each other and run whatever play and coverage they were going to run. There were tells that the defense had, allowing smart QBs to see rush plans and coverages before they happened. Deception was still part of the equation after the snap but now defenses — led by Brian Flores — have found ways to make it much, much harder for offensive players to identify the rush and coverage.

Veteran tight end TJ Hockenson explained:

“I think that's the evolution of this game, that it's gone even since my time being here. I remember when, if it was quarters [coverage], you were able to tell it was quarters [before the snap] or if it was two-high [safeties] pre-snap, or if it was a single high [safety], you knew it was going to be a single-high pre-snap,” Hockenson said. “That's the evolution of the game and how difficult it's gotten in the offensive side of the ball. Defenses mask everything and there's not the same tells that usually have.”

Hockenson gives an example of how offenses used to figure out coverages that defenses have now solved.

“Sometimes you wou;d send a guy in motion and you're able to tell if it's man or zone,” Hockenson said. “That’s not always viable anymore. I think it comes down to offenses being able to play fast and see things post snap and having your own set of a foundation that you're able to have your plays instead of worrying about the defense.”

While offensive linemen aren’t given the answers to the test anymore, luckily it’s a group project. And the pairs on each side of the line have to work together and understand each other in order to succeed.

“When the picture changes and guys got to play together because you can’t have a connected group of five working together if the left side and the right side aren’t dialed in in their own kind of mini world,” O’Connell said.

The Vikings’ head coach points out that the time available to make adjustments when things change either right before the snap or after is miniscule.

“There’s no time to [say], ‘hey, hold up for a sec, let me see exactly what it is,’” O’Connell said.

O’Neill explained that the process for understanding the different permutations of what the defense could be doing begins during the meetings that week.

“You gotta be on the same page when you go over it in the meeting room at first, and then one or two times you do see it at practice, you have to be able to talk about it right away,” O’Neill said. “Because that communication has to happen within like a second or two, we both have to understand what we’re looking at and what it means.”

But even the extensive preparation that’s done with film study, meetings and practice doesn’t prepare players for the actual game scenarios every time. The defense is working hard during their week to find even the tiniest ways to throw off the O-line, whether that’s with an alignment they’ve never done before or going against a particulra tendency.

That’s where chemistry between the guard and tackle is truly tested.

“Anything that comes up that's not like a super standard, easy look from a front wise or a pressure wise, like it's not something they the top three things they do, it's something that might be a little bit different…if one of us can notice it, we can survive, but if both of us notice it and can call it out and anticipate it, we'll be driving,” O’Neill said.

“You kind of have your own language…it could be just a one word, ‘hey, we’re here to here, or like, ‘got it, got it,’” Hockenson explianed. “It’s quick but it’s the chemistry of knowing what he’s talking about. I know where we’re going.”

There’s a saying with offensive linemen that if everybody’s wrong together it’s better than four people being right and one wrong. That applies to the pairs as well. If Darrisaw and Jackson don’t have the correct on-paper answer but they are on the same page and can do it quickly, there’s a better chance it will work out.

“Sometimes it's playing extremely fast and just going and figuring it out on the run, if that makes sense,” O’Neill said.

There can’t be any hesitation.

“A long day at the office”

Dallas Turner let out a heavy sigh when he was asked about going up against Darrisaw and Jackson all summer long. They say that it’s better to have it harder in practice than in the game — that’s definitely the case for the Vikings’ third-year pass rusher.

“I used to hate it because they have so much chemistry with each other,” Turner said. “They knew that they could set certain ways knowing that they could rely on each other without even having to look back there to check.”

Turner said that where the chemistry shows up is that Darrisaw always understands when he’s going to have Jackson helping him out with inside moves, which means that the rusher isn’t just going one-on-one.

“CD can set certain ways knowing that he’s got Donovan on his side helping whatever inside move that I’m going to throw at them,” Turner said. “It’s like a one-and-a-half versus one. It’s a blessing to have those caliber players [to practice against] every day.”

Turner dropped the iron-sharpening-iron line about practicing against Jackson and Darrisaw but it was clear he was very ready to face off with a combo that isn’t of the same pedigree.

“Those two guys — it’s going to be a long day at the office for whoever is going against them,” Turner said.

By Matthew Coller

Happy Friday, everyone! Football has arrived. The next time we’ll have a mailbag without real football is in February. Whooooooyeah. Let’s dive into your questions…

Substack user… So now that Football withdrawal is taken care of, what would you consider a Great Season, Satisfactory Season and Failed Season?

Think B,C,D,

A is easy, SB
F is 0 for 17
The middle grades are more intersesting.

For me

B - a playoff win
C - In the Hunt week 17
D - Finishing 6-11

Right, if we take away the obvious, I’d say it’s a great season to be in the divisional round with a legitimate chance to reach the NFC Championship. If they lose in the divisional round, that means that they had a really good regular season, got the monkey off KOC’s back when it came to winning a playoffs game and justified keeping the team together. Anything more than the divisional round would be under the obvious category of being an A+ season.

Being in the hunt Week 17 is only satisfactory if they win and make the playoffs. Let’s say they are 8-8 and beat the Bears to make the postseason, then it’s an acceptable season but certainly not outstanding in any way, especially if they lose in the first round of the playoffs. If they are in the hunt and miss the playoffs, it’s a clear failure.

Anything below .500 is a pretty huge failure for a team with this much talent and investment. This was the team that they put together that was supposed to support the rookie QB contract. It’s years of adding talent and developing players in the coaches’ systems and Kyler being here for $1.3 million allows them to still chase what they set out to accomplish when they began building a few years ago.

Matt D… What’s your prediction for the amount of pistol formations we see on Sunday? Assuming we get a classic KOC trick play, who do you think throws the ball?

My guess is that this offense is going to use a ton of different personnel and formations. Like, a metric ton. I don’t doubt that pistol is going to be a part of what they use but I’m not sure if any formation is going to be used over and over again. So I’ll guess like 15% of snaps. If they can establish that as another tool in the bag, it becomes even harder for opponents to prepare for, especially if they can run the ball out of the pistol and use play-action.

If there’s a trick play, I’d guess Justin Jefferson throwing back across the formation to Kyler Murray.

Of course, I wouldn’t advise it, but I would say that it’s a better idea than when they threw to Kirk Cousins.

Florian K… If McCarthy is not a locker room problem what’s the down side of keeping him instead of trading him like we read about? Unless there’s a definite upgrade out there for that pivotal QB3 slot I don’t see the problem. I say let the guy develop until his rookie contract expires and/or he gets too expensive as a backup. A lot of former 1st rounders have made mighty fine careers out of that backup position.

There’s no downside to keeping him. The only reason to trade him would be if another team offered you a package that you couldn’t refuse. If they were going to give a third-round pick or something, then yes, move off your QB3 for a third and let everybody start over again. For now, it’s not a bad thing in any way for him to keep developing and get some perspective on the position and then be ready if the time should come. He has won games for them before, even if it wasn’t the prettiest. There’s not many QB3s who could say that.

I do think after this year, it would make the most sense to move on becuase there might be more interest in the offseason. However, we’re seeing the Colts just stick it out. It’s not crazy to think he could remain the backup through 2027.

Brent M… Hey Matthew, Thank you for keeping us informed and entertained during the dreadful ‘dead’ period and the off-season overall. Time for some real football!
I am, perhaps irrationally, very optimistic about our chances for a win this weekend. This is based on 3 assumptions:
1) Running game is actually better
2) Kyler plays at an average level or better (and no catastrophic mistakes)
3) Flores does what he does with the D
Note: Homefield helps, as well, if course
What are your expectations for the game and are there any specific parts of the team or the game early on that you will be watching closely to get a sense of how it’s trending?

Glad you’ve enjoyed the long ride here to Week 1!

I don’t think any of your assumptions for the season are crazy at all.

In terms of the game, the thing I’m going to watch the closest is the Vikings’ offensive line vs. Green Bay’s defensive line. This O-line has a chance to be pretty darn good and I’m not convinced that the Packers’ defense should be considered scary in any way without Parsons. If they are able to keep Murray clean, we know he can perform really well from the pocket and if they can run the ball and put Murray in favorable situations then he’s got even better odds at having a great day.

Also how much Jonathan Gannon blitzes Murray. Obviously they know each other really well, I want to know how he’s going to design pressures to cause problems for Kyler.

Steve P… I have see much made about Harrison Smith’s health issue early last season and the early season struggles of the defense. One thing in that time was the health of Andrew Van Ginkel and Blake Cashman. May be not a question but an observation but how huge will it be to have that leadership, communication, and presence on the field from the get go for the defense to improve versus last year?

Not having those three guys was a worst-case scenario in terms of leadership and comminication. Those are three of the best in the game. It isn’t a surprise that when they were all back to 100% that the defense was extremely good.

Smith’s leadership is impossible to replicate because it requires a decade of experience, very high intelligence, curiosity, passion and physical tools. This is what Hall of Famers are made of.

If you think about how this actually works, Smith watches the offense come out of the huddle and get into a formation with like 15 seconds on the clock. In his mind flashes all the plays they could possibly be running out of that formation with the down-and-distance and personnel on the field. He knows every opposing player and their tendencies as well.

Then he signals to his teammates what the coverage is going to be and they have to be on the same page. Then he decides on his own alignment — whether he’s at the LOS or playing back or creeping up or drifting back — and whether he can get to the right place from his alignment in time.

Then the quarterback might see what the Vikings defense is doing with their reaction to the alignment and any shifts/motions and make a change. Then Harry has to decide whether he’s going to make another adjustment or stick with it. And everyone’s expecting him to be right. Then they take the snap and we expect Harry to get pressures, pick off passes and all that.

I’m only scratching the surface there because that doesn’t even cover the week leading up to the game with the work that goes on between Harry and Flo to build the gameplan.

Once you start peeling back the layers of this game, it’s really insane.

Jesse… Oh, how do you expect KR duties to be split between Price/Claiborne to start? Is Felton the sole guy on PR duties? Or do you see the others mixing in there?

My guess is that it’s going to be Price and Felton on the kick returns and Price as the punt returner, like he was last year. He proved to be a pretty dangerous returner, so they’ll stick with that. I’m not sure if they will get Claiborne involved in the returning or not. He has the speed but Felton is more experienced in the NFL.

@Aaron_Houdek Have you played Kyler Murray in chess yet? If not, I hope you can sometime!

Would love that. I’ve watched him play in Blitz Champs on Chess.com. In years past he was in the final and ended up as the runner up so he’s clearly pretty darn good at it.

@MIvikesfan Is Baker’s extension really the starting point for
Kyler if he plays well, or w/only 1 year, would something more
Like a Daniel Jones type of contract (more like 2-3 years at ~$40M AAV) be more likely? Do you think he might take a discount to play with Jefferson or chase the $$

I believe that it would be the starting point, yes. Daniel Jones’ contract isn’t that different but Kyler has much more success in his career than Jones. It’s way closer to Baker’s arc because Baker was pretty good with the Browns for two seasons and things fell apart and then he proved himself in Tampa Bay (though he’s still flawed). Jones only played a handful of games for the Colts last year and never had a great season like Baker did in taking Cleveland to the playoffs or like he did in 2024 with the Bucs.

I’m not sure if Murray will take a discount or not. My guess is that it’s unlikely. At the same time, I’m not sure how many teams would offer him $60 million if he’s good in MN. We saw from Darnold that other teams think that there’s a Vikings add to QBs’ performances that they might not be able to replicate.

@WriterChurchill Pt 1 - How does the division of labor work between the offensive coordinator and the O-line coach when it comes to play design and execution? When the OC calls a run or pass concept, does he typically just specify the play/protection scheme and let the O-line coach translate

Pt 2 - that into individual technique and assignments for each lineman — or does the OC (or the playbook itself) dictate specifics down to footwork, blocking angles, and combo blocks, with the O-line coach mainly serving as the teacher/enforcer of those details?

Part 1: The way game planning works is that all the position coaches are involved. So the O-line coach might work through all of the run plays that they think can work against the opponent based on the blocking up front and the running backs coach will bring ones that he thinks should be used based on the running backs’ skills vs. the opponent and then they’ll get together in the meetings run by the offensive coordinator and work it out. Then the head coach will have the final say and bring some of his own ideas to the table and they’ll agree on plays based on down and distance.

So the things you’re talking about with the blocking scheme and concepts are worked out during the week, then they’re just sent into the quarterback’s headset together as a bunch of words.

Part 2: Every play will have its own specific techniques that they’ll understand from the meetings and working on the stuff since the spring. You’re right that the O-line coach will be the one drilling the O-linemen every day on footwork, hand placement, which defenders to attack and communication between the linemen. By the time outside zone is called in the game, they’ve spent hundreds of hours on it.

@LikingMcviking Has the team announced a special teams depth chart? Any idea which players we might be seeing on coverage and return units?

They usually only announce offense and defense with the depth chart. In terms of the return units, it’s going to be Price as the main returner for both and probably Felton. The rest of the units are not on the depth chart so we’ll have to see. I can’t really take a guess without knowing who’s going to be active on gameday. That will tell us about who’s going to be out there because it’s pretty much anyone who’s not a starter.

@BrianSchiel No shade on Flores: His entire defense is on video for every team to see. What makes his approach so unique? The sheer balls to call it?

The “sheer balls” thing might be part of it. He’s very extreme. Other teams mix and match with blitzes, he uses them constantly. Other teams mix and match with zone vs. man, he uses zone more than anyone. Teams are used to game planning a certain way and then they have to completely overhaul it. I also think we can’t forget how important the players are to the discussion. Flores has gotten a ton of unique talents that can allow him to be super creative because they handle a heavy mental load.

@HollandJohnD The Packers’ offensive line looks depleted. Which Vikings defender do you predict will be most productive attacking that offensive line on Sunday?

The obvious mismatch is with Dallas Turner. Last year Packers LT Jordan Morgan had a 64.3 PFF grade in pass pro and he only played 51 snaps at left tackle last year. Also Jalen Redmond vs. Aaron Banks could be a serious edge. Banks was brutal last year and is banged up.

@ConnorSkol29 What should we expect from Tai Felton this year? I know a lot of people are disappointed with how he performed last year but the kid has speed that you can’t teach.

I’d expect him to do a lot on special teams and have a package of plays where he’s a deep threat. He showed in camp that his 4.37 speed matters and he can go up and get the football. If somebody goes down, he’ll be ready to roll after a pretty strong camp as well. I really like Jauan Jennings’ fit but he’s not a clearout route guy like Felton can be (or Nailor was in the past).

Evan… Now that it’s most likely Harry’s last year on his HOF campaign… are pro bowls still going to be looked at for the Hall of Fame when they just got rid of the pro bowl for being a joke?

Well, they didn’t get rid of players being named Pro Bowlers, so that’s still going to play into it. In fact, now it’s actually better because it won’t include the alternates anymore and the Pro Bowl nods will be just the guys that deserved it.

Personally, I wouldn’t look at Pro Bowls at all and possibly by the time Smith reaches HOF eligibility the committe won’t either. My hope is that all the advanced data that we have is the story that they’re going to look at closer. The PFF metrics make the best case for Smith because they show he was consistently elite for a very long time and was an ultimate playmaker with PBUs and pressures as well as INTs and sacks and they show his alignment data that proves his uniqueness. Plus the impact on many top-notch defenses along the way can’t be understated.

Harry’s always been left a little short when it comes to awards. My guess is because the Vikings haven’t won enough playoff games and he didn’t put himself out in the media very much.

Dan… Compared with all of the other Vikings seasons you’ve covered, where does this one rank on the amount of deep playoff run potential heading into the season? “Deep playoff run” to me means making it into the NFC Championship game. I think too many people have written off the Vikings as “maybe a wildcard contender” when in fact there’s a realistic slice of the pie chart where they’re really tough this year.

In terms of teams that I thought had the best chance to be a serious contender coming out of training camp, 2017 is easily No. 1. I remember that not many people predicted they were going to be great that year but camp went unbelievably well that year. Which is funny because in 2018 everyone had them in the Super Bowl and camp told the exact opposite story. Last year we thought that they had the roster players 2-53 but had no idea what to expect from McCarthy.

I’d say it’s been one of the more promising camps considering Murray looked good, Jefferson is back, the weapons are improved with Jennings, the O-line is healthy, the defense got Harry back, added some dudes and had a number of young players show improvement. So I’d probably put it in the top three or four.

I wouldn’t quite say that they’ve been totally written off. Almost every day I see some national analyst or talking head say that their bold prediction is the Vikings going deep into the playoffs and even though the Vegas odds have them fourth in the division, it’s by the smallest margin of any last-place projection. I’d describe it as more intrigue than hatin’ from the outside world.

In order to get those NFC Championship type projections from folks, there has to be something proven in the past. No team with a QB and HC with zero playoff wins is going to get the pre-season crown. The good part for the Vikings is that the Seahawks had worse odds going into last year than Minnesota does now and there’s a fair amount of similarities with the good defense and quality QB coming in.

I’d go with about a 8% chance the Vikings could make the NFC Championship game but it’s definitely not zero.

We might even have to bump that up a tiny percentage after the Rams looked human.

Brad L… Watching Darnold go down Wednesday night makes me wonder, how confident are you in our backup QB situation?

The backup QB situation is fine. My biggest concern with Carson Wentz is how many hits he takes and whether he could play for an extended period of time without getting banged up again. In terms of performance, in the first four games, he went 2-2 with a 67% completion, 7.5 YPA and averaged 268 yards passing per game. You really can’t expect much better than that for a backup QB.

In hindsight, however, you do wish that Wentz got more backup reps during camp.

CMBoourns… Last year Eric Wilson went from a depth free agent signing to a major piece of our defense, is there anyone (offense or defense) you could see going from a depth or rotational role to an impactful player this year?

It is crazy how that happened. Now Wilson is viewed as an absolutely vital piece of the defense.

This year the most obvious nominee is Ty Ingram-Dawkins. Last year he got his feet wet and now he’s going to be asked to play a huge role. That’s pretty unusual for a fifth-round pick but they’be been talking like he’s really shined and made great strides.

Another guy might be Jay Ward. I’ve really liked the violence and conviction that he plays with. They’ve developed him over a few years and it looks like he’s ready to start making plays. I’ll be interested to see how much usage he gets from the jump because I’m guessing it’s going to be quite a bit.

Jason… Who wins this weekend?

I’m going with the Vikings winning 24 to 21. I think there are plenty of advantages of the Vikings i.e. being at home and Micah Parsons not playing but Jordan Love isn’t the type of quarterback who’s going to give you too many easy days as a defense. People should also separate Matt LaFleur’s playoff failures with him as a regular season coach. He’s pretty darn good.

Daniel S… Why does everyone seem to be capping both the Vikings and Kyler around 11 wins and “above average QB” play? In 2021 Kyler was 5th in completion %, 6th in YPA, 7th in passer rating, 8th in yards per game, and 4th among QBs in rushing yards. If O’Connell can get him back to that level, that’s more like a top 5-7 QB than an average one. If that happens, shouldn’t the team’s ceiling be meaningfully higher than 11 wins?

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By Matthew Coller

On Thursday, the Minnesota Vikings continued preparation for the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. We heard from coordinators and the starting QB. Let’s dive into what they had to say…

Flores on Harry’s return

Nobody in the building should be happier about Harrison Smith’s return than Brian Flores. Not only have Smith and Flores been able to create a dynamic defense together over the last three years together but the safety position was also the one with the biggest question marks on the defensive side of the ball heading into the season.

“He’s everything that embodies a Viking,” Flores said. “His leadership, his acumen and just his presence in the locker room, in the meeting rooms. I was very excited, as was the entire team and the entire organization and fan base. So just getting him back, working him into some of the different groupings, and we’ll see how that goes on Sunday.”

The question is how the Vikings are going to work the rotation in the early part of the season as Smith ramps up. Will they continue to have Josh Metellus in a deeper safety role or move him back up to the line of scrimmage? They used Jay Ward in the big nickel spot throughout camp with seemingly good results so it would be surprising if they majorly overhauled things with Smith returning.

Flores on adding Van Noy and Ward

Depth at the defensive tackle spot was a major concern throughout the summer but the Vikings added two outside linebackers in the days leading up to the season in Kyle Van Noy and Jihad Ward.

Flores talked about when they could get on the field.

“Not having been in training camp, I’m not saying it means they can’t play but just getting them back into shape but there is a mental and a physical aspect to it,” Flores said. “Learning the verbiage and terminology communicating with their teammates while also working the fundamentals and the techniques that we want them to to have. Thankfully both guys kind of know what we’re looking for, whether it’s setting edges or playing a double team or dropping coverage or whatever we’re asking the guys to do, they have experience in it.”

Both players are on the practice squad so it will be interesting to see whether they get elevated this weekend against the Packers. From Flores’ comments, it seems like that might take a few weeks.

Flores has a role for Caleb Banks (and other rookies)

One thing we’ll be watching for when the Vikings face the Packers is how often first-round pick Caleb Banks is on the field. Based on his preseason performance, the rookie didn’t quite look like he was ready to take on a high snap count right away. But the Vikings’ D-line is also in experienced so they will need to rotate.

Flores was asked about whether he has plans to carve out a role for Banks on Sunday.

“Yeah, I do,” he said. “I think he’s had a good training camp. I think he’s continually gotten better day by day, meeting by meeting. walk-through by walk-through, practice by practice. I think he’s doing a nice job, and I think we’ll have a role in some capacity for him and several of the rookies and try to get their feet wet a little bit.”

Flores offering up that the other rookies could get in the game is interesting. The player with the best chance to see the field in a situational role is Domonique Orange. While the Vikings are going to use Levi Drake Rodriguez as the starter on the inside, Orange should mix and match depending on the down/disstance etc. The only other NT on the roster is veteran Naquan Jones, who is on the practice squad.

Linebacker Jake Golday worked inside and outside during training camp, giving him a chance to potentially see the field. Rookies Jakobe Thomas and Charles Demmings are less likely to see significant action but they could be special teams role players who are available if needed.

“I tell them all the time, we’re going to play the hot player… if any one of them goes in there and makes a play, they’re going to stay in there, as they should,” Flores said. “I’m excited to see them all kind of get out there in their first regular season game. I try to tell them…you’re never going to experience something like this. The game is faster. It’s more physical. It’s violent. All the things we love about the game.”

Jordan Love vs. the blitz

Last year Jordan Love graded second by PFF vs. the blitz in the NFL, completing 62.5% of passes for 8.1 yards per attempt, 12 touchdowns to just three interceptions and a 105.1 rating. PFF only had him with five Turnover-Worthy plays last season on 162 attempts when blitzed.

Flores has been very impressed with what he’s seen from Love.

“He’s just grown and grown,” Flores said. “His command of the offense, whether it’s cadence, whether it’s on the ball, no huddle, he’s got total command and understanding of what they’re trying to do. He’s got a great coach, and they work extremely well together, great rapport with his receivers. He’s always been super talented, just a naturally gifted thrower of the ball, accurate thrower of the ball and it’s actually been fun to watch him grow. So big, big challenge for us.”

Flores explained the ways specifically that he’s seen Love deal with blitzes.

“He’s able to go through his reads, go through his progression, and get the ball where it needs to be,” he said. “He knows what protection he’s in. You can pressure him from this way and he may move the protection….It really makes you play somewhat honest defensively. I think that’s part of the reason why he’s grown so much, and he’s done a great job from that standpoint.”

Does Love’s capability to deal with extra rushers change Flores’ approach? That’s not likely. When the two faced off in Week 17 2024, Flores blitzed him on 74.3% of drop-backs, according to PFF.

Wes Phillips working with Kyler Murray

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By Matthew Coller

Finally, it’s game week.

The Minnesota Vikings were back at practice on Wednesday as they prepare to play the Green Bay Packers. Here’s all the takeaways…

Harrison Smith returns

Harrison Smith was on the practice field Wednesday after missing training camp while he contemplated whether he wanted to play in 2026.

Head coach Kevin O’Connell said that despite his conversations with Smith throughout the summer, he truly wasn’t sure if Smith was going to return to the team this season.

“He’s in great shape and you could tell by just the way he came in that he had a mentality of coming in in shape and not really needing a ramp-up period for a guy with that level of experience and knowing what it’s going to take,” O’Connell said. “As we worked closer towards the end of the camp and the dialogue of where he was at, I think he just... feels like he can play still, and he feels like specifically his role in our defense and the enjoyment he has being a quarterback out there for that group…I think it was a pretty easy decision for him in the end.”

When asked if it was possible that Smith could play this Sunday against the Green Bay Packers this Sunday, O’Connell said, “absolutely, we’ll obviously practice for the first time today and we’ll assess where he’s at.”

In terms of his possible workload, when Smith came back from a health issue that kept him out of camp last year, he played 22, 17 and 29 snaps in the first three games back before getting up to full speed. O’Connell said that the team will have a plan for his ramp up.

“I’m in good shape,” Smith said. “There’s nothing like playing football. Heart rate, thinking a lot while you’re moving, it’s hard to simulate that. I’m in a really good place right now.”

JJ McCarthy is QB3

O’Connell announced that McCarthy will be the emergency quarterback on Sunday against the Packers. He said that it will be a decision that they reevaluate from week to week.

“Carson, he’s got almost 100 career starts,” O’Connell said. “What he was able to do last year from a standpoint of very limited repetition and being able to apply a career’s worth of experience, that’s kind of what you need to do as a backup quarterback, especially early on when so much of the emphasis is going to be on getting Kyler as comfortable as we can possibly get him.”

As far as McCarthy’s prospects long term, O’Connell said:

“He’s still a young quarterback in the NFL with 10 starts and a bunch of talent and a bunch of things that make him a guy that we want to pour into every single day,” O’Connell said. “And the best part is he’s going to work as hard as anybody.”

The writing appeared to be on the wall that Wentz was going to be the backup when he began getting more reps at the end of camp and outperformed McCarthy in the preseason.

As far as what it means for McCarthy in the bigger picture, we never really know how things are going to play out and we’ve seen QB3 needed multiple times during O’Connell’s era. However, getting first and second-team reps all summer and still not being QB2 does not give much optimism to his chances of being a starting quarterback again any time soon.

O’Connell’s lesson from 2025

In the final five games of the 2025 season, O’Connell was forced into a grind-it-out mentality where the Vikings adapted to a run-first, simplified offense and relied heavily on their defense to win games.

At the end of 2025, he commented that he learned that sometimes they had to find ways to win even if it wasn’t really in the style that they would like to play.

On Wednesday, he reflected on that lesson learned.

“I think that’s one of the things that I probably am so appreciative about the experience of the four years leading up to this year… you’ve got to learn some things as far as not only just how you approach trying to win one game every Sunday, and they’re all different,” O’Connell said. “Every weekend is a challenge schematically, personnel wise, where your team’s at from a health standpoint, where your team’s at at certain positions. And ultimately, all we’re tasked with doing is trying to win a game for 60 minutes every week. And it sounds like a cliche until you learn. It doesn’t matter what the stat box looks like. It doesn’t matter what an EPA looks like.”

Over full seasons, the box scores and EPA data do tell a story about a team’s overall strength but there have been games and situations that the Vikings may have closed out easier or won if they leaned into the run-and-play-defense approach. That doesn’t mean that O’Connell should completely change, rather adjust certain in-game approaches as he did last year.

Jihad Ward is back

In 2024, Jihad Ward was a rotational pass rusher for the Vikings, playing a total of 467 snaps and posting 31 pressures and picking up one sack. Last year, he spent the season with the Tennessee Titans and had a strong season with 47 pressures and 5.0 sacks as a starter.

With outside linebacker depth still somewhat a question after signing Kyle Van Noy, the Vikings brought Ward back on Wednesday, signing him to the practice squad.

A clean injury report

The only player on the Vikings’ injury report Wednesday is safety Jakobe Thomas, who has an illness. The rest of the squad was fully practicing and is expected to go on Sunday against the Packers. In total, the only injuries the team suffered during training camp and preseason were Jamal Adams and Tyler Batty’s season-ending leg injuries.

Kyler Murray’s leadership style

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Joshua R. Smith is a sports editor/writer at The Frederick News-Post in Maryland. He’s a lifelong Vikings fan (80s era) who contributes occasionally to Purple Insider. You can follow him on Twitter/X at JoshuaR_Smith

By Joshua R. Smith

The noise it likely made, if it made one at all, would’ve been hot and fast sounding. Something like this:

“Fzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt.”

The date was Oct. 24, 1999, and the 2-4 Minnesota Vikings had fully handed their offense over to another different veteran. Again. Down by three against visiting San Francisco, in desperate need of a turnaround in a season with high hopes, that sound probably could have been heard at field level in the always-raucous Metrodome.

Jeff George took a seven-step drop to the Vikings’ 12 yard-line and ripped a scorching liner 37 yards — fzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt — that landed perfectly in the arms of a striding Matthew Hatchette, who took it the rest of the way for an 80-yard TD.

Minnesota went on to rout the 49ers, sparking a run to the Divisional round of the playoffs.

That day marked a QB first for the Vikings — who in 2026 are set to record yet another.

When Kyler Murray takes his first snap Sunday against Green Bay, he will join George and Sam Bradford (2016-17) to make Minnesota the answer to a unique piece of trivia:

If all goes as planned, the Vikings will become the first NFL team since the merger to have started — for most of a season — three quarterbacks who were drafted by someone else with the No. 1 overall pick.

(The Rams and Panthers have also started three, but mostly for interludes.)

The honor will be fitting for this challenged franchise. Few teams have cycled through as many name quarterbacks as the Vikings over the past 40 years.

Therefore, on the eve of the occasion, it’s a fitting time to examine how those two previous instances shook out for Minnesota and compare them to the situation Murray enters as he tries to revive his career with a franchise that is perhaps unmatched in its attempts at such resuscitation.

Maybe the process of looking back at the other two can serve as a fortune teller for this year’s Minnesota Vikings. Through this lens, let’s dissect and grade several categories from 1999 and 2016 to project this year’s support system and how Murray might fare as he takes the reins for the Vikings’ latest dance with a former No. 1.

The three QBs’ profiles could not be more at odds, yet some commonalities to their situations could help determine whether Murray is positioned to have more or less success than his No. 1 predecessors in purple.

(A scale of 1 to 10 is used to rate each category, with 10 being strongest and only whole numbers awarded.)

1999 — Jeff George

Overview

By 1999, Jeff George had become versed in wearing out his welcome. The No. 1 pick by the Colts in 1990, he was entering his 10th season when he joined the Vikings on a cheap, one-year deal with his fourth team to backup Randall Cunningham.

He was available for many reasons, few positive. He could make eye-popping throws, yes. But too often, he propped himself up on that awesome arm. He was just a thrower. There were also contractual arguments, public sideline spats, too many sacks and too few wins.

When he arrived in Minnesota, his record was 37-70 (.345).

Oakland, where he had started for the previous two years, jettisoned George in favor of former Viking Rich Gannon, who could better operate second-year coach Jon Gruden’s complex offense.

With the Vikings, the 31-year-old George would be one play — or one poor stretch of play by the 36-year-old Cunningham, as it turned out — from leading a loaded team that had Super Bowl aspirations a year after its gutting championship game defeat.

Tangible QB skills (6)

Google “Jeff George highlights” and behold. His throwing style and insane trigger generated nonchalant velocity that could fit balls into the unfathomable. His arm talent was top tier, on par with Dan Marino and John Elway.

However, overconfidence in that ability and relative immobility — his era being owned by pocket passers — led to 285 sacks, or 31 per season, by the time he arrived in Minneapolis.

Intangible QB skills (2)

Stellar ESPN reporter John Clayton had an anonymous source tell him in 2001 that George was “a traveling computer virus who keeps getting into different laptops.”

To alter that metaphor, George’s software was faulty. He didn’t devote himself to technique or scheme mastery, and he had trouble connecting with teammates. There are stories of him clashing with coaches whose calls he ignored to spite them or just because.

Infamously, late in his career, he was quoted as saying leadership is overrated. Those words might mean more to his reputation than any bullet he fired into tight coverage.

Coaching/scheme (8)

Dennis Green proved over his career that he could find ways to win with QBs of varying styles and levels of experience. To that point in his Vikings tenure, he’d ridden with mostly veterans. However, in that regard, he had been a victim of his own success, as Minnesota was never in a position to draft a QB high — until the team traded the one Green had developed, Brad Johnson, and spent the acquired pick on Daunte Culpepper in 1999.

Bottom line: Experienced quarterbacks could easily learn Green’s scheme because it was set up logically and coached well.

It didn’t hurt that the personnel executing the plays was splendid.

Receivers/Tight ends (10)

This was peak Three Deep. In ’99, Randy Moss and Cris Carter each went over 1,200 yards, while Jake Reed — Purple Insider’s Most Underrated Viking of the Past 50 Years — added 600 more. None were shorter than 6-foot-3. All were dangerous.

Carter led the NFL with 13 TD grabs (Moss added 10) and was named First-Team All-Pro. This bonkers trio helped George zip spirals at a league-best 14.7 yards per completion over his 10 starts.

At tight end, Andrew Glover stood an imposing 6-foot-6 but didn’t stand much chance at accruing many targets given the talent around him. Still, he finished with 28 receptions and gave defenses something else to worry about.

Running backs (7)

The reason this rating isn’t even higher comes down to starter Robert Smith missing three games due to hernia surgery just as George was stepping in.

When healthy, Smith brought dual-threat juice to the backfield, and he finished the season with 1,000 rushing yards.

We all know the well-worn statement that accompanies the name of his backup, Leroy Hoard, who was always good for three yards. Sure enough, Hoard went for 10 TDs, seven from 1 yard and none longer than 4. (Gosh, remember when the Vikings could score short-yardage TDs?)

Offensive line (8)

This stalwart group included three first-round picks, two 1999 Pro Bowl selections and one eventual gold jacket owner.

From left tackle to right, it was Todd Steussie, Randall McDaniel, Jeff Christy, David Dixon and Korey Stringer. By ’99, Steussie, McDaniel and Christy had been starting together under Green since 1994. Stringer, a massive athletic marvel, was in his fourth season.

If there was a perceived weak link, it was the mountainous Dixon, a former project who had come into his own (all the way from New Zealand) but wasn’t a high-level pass blocker.

Even so, together they provided ample time for George to drop back and fire. George — one of the most frequently sacked QBs of the 1990s — was taken down 28 times in his 10 starts. But his formidable line helped Minnesota’s offense rank third by yards and fifth by points.

Overall defense (3)

These Vikings were light on defense, in the general size of its players by NFL positional standards and also in its ability to halt offenses. Minnesota was 27th ranked by yardage, with abysmal pass defense as the main culprit.

Much of coordinator Foge Fazio’s starting group was either aging or young and unspectacular. Their top players were defensive lineman John Randle and safety Robert Griffith. Seeking more talent and fewer double teams on Randle in late September, Green re-signed Chris Doleman, bringing the franchise great and 38-year-old off the golf course to help rush the passer.

With those two, the line was productive enough to register 43 sacks, but the Vikings’ speedy linebackers were small. At corner, Jimmy Hitchcock was serviceable, but slight rookie Kenny Wright was a liability.

The unit was fully exposed by the Rams in the playoffs.

Overall special teams (6)

Mitch Berger was a Pro Bowl punter, but 40-year-old Gary Anderson, by then, had one of the weaker legs in the NFL. Attempting field goals near or beyond 50 yards was almost out of the question.

Moss returned punts and David Palmer handled kickoff returns. While Moss had one memorable prime-time return TD, it came in a loss to Kansas City. Otherwise, this unit was average.

George’s final regular-season stats: 191 completions in 329 attempts (58.1%), 2,816 yards, 23 TDs, 12 INTs, four game-winning drives.

Final result: Minnesota went 10-6, beat Dallas 27-10 in the Wild Card playoffs, then lost to St. Louis 49-37 in the Divisional round.

Overall score (out of 80): 50

2016 — Sam Bradford

Overview

Defcon 1 had been entered when the Vikings acquired Bradford on the eve of the season. Shocked and desperate after Teddy Bridgewater’s knee injury, Minnesota sent first- and fourth-round picks to the Eagles for an injury-plagued QB with a premium arm who had fallen out of favor in Philadelphia after it drafted current Viking Carson Wentz. (Gosh, we could play an NFL version of “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” with Vikings QBs.)

It was the second time in two years that Bradford — the top pick by St. Louis in 2010 — had been traded. He was becoming the poster child for unfulfilled promise.

The hope in Minnesota was he could stay whole and sub well enough to keep the reigning division champ’s lofty ambitions afloat. It seemed reasonable, with Adrian Peterson in the backfield, young receivers ready to pop and Mike Zimmer’s defense rounding into destructive form.

It continued feeling reasonable once they started hot.

Then, injuries struck. Maybe some stuffed animals were sacrificed. Doubts crept in. Losses snowballed.

And no matter how well a healthy Bradford played the hand that was dealt, the Vikings became one of a small group of teams in history that started 5-0 but missed the playoffs.

Tangible QB skills (6)

Recall what Bradford did in his first Vikings start. Week 2. Fifteen days after he was acquired. The grand opening of US Bank Stadium — against Aaron Rodgers’ Packers on prime-time national TV.

Still probably learning who Stefon Diggs was (along with the rest of the NFL-loving nation), Sammy Sleeves showed his best traits no matter how illogical the display seemed given his circumstances. Dropping dimes all night and igniting Diggs’ star, he outplayed Rodgers in a theatrical victory.

All season, Bradford’s accuracy was top notch on all manner of throws, his timing preternatural. He led the NFL that year in completion percentage, with a snap-to-release time that could not have been faster.

A depleted, lackluster offensive line — and Bradford’s non-existent mobility (he was sacked 38 times) — required it.

Intangible QB skills (7)

Bradford’s consumption and execution of Minnesota’s offense at warp speed to start the season was impressive and spoke to his football mind.

He also quickly won over his new head coach and teammates, who, mind you, had just seen their beloved leader, Bridgewater, fall victim to a catastrophic injury as they were set to embark on a season where they were expected to make a playoff run.

Coaching/scheme (7)

Zimmer was focused on his defense. He needed his QB to be professional, in the conscientious, businesslike and smart senses of the word. Bradford fit the bill.

Zimmer left the offense to his coordinator.

And then his coordinator left.

After Minnesota lost its second game, the respected Norv Turner stunningly resigned after (perhaps blowing right by TJ Clemmings on his way out the door). That’s why the rating here isn’t higher. Though Zimmer claimed to be shocked by Turner’s decision, there was clearly discord.

It seemed convenient that tight ends coach Pat Shurmur, who had twice previously coached Bradford and was attuned to his skills, was named the interim OC. Shurmur tailored play-calling to Bradford’s strengths while also accounting for the shortcomings of his supporting cast.

Receivers/Tight ends (8)

This was the season where Diggs and Adam Thielen emerged as a potent duo. Diggs’ breakout was that Green Bay game. Thielen introduced himself by going off in a Week 5 shellacking of Houston.

Both had 900-plus receiving yards, giving Bradford an interchangeable pair.

Cordarrelle Patterson had limited receiver skills but was a solid catch-and-run complement, while first-round pick Laquon Treadwell was very good at snagging passes from the Jugs machine after practice.

At tight end, Kyle Rudolph enjoyed a career year, never mind it was at least partially a product of Bradford needing to compensate for limited time. Rudy vacuumed short passes all season, recording 83 receptions (one less than Diggs) for 840 yards and seven TDs.

Rhett Ellison was a serviceable blocking tight end.

Running backs (4)

Peterson tore his meniscus in Week 2, leaving the rushing duties to Matt Asiata and Jerick McKinnon for the rest of the campaign. Each had limitations, and the drop-off from a superstar was as drastic as one might have imagined. The pair teamed to produce just under 1,000 yards. Asiata provided some value as poor man’s Hoard, while McKinnon’s receiving skills were useful.

But this tandem did not strike fear.

Offensive line (1)

In a word: Ugh.

Starting left tackle Matt Kalil got hurt, and before that he had regressed. Starting right tackle Andre Smith got hurt. The next starting left tackle Jake Long, signed off the street, got hurt.

Clemmings, an ill-equipped rookie, got thrust into the lineup, as did utility man Jeremiah Sirles. Steady Joe Berger started at center, and the guards were Alex Boone and Brandon Fusco. There were some solid pieces, but the unit was an average mash-up. Shuffled personnel made cohesion challenging.

Also challenging: Running the ball and pass protecting long enough for routes to develop.

These Vikings finished with the NFL’s worst rushing offense by yardage and yards per attempt.

Overall defense (9)

By this point, Zimmer had the players to start digging into his bag and making life hell for opposing QBs.

Pro Bowl picks dotted each level: Anthony Barr, Everson Griffin, Linval Joseph, Xavier Rhodes and Harrison Smith. Not to mention, Danielle Hunter came into his own with a team-best 12.5 sacks.

They finished as the third-ranked defense in yards and sixth in points.

But it wasn’t enough to offset offensive limitations.

Overall special teams (7)

Patterson and Marcus Sherels might’ve been the best return duo in the game.

Patterson was named All-Pro after leading the league in kickoff return average. Sherels took two punts to the house.

But this was the season when Blair Walsh melted, getting cut in November after missing extra-points in consecutive weeks. The steadier Kai Forbath came aboard.

Bradford’s final regular-season stats: 395 completions in 552 attempts (71.6%), 3,877 yards, 20 TDs, five INTs,

Final result: 8-8, third in NFC North.

Overall score (out of 80): 51

2026 — Kyler Murray

Overview

Signing Murray, the best QB available on the market, to a one-year deal this offseason gave coach Kevin O’Connell the type of coveted veteran his offense has thrived with in Minnesota.

Murray, of course, was cut loose by the Cardinals despite an enormous salary after he failed to lift Arizona from the dregs as the potential savior for a historically bereft franchise.

The Vikings hope the 2019 No. 1 overall pick will be able to rescue them, too — if not from the dregs, but high enough to see over the dreaded mediocre middle as O’Connell tries to cement his job security with postseason success.

The idea was that Murray would have little trouble beating out JJ McCarthy in whatever camp competition KOC designed.

The idea is that Murray’s best will be brought out by an infrastructure the likes of which he has never enjoyed — including a flexible, QB-whispering coach, terrific receivers, solid protection, an overhauled running-game approach and a vicious defense.

Not to mention, he should be internally motivated to prove his talent and rejuvenate his career in a potentially make-or-break situation.

Tangible QB skills (7)

Murray has at times been one of the most accurate, exciting quarterbacks in the NFL.

He is a high-level quick-game artist who can make anticipatory throws but cannot lean on the type of arm possessed by George or even Bradford.

He uses footwork in the pocket to compensate for a height disadvantage. He doesn’t take a high percentage of sacks, nor does he throw a lot of picks.

Murray’s hay has been made as a top-tier athlete whose scrambling helps create off-script completions and chunk gains with his legs. But it’s hard to build an offense around unreliable playmaking.

Still, he has averaged 456 yards rushing over seven seasons — despite missing portions of 2021 and ’22 with a torn ACL and effectively getting put on ice last season after five games as the Cards tanked. That trait can help extend drives or demoralize defenses.

With a clean pocket, Murray has also proven to be one of the best QBs in the league. Additionally, as has been reported by Purple Insider, from 2020-24, Murray created the eighth most Approximate Value by Pro-Football Reference’s WAR-like metric.

Intangible QB skills (5)

Negative narratives are what prevail here, shaping overall perceptions of Murray.

He’s too tiny to succeed. He’s not rah-rah enough to lead men. He forsakes studying for gaming. He can’t stay healthy. He lacks fire..

It became easy to latch onto such storylines as he went in and out of the lineup, faltered late in seasons he completed or wore blank expressions as the Cardinals remained mostly on the periphery of average NFL fans’ consciousness.

What’s not taken more into account is that he was mired amid an organization that struggled to build around him.

To boot: His QB record of 38-48-1 (.437) in seven seasons with the Cards is not encouraging, but it’s worth noting Arizona went 5-25 (.167) in games he didn’t start since 2019.

Coaching/scheme (8)

O’Connell’s success rate with experienced QBs is proven. He runs one of the league’s premier passing games — provided his trigger-man grasps and executes gameplans.

The key will be how well KOC uses schematics and the benefits of a strong supporting cast to mitigate Murray’s deficiencies. The question is how the coach will tailor his system to get the most out of Murray’s strengths, or maybe even develop what have been weaknesses.

O’Connell’s offense has strict principles. Yet, year to year, it has also looked subtly different under Kirk Cousins, Sam Darnold and the struggling McCarthy. That should be expected again in 2026, perhaps with some pistol formations or movement of the pocket to create clearer passing lanes for the diminutive operator.

Also, it appears there might be a more concerted effort to produce the type of running game that can make life easier for any style QB.

Receivers/Tight ends (9)

No matter how strong this group looks, we can’t rate it a 10, because this isn’t Three Deep.

Still, it’s arguably the best cadre of weapons in the league — and maybe the best the Vikings have had since the late ‘90s. Plus, each man mentioned here should be highly motivated to help Murray.

Justin Jefferson will be striving to prove, for anyone who has such doubts, that last year’s blip should be placed at the feet of the team’s QBs.

Jordan Addison will be similarly driven. After several uncharacteristic drops, he’ll seek to parlay a rebound season into an enormous contract.

New addition Jauan Jennings, who is on a one-year deal as WR3, has RAC ability and an aggressiveness that should abet the running game.

Tight end TJ Hockenson, who will hit free agency in 2027, seeks to rediscover the level he reached before a late-2023 ACL tear.

Josh Oliver remains a great blocking TE, while Myles Price and Tai Felton hope to make noise with a big play or two as supporting WRs.

Running backs (6)

It’s hard to grade this group as anything other than slightly better than average. Jordan Mason appears primed to break out — but that bandwagon has plenty of open seats because everyone knows how much the team trusts and adores Aaron Jones.

Jones’ age (he turns 32 in December) and history of getting banged up make it stand to reason the Vikings will rely more on the tough-running Mason as they implement a blocking scheme with a history of gouging gains.

Either way, they are a competent if not dangerous duo. While RB depth is a concern, the deployment of rookie fullback Max Bredeson could deliver valuable crunch and confusion to defenses.

Offensive line (7)

The talent of tackles Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill push this group to a decent rating, but big questions remain.

That includes whether Darrisaw will regain his top-end form. And whether the man next to him, guard Donovan Jackson, can take the next step. And whether center Blake Brandel can avoid snapping miscues prone to a converted guard. And whether right guard Matt Fries will indeed be a stronger version of himself two years after a tough injury.

Lastly, will the unit allow Murray to flourish and uniformly help them carry out the new rushing plan?

All five starters have at least one year of experience in the system, though they seldom started together last season. If all comes to fruition, this OL could be the finest Murray has ever played behind.

Overall defense (8)

Nearly the entire unit returns after finishing as the third best defense in the NFL by yardage in ’25.

Coordinator of chaos Brian Flores seems assured to continue his dastardly devising. Andrew Van Ginkel remains a unique weapon at OLB, while Dallas Turner might be ready to announce his presence as a star.

The biggest area of concern seems to be the interior line, due largely to inexperience across the board.

Some holes were shored up last-minute with the signings of solid vet Kyle Van Noy and the legendary Harrison Smith.

Smith might be the ace in the hole as he figures to be back to his QB-toying tactics as a pseudo coach on the field and overall defensive confidence booster.

On average, Murray’s defenses in Arizona ranked 21st in yards allowed.

Overall special teams (7)

The presence of All-Pro kicker Will Reichard bumps up this unit’s grade.

But a rookie takes over as the Vikings’ punter and holder, and a slew of young, inexperienced players will be counted on to fill out the coverage units.

Price has big-play potential as a return man after some near-misses last season.

Murray’s projected final regular-season stats (via Mike Clay of ESPN): 373 completions in 552 attempts (67.6%), 3,778 yards, 22 TDs, 11 INTs, 502 rushing yards, four rushing TDs.

Final result: TBD.

Overall score (out of 80): 57

Conclusion

This is almost certainly the best team the Vikings have put around someone else’s former No. 1 overall pick. Murray is in a position to outdo George’s and Bradford’s Vikings.

(That said, Bradford began 2017 as the starter, too, before recurring knee problems flared and Case Keenum took the magic carpet ride instead.)

The pieces are in place for Murray. And it would be so Vikings if they surprised with another random QB they somehow ended up with after he had underachieved elsewhere.

A very flawed George surged to 11 total wins in 1999, while Bradford’s flawed squad failed to get it together after a great start.

Will Murray reach O’Connell’s coveted baseline for QB play? Will he finally find a level of consistency thanks to this fantastic setup? Can his rare gifts make a difference in a league with such parity and small margins of victory?

If he can, the Vikings might explode.

Like, KABOOM!

If he can’t, his time in Minnesota will be brief. The team’s hopes might burn out quickly, hot and fast.

Like, fzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt.

By Matthew Coller

The Minnesota Vikings are entering the 2026 with a Vegas over-under of 8.5 wins and are +4000 to win the Super Bowl on FanDuel. That’s the 18th highest odds in the NFL.

Nothing about that screams “true contender” but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. Last year the Seattle Seahawks were +6000 and their over-under was 8.5.

In order for Seattle to get there, they had to put together an elite defense, a top-10 passing game by passer rating and EPA and a rushing attack that finished in the top 10 in yards per game.

So what would need to happen in order for the Vikings to follow in their footsteps?

Let’s have a look at the numbers from teams in the last 10 years that have reached the Super Bowl and the markers that the Vikings must reach in the regular season to enter the playoffs as a true Super Bowl contender.

(Yes, half of these years there were only 16 games instead of 17, so keep that in mind).

Offensive standard

• Averaged 446 points scored

• 16 of 20 teams above 450 points scored

• 18 of 20 teams above 95 passer rating

• 17 of 20 teams over 1,700 rushing yards*

• 14 of 20 over 4.2 YPA

How they can get there:

Putting up 450 points would be good for the eighth best offense in the NFL. Likewise a 95 passer rating is top-eight.

*The rushing bar is lower as most 25 teams cleared 1,700 rush yards last year and 19 teams were above 4.3 YPC, however, that comes with an asterisk because five of the nine teams to make the Super Bowl with under 1,900 rushing yards were quarterbacked by Patrick Mahomes and two were Tom Brady.

We can conclude that most of the teams to make the Super Bowl in the last decade had their scoring driven by very efficient passing games. Murray’s career passer rating is sitting right on the bubble of the minimum for Super Bowl teams at 92.2 and he’s been close at 94.3 in 2020 and 93.5 in 2024 and cleared it once in 2021 at 100.6.

Arizona’s offense was just outside the bar for true contending teams in 2024, ranking 12th in scoring with Murray at the helm.

That tells us that Murray has proven to be in the ballpark of a Super Bowl-capable quarterback and that’s without mentioning the 572 yards that he had on the ground in 2024.

All the things that the Vikings have built around the veteran QB will need to push him over the hump from being considered a third-tier QB to a more consistent point producer. One area that could be a difference maker is the red zone. Murray’s Cardinals ranked 17th in 2024 in red zone touchdown percentage.

Clutch time performance will be big for Murray as well. In 2024, he only had a 77.2 passer rating in the fourth quarter and 39.5 rating when training with four minutes or less to go.

Keeping the QB away from pressure will also factor in enormously as he graded as the 30th best QB under pressure in 2024 and seventh best with a clean pocket.

The plus for Murray is that QBs throwing to Justin Jefferson over his career have a 102.4 rating and Addison isn’t far behind at 100.2. Jauan Jennings is at 94.1 and TJ Hockenson is 97.3. There’s a lot for Murray to work with.

In terms of the run game, the numbers here give us a hint that the running game’s purpose hasn’t always been to drive the offense for teams that reached the Super Bowl, it’s been as a support system. For example, the Seahawks ran for 2,096 yards at 4.1 yards per carry. They used it to control how often Sam Darnold would have to deal with third-and-long and to kill clock when they were ahead.

The run game has been very important to Super Bowl teams with non-elite QBs. Nine teams made the Super Bowl with 2,000 or more yards and they were led by Jalen Hurts, Jimmy Garoppolo, Brock Purdy, Jared Goff, Drake Maye, and Sam Darnold and the 2016 Atlanta Falcons had 1,928 in 16 games.

Last year the Vikings had 1,841 rushing yards at 4.5 YPC. If they can replicate that with another 500+ from Murray, they can be a dangerous offense and match the markers required for non-elite QBs on the ground.

Bottom line:

Murray’s history suggests that he’s had performances that have been within shouting distance of the average offense that reaches the Super Bowl. But he will need to be better than he’s ever been behind an improved O-line and outstanding receivers in order to make it happen. And the importance of the run game can’t be overstated. They need to be very effective to overcome some of the inconsistency in Murray’s game, especially when the other team is putting on pressure.

Defensive standard:

Read more

By Matthew Coller

EAGAN — As Day 1 of Minnesota Vikings and Baltimore Ravens joint practices was about to wrap up, the two teams’ starting units took the field for a situational drill. These are the 1s vs. 1s that everybody wants to see. It’s the closest thing to real football that the starters will get before Week 1, so they lock in.

In the arena, surrounded by dozens of coaches and the second and third teamers on the sidelines and a few thousand fans in the bleachers, Kyler Murray stood only a few feet from Baltimore defensive tackle Calais Campbell, who stands 6-foot-8. Between Murray and one of the great pass rushing D-linemen of the generation was 6-foot-7 center Blake Brandel, 6-foot-7 guard Will Fries and 6-foot-4 guard Donovan Jackson.

From the behind-the-defense view, the 5-foot-10 quarterback disappeared into a sea of humanity as soon as he took the snap. Two seconds later, a football emerged in the air, seemingly out of nowhere. As the ball floated through the sky, superstar receiver Justin Jefferson broke away from two Ravens defenders and raced toward the back of the end zone. The ball fell to the earth in NFL Films-y slow motion fashion, right into Jefferson’s outstretched hands. Touchdown.

In total, it traveled about 40 yards through the air. Murray trotted down, gave Jefferson a low-five and went back to the sideline.

How in the world did he make that throw from behind the guys in the trenches that are somewhere between six and 10 inches taller than him?

After that throw, I decided to ask Kevin O’Connell, a coach who worked with Murray in Arizona, a quarterback trainer and a physics professor the same question: How does Murray succeed from the pocket when everyone else around him is so much bigger?

Seeing the field

The most obvious problem of a quarterback who is 5-foot-10 is being able to see his wide receivers through the trees. This can be a problem for quarterbacks who are much bigger than Murray, which makes it even crazier that he’s able to make throws like the one he completed to Jefferson. How does he have any idea what’s going on downfield? How did he know where Jefferson was?

Inside the Vikings’ quarterback room, O’Connell has a rule: If Murray doesn’t throw to the right place, he can’t use the words, ‘I couldn’t see him,’ as an explanation.

“He couldn’t see on a play and he didn’t want to tell me that, so he prefaced it with, ‘I know I’m not allowed to say this, but….’” O’Connell said. “We both got a laugh out of it.”

The Vikings’ head coach showed his quarterback room a portion of 6-foot QB Drew Brees’ Hall of Fame speech that addressed the issue of being able to see receivers. Brees told a story about a film session with coaches Cam Cameron and Brian Schottenheimer in which they questioned why he didn’t make a particular throw.

“I was coming off a tough game, and as we watched the tape together, they asked me the question, ‘Hey, why didn’t you throw to this receiver? He’s wide open,’” Brees told the Canton audience. “To which my response was, ‘I couldn’t see him.’ The tape paused, there was a moment of silence, they glared at me and said, ‘It’s your JOB to see.’”

In the NFL Films’ “A Football Life” documentary about 6-foot-2 Hall of Famer Steve Young, a lightbulb moment in his career came when Mike Holmgren told him that since he wasn’t going to be able to see the receivers, he just needed to trust that they are going to be there.

“It’s going to happen from time to time, depending on the angles and how the protection and the rush kind of pattern works,” O’Connell explained. “But he also has a lot of experience understanding space based upon the defense that they play, space based upon what we’re trying to do from a standpoint of attacking voids and vacancies. We’ve seen some really good examples of him being able to overcome that by playing in rhythm and anticipating some throws.”

While the Jefferson play shined along with a number of other quality completions downfield, there were also times in camp where certain throws did not land in the right spot.

“We’ve seen some times where we’ve got to get more reps of what that throw actually feels like because he’s tried to anticipate some and maybe it’s a little long or he throws at a little higher angle than Justin comes out of it,” O’Connell said. “That’s a lot of time on task from another offense where maybe we have some subtle differences.”

Current UMass wide receivers coach/pass game coordinator Jordan Hogan was an assistant QBs coach when Murray was in Arizona and one of his jobs was to stand behind the QB and shoot video for their virtual reality program. His camera was the QB’s eyes, more or less. What does it look like back there?

“It’s a lot of chaos,” Hogan told Purple Insider over the phone. “Especially when all those arms are up in the air flying everywhere.”

Hogan explained that in offenses like O’Connell’s, there are “progression reads” that focus on how the defense plays against a particular route combination and decisions with the football are made based on the coverage rather than trying to see receivers get open and throw to them. It’s easier for the QB to spot the safeties or linebackers than watch his receiver all the way through the route.

“There’s a progression, so his eyes are going to start at a certain spot…whether you’re reading the [linebacker] or you’re reading the safety, your eyes are going to always start on the [defense],” Hogan explained. “You’re always going to start to one side of the field, and then as the defense takes away one read, you should have another throw coming into your vision.”

It will work “as long as his footwork is tied, as long as his eyes are tied with his footwork,” Hogan said.

The word that keeps coming up over and over is “anticipation.” On Jefferson’s touchdown against the Ravens, the ball was up in the air when Jefferson was at about the 15 yard line and he caught it in the back of the end zone. If the throws are timed correctly, then Murray can throw it to a specific spot knowing his receiver eventually will be there, even if he can’t exactly see him en route.

“It is truly on anticipation, timing and rhythm,” Hogan said.

Because of Murray’s speed and highlight reel, he has a reputation for scrambling around Fran Tarkenton style (or Mahomes, for the younger folks) and waiting to find somebody open downfield. But Hogan said that it’s a misconception that Murray bails from the pocket and tries to play hero all the time.

“He truly wants to stay in the pocket and play quarterback, that’s what he wants,” Hogan said. “He’s not out here to run around and be on the ESPN and get Top 10 plays and things like that. He wants to play the position the right way. He knows that in order to play this position, you have to play it from the pocket, going through progressions and throw with great anticipation because obviously he can’t see. He’s got a strong arm.”

Despite his presence on highlight reels, the numbers would back up that Murray plays inside the pocket much more often than people think. In 2024, he ranked 13th in the percentage of throws that came within 2.5 seconds of the snap. He was in the same ballpark as pocket QBs like Derek Carr and Kirk Cousins.

Requiring him to stay on time with the routes and throw blind sometimes doesn’t mean the Vikings want Murray to throw blind every time or to be a statue in the pocket.

“You have to be able to create throwing lanes…he does a really good job of sidestepping, maybe stepping up into the pocket,” Hogan said. “If there’s a B gap, he’ll step up into it…for small guys, you have to be able to move around within the pocket to be able to create those throwing lanes.”

Hogan shared video of drills that they used to work on in Arizona where Murray would side step in his drop-back in order to create throwing lanes.

Of course, all the anticipation and footwork in the world doesn’t change the reality that Murray’s height will matter sometimes when it comes to seeing the field.

In 2024, only 7.3% of his passes went to the middle of the field while traveling more than 10 yards past the line of scrimmage, per PFF. O’Connell will have to build in answers.

Hogan mentions two solutions: Rollouts and checkdowns.

Under O’Connell, quarterbacks have been under center regularly and used play-action bootlegs where the QB rolls out and has a clearer look downfield. In 2024, Murray threw 121 passes from under center and had a 99.7 passer rating and averaged 8.1 yards per attempt.

Checkdowns are the bane of football fans’ existence but they can also be deadly in a downfield passing offense, especially with a yards-after-catch monster like Jauan Jennings added to the mix. O’Connell has mentioned the “power of completions” and the pressure it puts on defenses as the ball matriculates down the field.

“If you can progress your third read and that’s not there, your check down should always be there,” Hogan said. “That’s really big in this offense. Your check downs will be there. Like, progress, progress. Okay, he’s not there, check it now….you should always have an answer.”

The throwing

When I called University of Nebraska-Lincoln physics professor Timothy Gay, who authored the book Football Physics: The Science of the Game, to ask him how Kyler Murray was impacted in terms of his throwing by his height, he didn’t have an immediate answer. He needed do some math and call me back.

A few days later, Gay emailed over a drawing.

Here’s how Gay decided to solve the problem: He looked at a quarterback 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage throwing the ball over a defensive lineman’s outstretched arms who had pushed the O-line back three yards toward the QB and the trajectory that the ball would have to travel in order to clear the D-lineman and reach a wide receiver that was 15 yards downfield with an accurate pass that was six feet off the ground. He then compared that to a 6-foot-5 quarterback.

What he found was that Murray has to use a different trajectory, from 12.5 degrees for the 6-foot-5 QB to 14.6 degrees, meaning that he has to throw the ball slower in order to get the same result, going from 51.0 mph to 48.6 mph. Slowing down the throw creates a longer time of flight, from 1.032 seconds for the big QB to 1.093 seconds for the short QB.

“There are slight differences,” Gay said over the phone. “You are going to have to practice a lot in order to get the launch angle down. The diagram shows the differences, which are small but significant.”

There’s pluses and minuses to putting more touch on the ball. Last year, Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner told Purple Insider that more loft on the football gives wide receivers more time to adjust. If the ball is slightly over or under thrown, they have more time to tweak their angles on the fly as opposed to the line-drive throws that leave less margin for error.

However, that also gives defenders more time to break up or intercept a pass.

“In the short quarterback’s launch, the ball will go higher, which may give the wide receiver a better chance to get at it,” Gay said.

Gay tried two different versions of the defensive lineman. He had another where the D-lineman got pushed back by two yards from the line of scrimmage. He was curious whether the push from the linemen was going to have a big impact on Murray’s angle.

“I was surprised was how little it changed the launch angle or speed,” Gay said.

Meaning that if Murray can hang in the pocket even with someone bearing down on him, the throw doesn’t require as much of adjustment as you’d think. That might also speak to playing under center, whereas coaches have always seemed to believe that Murray needed to be in shotgun due to his height.

But how do short quarterbacks master the art of trajectory and speed? It’s much more natural to whip the ball like the 6-foot-5 fella.

For that answer, I called quarterback trainer Cleveland McCoy, who is also the head coach at Coon Rapids High School. McCoy was a former quarterback at South Carolina State and had opportunities in camp with several NFL teams. A few years ago he was asked to work with a friend’s son on playing QB and was inspired to turn it into a business called QB Football Training.

He said that one answer for Murray when it comes to trajectories is to use any route to the wide receiver possible. You don’t always have to go up over the defensive lineman, you can also go around him with the pass.

“Kyler has a baseball background, so you gotta think that really helps him,” McCoy said over the phone. “Because he’s got different arm angles that he really perfected over his time. If he always throws over top, he’s going to hit his back of the helmet. So he has a really good grasp on just his arm trajectory as far as finding different arm slots to throw the football. I think that was big for him.”

While the anticipation throws over 6-foot-8 D-linemen are needed in order to win, relying on Murray to nail all the elements of timing, trajectory, velocity, progressions over and over and over can be difficult. McCoy points out that short QBs can be more effective using quick game.

In 2024, Murray ranked seventh in the NFL in completion percentage and had an on-target percentage (per PFR) of 79.1% (sixth best) while having an average depth of target that ranked 33rd out of 44 QBs. He completed 207 of 250 throws that went between 0-9 yards in the air, the 9th best completion percentage on such throws.

I asked McCoy how someone becomes prolific at throwing quick-game passes.

“It’s about being on schedule,” McCoy said. “You drop back and that ball has to be out. I think that’s where smaller quarterbacks really, really, really, really, really focus on that.”

How do you stay on schedule and get the ball out quickly with a high degree of accuracy? Feet, feet, feet, feet.

“Your footwork is very essential because quick game footwork is fast,” McCoy said. “I think in the NFL, those defensive backs are extremely fast. So you have to get that ball and get it out quick. And there’s a lot of this is rhythm and timing. Those are things that you work on before practice, after practice.”

Drew Brees’ name comes up again as the gold standard for an undersized guy playing on schedule with quick game.

“Drew Brees, man, he was one of the best to do it, and he had a smaller stature, but he just knew exactly where to put the football at the right time,” McCoy said.

Why did Brees have so much success getting the ball out quickly and to the right places? McCoy said that something he focuses on with his QB students is what’s going on from the shoulder pads and up.

“It starts from the head, pre-snap,” McCoy said. “Pre-snap is huge because if you know where you’re throwing the ball in a quick game concept before you even call your cadence, then it’s just about getting the ball out.”

McCoy said that fans should appreciate how rare it is that Murray can make it at his size. Most quarterbacks his size get moved to different positions or are ignored by colleges because they don’t fit the prototype. The fact that he’s been above average in the NFL is one in a million.

But it doesn’t happen alone. McCoy emphasizes the importance of Murray and O’Connell being on the same page as they go throughout the 2026 season. The play caller has to be aware of what works best for Murray and Murray has to be 100% locked in on every detail of the system in order to make it click.

“If you can find the right offensive coordinator where you work well in that system as far as getting the ball out fast and being able to stay consistent, that works,” McCoy said. “I feel like that really benefited Drew Brees. We see even with Sean Payton, getting the football out with Bo Nix has been super important. He’s not the tallest guy either.”

This week, Murray will get his first chance to bring it all together. To put footballs up in the air at the best angles for Justin Jefferson to chase them down. To show how much he’s in command of O’Connell’s offense. To play under center, roll out, change arm angles and throw passes blind based purely on reading the defense.

And if he makes it work and pushes the Vikings back to a top-10 scoring offense, Murray can change the narrative about how much his height impacts his performance.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was published on Purple Insider on January 4th, 2024. We’re sending it out again in honor of his return to the Vikings for the 2026 season.

EAGAN — Prior to returning to the Minnesota Vikings for the 2023 season, Harrison Smith took stock of everything.

He asked himself some important questions:

Am I still fast enough?

Yes.

Can I still catch the ball?

Yes.

Do I want to learn Brian Flores’ defense?

Absolutely yes.

So The Hitman decided to come back. But he admitted in May that thoughts of retirement were creeping in.

“Can’t play forever and it’s a big world out there,” Smith said.

Now as the Vikings head to Detroit for Week 18 with only a 3% chance of making the playoffs according to the New York Times Playoff Simulator, the six-time Pro Bowl safety could be playing his final game in purple.

To be clear, Smith has given no indication of his plans. He will go through the same process as last offseason and ask himself the same questions before making that decision.

If this week’s game is Smith’s swan song, he walks off the field as one of the greatest players in team history and an easy choice for the Ring of Honor.

As rare as a Ring of Honor-caliber career might be, those who have coached and played with Smith want even more accolades for the 12-year veteran. They want him to have a bust in Canton, Ohio, inside the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

But there is a problem with Smith’s resume. When it comes to the safety position, traditional statistics don’t do a very good job of capturing the impact of an elite player. While Smith’s box score stats like sacks, forced fumbles, interceptions and tackles do match up with some of the best safeties in the last 20 years, trying to tell the story of a great safety with only those stats would be like doing the SAT and not getting to include the essay portion.

So as Smith possibly approaches a walk off into the sunset, let’s do the essay portion and try to better fully understand his value to the Vikings and his nuanced case for the Hall of Fame…

15 seconds or less

Someday Hall of Fame voters are going to be tasked with believing in something less tangible when it comes to Harrison Smith. There are players like Randy Moss whose highlight reels alone could get them into the Hall. That is difficult to do from the safety position.

That’s partly because National Football League broadcasts are made for quarterbacks and wide receivers, not strong safeties. They are designed to reward flash, not consistent excellence from down to down. It’s an entertainment product after all but the way in which the NFL is broadcasted shapes the perception of players from the outside world. While millions watching at home can easily see a great throw or catch, many plays of equal value to the outcome of a game are not as obvious. Broadcasts also focus on controversial players and point the cameras in the way of players who have storylines surrounding them. Consistency is not that interesting.

These realities have not played in Smith’s favor when it comes to the football-consuming world understanding his value to the Vikings and he does very little outside of the game to let everyone know about it.

“He’s not big on trying to highlight himself on media or social media where a lot of other players are,” former Viking safety Andrew Sendejo said over the phone. “I think if he was a lot flashier, a lot more self promoting about all the great plays he’s made then people wouldn’t even second guess his Hall of Fame status.”

Certain teams are also on TV more often than others and the opinions of analysts color our viewpoints. Since being drafted by the Vikings in 2012, Smith has only appeared in seven playoff games, which is not a stat that’s reflective of his performance, rather it demonstrates the fact he hasn’t gotten the same air time of Super Bowl winners.

“If you are on a team every year that goes deep in the playoffs or you go to Super Bowls then you get more primetime games and more people are aware of how good you actually are,” Sendejo said. “If you are on national games and the commentators are highlighting you – there’s so many good players that they could do that for a lot of people and really blow people up and make them more known because of a replay and pointing out, ‘damn look how good this play is by the safety right here.’”

Not that Smith hasn’t made flashy plays. He has the 10th most sacks among safeties in NFL history. The issue is that there are only so many opportunities for sexy plays for safeties in comparison to QBs who touch the ball every play or receivers who catch 6-10 passes per game. Hall of Famer John Lynch, for example, had either an interception or sack in just 35 of his 224 games. HOF’er Troy Polamalu had 39 games with a sack or pick out of 158 appearances.

The things that separate great safeties happen like a beating drum on a play-to-play basis.

To help understand, Vikings defensive backs coach Daronte Jones makes a comparison between what Smith does for the defense to a quarterback for the offense. Take a simple handoff that goes for a big gain.

“You see a quarterback hand the ball off and you think, ‘OK he’s just handing the ball off,’ you didn’t see all the process that went into him handing the ball off, all the communication,” Jones explains.

The quarterback may have read the defense and change the play to a run based on what he saw. There’s no QB stat for the audibles you call at the line of scrimmage, only the coach and team understand what really happened. Same goes for safeties. There’s no stat for winning the pre-snap cat-and-mouse game against the opposing offense.

“He helps guys get lined up, he’s our best communicator on the field,” Jones explained. “He gets us in and out of different calls and checks. We visit with him from a coaching perspective and say, ‘hey, we would like for you to do this but if you see that then do that,’ so we give him a lot of leeway because he’s earned it and he can handle it. He’s really an extension of the coach on the field.”

Jones goes through all the things that Smith has to keep in the front of his mind as he is deciding whether to change coverages or alert the secondary to something the offense might be cooking up.

“He’s thinking about: What’s the personnel? What is the down-and-distance? What is the situation of the game? What is the formation that they’re in? Where is their premium receiver, their superstar?” Jones said. “What if that guy motions? That could change the call and my responsibility. What’s the split? Where’s the quarterback and is he giving any clues?”

He has to process that all in about 15 seconds, right?

“Or less,” Jones said.

There is a trickle-down effect to Smith’s processing and communication. Everyone else on the field knows who they are looking toward to get on track when things get crazy.

“One of the main things is the peace of mind that…if something gets a little sideways or there’s a little confusion that there is someone you can look to that will get you in the right call or get you in the right position or at least save the play,” Sendejo said. “When you are going out there with him you know 22 is going to take care of this responsibility and his side of the ball and get everyone lined up. There were multiple times when I played with him that the whole defense didn’t know what to do and he just made a check or made a call that got us into the right call.”

Sendejo said that Smith routinely lets the rest of the defense know what to watch for from the opposing offense in between plays based on his study. He will see a formation or other tip and remind teammates to look for a play coming in their direction.

“He will never get the credit for that,” Sendejo said. “Somebody can make a great play and it might have been him the whole time saying, ‘hey, they’re about to run the ball here.’”

Even if it is difficult to pick up on TV all the things Smith is doing outside of his sacks, interceptions and tackles, take a moment as the Vikings play the Lions to watch him before the snap rather than looking at the quarterback and you will catch some of the points and gestures to his teammates. Those are a major part of what has made him great.

Another thing to watch in Harrison Smith’s potential final game as a Viking this Sunday is where he lines up on the field. The veteran safety has enjoyed an incredibly versatile role under Flores but that is hardly something new for him.

Here is a look at the positions where Smith has lined up during his career:

Smith’s versatility is a major part of his underlying value.

“Because of who he is and what he’s done in this league, the quarterback is saying, ‘where is 22?’ We can use that to our advantage,” Jones said. “If I know there is a blitz coming away from me, let me show down to get [the quarterback’s] attention toward me to help my teammate have success.”

Last year Aaron Rodgers said this on the Pat McAfee show about Smith’s deception:

“I think the way he disguises should be standard secondary teaching tape,” Rodgers said. “He’s the best in the game at that…. Played against him for a long time…he is the most difficult person I think to determine whether or not he’s blitzing.”

Bill Belichick offered a similar endorsement when the Vikings played the Patriots in 2018.

“Ed Reed, [Troy] Polamalu, when you say Smith he’s certainly right there,” Belichick said. “He’s a hard guy to read. He does an excellent job of timing his movement based on the quarterback’s cadence, the offensive formation, motion, play clock. He does an excellent job of using those things to put the offense in a difficult position. To account for him or not account for him when he’s blitzing. He’s really good.”

Imagine how many times an opposing quarterback threw the ball away because he was fooled by Smith’s alignment or pressured by his blitzes.

As tough it may be to quantify all the little impacts of Smith’s game, we can get a clearer picture than the box score stats because we have more data to work with than ever before. We can’t compare Smith’s advanced stats to Ed Reed and Troy Polamalu but we can line him up against the best of the era.

Here’s how Smith stacks up to six other safeties who played their careers since PFF began publishing advanced data in 2009:

Each of these numbers has an element of cumulative effect from other players on the defensive side but we can take away that quarterbacks performed worse when throwing the ball at Smith than any of his top contemporaries. He also pressured quarterbacks more than anyone except Malcolm Jenkins and made individual run stops as often as any of the era’s legends of the position.

We can also see on paper that he has been a model of consistency, every year since 2014 grading by PFF between good and sheer greatness.

While future Hall of Fame voters might not have as many playoff splash play highlights for Smith as they do someone like Earl Thomas or Devin McCourty, they would be wise to consider the larger impact on teammates and quarterbacks and work with these numbers that better tell the story.

“I remember us being in sync”

Since 2015, Harrison Smith has worked largely with three partner safeties: Andrew Sendejo, Anthony Harris and Cam Bynum.

Two of them were undrafted, the other was selected as a fourth-round cornerback and moved positions. Playing alongside the six-time Pro Bowler helped maximize each player’s talents and created a dynamic pairing for many successful defenses over the years.

Sendejo arrived in Minnesota in 2012 as a special teamer. He had worked his way up through the United Football League and spent time with the Cowboys before being picked up by the Vikings. After getting some starting work in 2013 and 2014, he became Smith’s full-time accomplice in the secondary in 2015 and remained there (including on the Vikings No. 1 defense in 2017) until getting banged up in 2018.

The thing Sendejo appreciated most about work with Smith was his deep passion for the details of the game. The more they played together and more they watched film, the more they saw things the same way. They got to the point where opponents could throw an unexpected look their way yet both players still knew how the other would handle it without hesitation.

“That’s a big part of a safety tandem working together, you see things very similar,” Sendejo said. “Getting reps together to you can already know what they are doing by their body language.”

In the huddle, Sendejo could tell if Smith was tired or pissed and needed a pick-me-up from his teammate. The longer they played together, the more the bond grew.

“I’ve always said that your off-the-field chemistry, the stronger the relationship is the better it will be on the field,” Sendejo said.

Anthony Harris signed with the Vikings in 2015 as an undrafted free agent from Virginia and played special teams until being called upon when Sendejo got hurt in 2018.

“[Smith] was kind of quiet at first and after a while of me showing my focus and eagerness to learn and he saw how I interacted with the coaches he started to open up in terms of giving different tips and things I could do to be better,” Harris said. “He was a guy that tried to look at every perspective of guys coming in whether it’s first round or undrafted. I felt like he made it easier for guys to focus on football and try to excel. That’s something I noticed about him pretty fast.”

Once Harris and Smith were paired together, they built a similar off-field relationship around their joy for studying the game. Smith would invite players over to his house for Monday or Thursday Night Football and they would talk football all night.

“As we spent more time in the same room, I think he was able to see in me and I was able to see in him that we both truly just love the game,” Harris said. “From an appreciation of all the details to understanding the X’s and O’s and the chess match on the field in terms of scheme and execution. That’s something we talked about a lot…I think that’s what he enjoys about the game and what keeps him going.”

In 2019, Harris led the NFL in interceptions.

“I remember us being in sync,” Harris said. “We were watching film, seeing different things, being on the same page. There were times where we were sending different plays via text message like, ‘how are you seeing this coverage?’ Sometimes we didn’t even have to verbally communicate or signal what each other were thinking. It was a nice synchronized dance. A different person taking the lead, sometimes he’s in disguise and I’m playing off him, other times I may see something else and start to disguise it and he responds. From a connection standpoint, being able to do that [in 2019] and it flowed so well, it was exciting.”

Harris said that you have to be “deep into the game” to understand what Smith does for those who play alongside him. A Look-at-the-tape type player.

After the 2020 season, Harris signed a contract with the Philadelphia Eagles. Next man up was Bynum, who played cornerback for his college career at Cal and won the starting safety job out of training camp in Year 2. This year he has ascended 11th overall by PFF grade among safeties. It’s probably not a coincidence that all three Smith safety partners have top-20 PFF seasons.

“Especially moving positions I had to lean on him a lot to be able to learn the position because as a rookie that was my first time ever playing safety so going from square one of learning the basics,” Bynum said. “Now in Year 3 to be able to progress and get to the point where I’m able to think somewhat like him as far as disguising stuff and switching things up and making decisions, I’ve been able to get to that point just by asking him questions and picking his brain all the time.”

When it comes to bringing along younger players, Smith’s leadership style is much like his play. It isn’t always the loudest but the impact is significant.

“It’s always a calming voice, never a panic, never any unsteadiness,” linebacker Anthony Barr said. “He’s always level and when he talks everyone listens. I think he’s become more vocal this past year with a lot of young guys. He is an important voice and guys gravitate toward what he has to say.”

Indeed this year Smith has been asked to be more front-and-center as a leader than in years past because the defense had a number of inexperienced players. But often times he is a role model simply by going about his business.

“He’s such that measuring stick,” defensive coordinator Brian Flores said. “If Harry is doing it, they should be doing it to or some version of it. He understands that is part of his role as well. To who much is given, much is required and he understands that.”

Head coach Kevin O’Connell credited Smith with being significant in getting the defensive players accustomed to a very unique Flores defense this year.

“Harrison Smith is one of my all-time favorite players I’ve had the chance to be around as a coach,” O’Connell said. “I feel very fortunate to have been in the head coach position with a guy like Harrison that I can build a relationship with, such experience, such an incredible presence within our locker room. He’s got a great way about him at all times that makes people around him better. I think he’s been huge in the implementation of our defense this year with Flo [Brian Flores] and D.J. [Daronte Jones] and those guys on that side of the ball. I’ve been really happy with the way Harrison has really attacked his role within the defense, but also the value of him as a captain and a leader of our team. I just can’t say enough about what he’s meant to me, what he’s meant to this organization.”

How do we go about quantifying a player’s impact on everyone around them on all the days where they are not playing games?

“Hall of Fame worthy”

Traditional stats and accolades may not come close to covering what Harrison Smith has meant to the Minnesota Vikings’ organization over the last 12 years but his numbers in those categories stack up well against other defensive backs in the Hall.

He has more sacks and interceptions than Hall of Famers John Lynch and Troy Polamalu. He has six Pro Bowls, which is more than Hall of Fame finalist Rodney Harrison, 2023 inductee Ronde Barber, 2022 inductee Leroy Butler. No other active safety has six Pro Bowls and Earl Thomas is the only player who started post 2010 with more (7).

When asked if Smith has a shot at the Hall, his coaches and teammates can’t say definitively because there are other dynamics at play than just the numbers and anecdotal evidence. They all believe it’s deserved.

— “I think he’s Hall of Fame worthy,” Flores said. “I don’t want to say ‘cemented’ that but there should be conversation around that whenever he decides to move forward.”

— “You take a look at players who are in the Hall of Fame, Harrison Smith, respectfully, walks stride for stride,” Harris said.

— “He checks all categories, right?” Barr said. “The Hall of Fame… In terms of individual success and defensive success, there’s not too many people you can put above him.”

— “I think Harrison has a great shot…and eventually get that recognition that he deserves,” Sendejo said.

Nobody knows what comes next for Smith. Maybe the Vikings win and somehow they make the postseason. We have seen crazier things. Maybe he comes back for one more swing next year. Maybe he calls it a career and walks away.

“I’m not sure if it’s his last game but if he wants it to be then I hope he has one of the best games of his career and he goes out on a note that he wants,” Harris said.

If this is it, Smith leaves a lasting impression and a resume that stacks up with many of the best ever — as long as you read the essay portion.

By Matthew Coller

At 37 years old, Harrison Smith is going to take another bite at the apple.

On Saturday evening, the Minnesota Vikings announced the return of their six-time Pro Bowl safety. Tom Pelissero of The Ringer reported that the deal is worth $8 million with $4 million in per-game bonuses and another $4 million in incentives.

Here are five thoughts about Smith’s comeback:

The defense is now complete

Before Smith’s return, they were set to ask Josh Metellus to play a different position than he’s had in the past, Theo Jackson/Jakobe Thomas/Jacob Thomas to take on the free safety spot and Jay Ward as a big nickel. That’s quite the change from Smith’s stability over many, many years.

There are still going to be some questions about the defensive tackle position but now every starter for the 2026 defense will have multiple years in Flores’ defense. There aren’t any areas of the depth chart to circle as massive weaknesses.

Bumping players down the depth chart only adds flexibility and depth. Metellus can play in the box in the big nickel spot if required and Jackson can slide in during dime packages to play a deep safety role and the two rookies will only be needed if things go sideways, giving them a chance to develop.

Force multiplier

Harrison Smith is much more than a safety. He’s a conductor. In recent years, he has become a defensive coordinator on the field. Last season Flores mentioned that Smith has total autonomy to make any change to the coverage that he sees fit while he’s on the field. He’s also in constant communication with Flores about whether certain gameplans will/won’t work during the week.

The ability to change things at the line of scrimmage impacts the Vikings’ other dynamic players in a huge way. Players like Andrew Van Ginkel, Eric Wilson, Josh Metellus and Byron Murphy Jr. can make adjustments on the fly with the best of ‘em, allowing for Smith’s tweaks to the scheme to have their full effect. These players also know how to work with Smith from years of playing together.

Last year we saw the impact of this in games against top offenses like the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions.

Still a playmaker

Despite his age, Smith has still been able to get around the football and hasn’t been taken advantage of much on defense.

Over the last two seasons, Smith has five interceptions and seven pass breakups along with 18 QB pressures.

When he was targeted by opposing QBs last year, he only gave up an 81.0 passer rating into his coverage. By PFF standards, he graded 24th out of 67 starting safeties.

Can he still play at 37? It’s always going to be a concern when a player reaches a certain age but the recent evidence has not shown signs of decline.

Week 1?

If anyone can drop out of the sky right into the defense Week 1, it’s Smith. We can be very sure that he was preparing for this throughout the summer and knows what it takes to get on the field against the Green Bay Packers.

However, his comeback may look a little bit like last year when he missed most of camp and the beginning of the season due to a health issue. He played 22, 17 and 29 snaps in his first three games before getting up to full speed in Week 7 and then played full games from there.

The Vikings have the depth to be able to mix and match and play him on key downs to start and then they can ramp up from there.

Returns are endorsements

Smith wouldn’t come back just for footballs and giggles. The end of last year was so emotional that he would only do it if he believed in the Vikings’ ability to win the NFC North and get to the postseason.

Based on the way training camp went, he has reason to believe it’s possible. Kyler Murray had an overall strong training camp, the roster is healthy and the defense looked good, particularly during the joint practices.

When we look at the division, every team has its strengths and weaknesses but the Vikings may have the most complete team if Murray performs at a high level.

One more chance to celebrate a legend

The team and fans gave Smith his due last year with retirement seeming possible. Now they get another chance to watch one of the greatest players in team history and he gets an opportunity to get his 40th career interception and strengthen his Hall of Fame case.

By Matthew Coller

Happy Friday, folks. Only a few more days until actual football. Whew. We’ve almost made it.

Let’s see what’s on your minds!

IceColdNorth… Ordinarily, we think of “situational pass rushers” as defensive ends subbing in on passing downs. However, I’m wondering whether Caleb Banks’ role this season might be as a situational pass rusher from his defensive tackle position. Given that he’s still developing, is that how you think Flores will use Banks this year? That seemed to be where he shined at the Senior Bowl.

I think you’re onto something here. The pass-rush specialist defensive tackle is definitely a thing these days and I could see Brian Flores using Banks at 3-tech to give him a little extra space to work with so the linemen aren’t getting their hands on him right away and to create openings for second-level players to rush.

So imagine Banks takes on the guard and drives him toward the center and Dallas Turner rushes wide and then Eric Wilson rockets through the B gap where he’s one-on-one with a running back and creates a pressure. Or you could see them using Wilson mugged up on the A gap with Banks rushing over the guard and Wilson goes into the guard, giving Banks a chance to loop around him and rush up the middle.

From what we’ve seen, it’s hard to believe that they’ll use him for any more of a role than a situational player right away but that could work out to give him some development on the fly while he’s still getting into 100% shape and learning how to play the position.

Brad L… Read the tea leaves for us, when will we get an “official” announcement on Harrison Smith and what will it be?

Every year a team seemingly comes from nowhere to make the playoffs. Who will that be this year?

I’m not sure we’ll get an official announcement on Harrison. There isn’t a rule that a player has to declare that he’s retiring or returning. He can sit in limbo and see what happens. This entire time, I figured that Smith would stay in shape and think about playing and then see how things turned out for the team. If they are 6-2 but the safety room is suspect, get the cape on and come play. If they are 4-4 and it’s not clear they’re a legit contender, maybe he just decides it was a great career and it ended well last year.

That’s not based on any knowledge, it’s just how I’d handle it if I were in his shoes. He could come back tomorrow and it wouldn’t surprise me. It’s pretty clear from what KOC said about talking to him about “more than golf” that they want him back.

If there’s an “outta nowhere” team that has a serious shot to make the playoffs, it’s the New York Jets. That might sound crazy but they added a boat load of talent in the offseason and Geno Smith had a 10-win season in 2024. They won’t beat the Bills and Patriots but those teams are flawed and it’s plausible that they could have a run at a wild card spot in the last week of the season or something like that if things come together.

I feel like so many people have called the Saints or Giants the teams that are on the rise that they might not qualify anymore.

Chris C…Having addressed interior O line depth and edge depth. Do you see them addressing your other depth concerns at RB, D line and safety?

Is there anyone out there you see as a fit for each of those positions?

I might be wrong but I think the time for adding players is over. They signed Kyle Van Noy to fill the OLB depth spot, brought in DeeJay Dallas, who got playing time with the Seattle Seahawks from 2020-2023 as a receiving back and got semi-experienced Naquan Jones at nose tackle. I’m not sure how much more you can do at this time of year. Usually the bigger swings like Chris Herndon or Adam Thielen turn out poorly.

I don’t get the sense that they’re going to make a move at safety with two young players they like there and two guys with a decent amount of experience. I’m not sure who’s going to be better than Theo Jackson at this time of year.

I think these are your 2026 Vikings until the trade deadline.

Florian K… How much access to players are you allowed during any given week or day? Do you have access to the locker room or are you allowed only if they are given a presser? What is a typical day for you around the facility?

The way it works is we have open locker room for one hour on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday after practice. So we’ll usually go in for a press conference with KOC and the QB on Wednesday and then head to the locker room after practice and then on Thursday we talk with Justin Jefferson and TJ Hockenson and go into the locker room before/after that and then we are in there on Friday KOC talks.

Cody B…Is this a pop-up year for the Vikings? The Vikings have a pop-up year every decade. They haven’t had one since 2017. I think we’re due for that this year. If there was going to be a year to do it, it’s this year. A lot of players coming to the end of their time in Minnesota, Kyler Murray coming in fresh and with something to prove, a defense that could be really good. Outside of health I think this team could go on a run this year. If there was a year to do it it’s this year because the roster will see pretty large churn starting next year.

I would count 2024 as a pop-up year but yeah, it kinda has all the signals of that, doesn’t it?

They have a quarterback who’s been good before but nobody really expects to be great, good coaching, an advantageous schedule with nine home games and only seven true road games (one neutral field) and superstar wide receivers.

The thing that I’m really unsure about is the division. In some pop-up years, the division was just not all that great. In 2017, the Packers fell apart after Rodgers got hurt and the Bears weren’t good and the Lions melted after a good start. That definitely helped. This time around there’s some very serious competition in the North, even if they are all flawed teams.

My expectation is that this team is going to have a bunch of really close games that come down to the final moments. Whether they end like 2021 or 2022, who knows.

Tony T…O’Connell was asked about the value of big-bodied Dillon Bell during his 3rd quarter interview vs. the Broncos. His response was indirect, saying in essence that the team needs to find low-cost players, because the team wants to keep Jefferson and Addison for a long time. You’ve speculated at length about the team’s doubts about Addison, but KOC seems all in.

Yeah, I caught that. I’ve always felt like O’Connell loves everything that Addison brings to the table. He sees him as a super talent who was about as good in 2023 and 2024 as a WR2 as you’re going to see in the league. He’s an outstanding route runner with (normally) great hands and the capability of making spectacular catches that other receivers just can’t grab and he’s probably better in terms of YAC than we give him credit for because he has great speed.

If there were no off-field problems and Addison hadn’t had so many drops last year, we’d be talking about him being a lock to get a big deal after this season — or maybe he’d already have an extension at this point.

I think they’d love to have the problem of extending Addison. But they are in a position where he has to prove it. Nolan Teasley was in Seattle when they traded away DK Metcalf and if they don’t see the production and stability off the field, then they could be looking at other options rather than extending him.

Also Justin Jefferson’s contract will need a readjustment soon. When other receivers are passing him and his cap hits are going up, that’s the time for another extension. But that’s a whole other barrel of footballs.

MaineK2… Hello, Matthew. Two questions, please: Should we pay Mike Florio any credence when he says he has a reliable source that says Kyler Murray is only at the Vikings facilities when mandated? (There on time; leaves “when the bell rings”.) That obviously plays into the Murray-is-not-a student-of-the-game narrative.

Secondly, do you agree, since Caleb Banks is a project, as you wrote this morn, that a better use of that pick would have been trading back and then nabbing Logan Jones?, the fab center from Iowa who is likely to have already beaten out Garrett Bradbury for the Bears’ starting center job. We can’t deny Blake Brandel’s snapping woes; I feel like this is not going to end well at the center position. We’re find out soon enough, I imagine. Skol.

I try to avoid getting into other reporters’ reports too much. It does seem like somebody that Florio talks to in the building really wants there to be chaos all the time (I’m thinking of the suggestion that the Vikings were going to trade Jefferson during contract negotiations). There’s a history there that has to be noted when it comes to stuff like this.

I’m old enough to remember when people gave Kirk Cousins a hard time for not coming into the facility on Tuesdays. I did not care about that at all considering Cousins had vastly outperformed his talent over his career and never appeared to be unprepared. Every player has their own way of doing things. Josh Weinfuss of ESPN talked about that on my show when the Vikings signed Kyler. He said that he’s going to do stuff his own way.

Here’s what I care about: Is Kyler prepared? Does he run the offense correctly? Does he perform at a high level? Does he win games?

Thus far he has looked pretty well locked into KOC’s offense in camp. That’s all I know.

As far as the draft goes, I’m not convinced that any interior offensive lineman would be an immediate answer because of how complex defenses are these days and how much pressure is on a rookie center in KOC’s system.

I’m never in favor of trying to draft for players to help right away anyway. I think that’s how you end up making bad short-sighted decisions when the reality is that all players need development. There’s a reason they brought in Bradbury and drafted Jones — because it would be really hard for him to be good right away.

I totally understand the focus from fans on the draft picks. We all love the draft. But we also need to see it play out before we start saying that they blew it.

Brent M… Hey Matthew, I am intrigued by the Van Noy signing because of his previous stints with Flores, but I was surprised that he was signed to the Practice Squad. Here are my questions:
1) Why the PS? It seems like most edge rushers signings are on the 53.
2) What are your expectations for him/his role?
3) I thought there were rules around what players could be on a PS?

One thought would be that it was either sign with the PS or don’t play football for Van Noy. It’s better to sign him to the PS so they don’t have to give up anybody on the 53 and they can elevate him three times before having to sign him to the roster.

The rules changed on the practice squad a few years ago to allow more players, veterans and elevations. I think it’s been an awesome development for teams and players.

In terms of his role, I see it being part of a third-down rush package right away and if either Van Ginkel or Turner needs a quick rest and then it’s depth. Think of it as the way they used somebody like Patrick Jones in 2024.

Tim… Detroit wins the division their window is closed after this year 11-6
I picked the Bears to win last year I think they are a flash in the pan
9-7
Packers are through
8-9
The Vikings are my team but I think they fire KOC after this year.
8-9
What is your pick for the North Matthew?
Where do the Vikings finish?
I think Wentz plays half the games

Well, Tim, at least I can see you’re excited for the season!

I kid, I kid. But this is pretty dang bleak, man. Why is it that Vikings fans seem to feel this year is going to be a disaster? I’m not saying it isn’t possible, it’s just that they are objectively a pretty good roster with great defensive coaching and a quarterback who has been in the top 15 multiple times during his career. Not only that but he’s one of the most exciting players in the league. I woulda thought there would be more energy for this. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s because the Prince That Was Promised didn’t work out and now everyone’s having a tough time getting amped for another retread QB. I get it. I just think the upside is higher than a lot of fans do.

The Kyler injury thing has kinda driven me to the edge of sanity. To begin his career, he played 57 out of a possible 60 games before tearing his ACL and then when he came back he played 30 straight. He could have come back from the injury last year after a few weeks but the team chose to tank (as Tyler Dunne reported).

Nobody knows if he’ll get hurt but he’s not “injury prone.”

Matt D…I’m pretty confident going into week 1 playing at home against a Packers team without Parsons or Jacobs. Other than the “any given Sunday” line, what am I missing that could send us home with a loss week 1?

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By Matthew Coller

Minnesota Vikings GM Nolan Teasley talked with the media for the first time since cutdown day and covered a wide range of subjects. Here’s a look at what he had to say…

What he’s seen from Kyler Murray

When Teasley was part of the Seattle Seahawks organization, they gave Kyler Murray fits with their strong defenses. Murray went just 2-9 in 11 matchups vs. Seattle with an 89.7 passer rating.

Teasley talked about what he’s learned about Murray now that he has gotten an up-close view of the former Cardinals quarterback.

“I think Kyler has really grown in his ability to manage the line of scrimmage,” Teasley said. “I think we’ve seen constant improvement throughout the preseason, throughout training camp. I’ve said this from the beginning. I’m really bullish on where he’s headed in playing in this system with this level of coaching.”

Managing the line of scrimmage — which would include getting the cadences, checks, motions and protections correct — is absolutely vital in O’Connell’s scheme. He is known for giving quarterbacks a lot of different things on their plate in order to get into a call that best suits the offense vs. the defensive look they are getting. Murray nailing the LOS will play a big role in whether he succeeds.

Teasley also mentioned that they saw Murray’s ability to throw with anticipation and work the ball into tight windows, which is also vital to the Vikings’ passing game, especially as it pertains to getting the ball to Justin Jefferson.

JJ McCarthy will not be injured to start the season

Earlier this week ESPN’s Adam Schefter said on TV that JJ McCarthy’s ankle sprain was a “multi-week” injury. Teasley clarified his availability.

“He’s practiced fully the last two days,” he said.

It seemed odd that Schefter would say that considering the Vikings thought that he was going to be able to play last Friday night in the final preseason game. O’Connell said that McCarthy was not “comfortable” playing with the ankle issue but there was no indication that the injury was serious.

Teasley’s thoughts on McCarthy

When McCarthy was drafted Teasley was in Seattle so the new GM got his first real look at the 2024 first-round pick this summer.

He was asked what he sees when he looks at McCarthy.

“He’s really talented,” Teasley said. “I think I said that from the jump. He was picked in the first round for a reason, a really good arm strength, underrated athlete, and looking forward to how he continues to to develop in this system. I think that the thing you need to keep in mind with JJ is that he plays, he has the hardest job in sport. Okay. He’s only started 10 games and his story is not written.”

In terms of what the plan is for McCarthy going forward, Teasley said:

“J.J. McCarthy’s role is to continue to develop, to improve, and to support his teammates. And he’s done an excellent job of that from the moment that I’ve been here and from my understanding since he walked through the door.”

Does Teasley expect him to be on the roster Week 1?

“I do,” he said.

Adding Kyle Van Noy

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By Matthew Coller

EAGAN — When it comes to any art form, what makes it so special is the amount of time and effort that goes into producing a masterpiece.

In the case of the Minnesota Vikings’ greatest route-running artist, fans see Justin Jefferson play 17 times per year and catch an average of 105 passes for 1,534 yards throughout those contests but they do not see the thousands of times Keenan McCardell drills him on route details during practice. Nobody sees the meetings day after day in the receiver room or hears the hundreds of conversations about playing the position or their talks about life at the top.

What folks outside the Vikings’ building may not realize is how important McCardell has been to Jefferson’s growth and success in the past, battling through difficult times last year and taking another step in 2026.

On the Vikings’ second-to-last day of training camp, McCardell sat down with Purple Insider to talk about the journey coaching Jefferson and his messages to the superstar receiver through tough moments in 2025 and his aspirations for 2026.

When McCardell arrived in Eagan in 2021 to coach under Mike Zimmer, he knew what he was inheriting. Not only had he watched from afar as a receivers coach for the Jaguars as Jefferson caught 88 passes for 1,400 yards and seven touchdowns as a rookie in 2020, he had studied the former LSU wide receiver closely in college during the Tigers’ national championship run with Joe Burrow at the helm.

“When I got here he was a young, energetic playmaker that we all knew had the talent to be something special,” McCardell said. “I knew it in the draft when I was in Jacksonville, we actually thought we were going to draft him. When I got here, I was itching to get my hands on him, because I saw it in all his pre-draft stuff, his workouts.”

(Side note: The Jaguars took CJ Henderson and K’lavon Chaisson instead of Jefferson. Oops).

Since Jefferson had already proven that he could be a Pro Bowl weapon for the Vikings, McCardell’s job wasn’t to teach him how to play wide receiver, it was to sand down the rough edges and refine his game to become a more complete player.

“He was already a really good route runner, but I wanted to polish it up a lot more to let him understand that if you are a good route runner, no matter how fast you are, if you can create separation with your footwork and your route running, you are going to play in this league a long time,” McCardell said. “When you master it, that’s when you become an elite receiver. The art of playing the receiver spot is being able to create separation against any kind of defense.”

How can you improve the route running of a guy who went for seven catches and 175 yards in his debut as a starter?

One thing McCardell mentioned was getting in and out of breaks. For great receivers, the magic happens when they reach the point in the route where they are going to either stop, break inside, break outside or head at a 45-degree angle toward the sideline or middle of the field. If a receiver hits those breaks at a high speed, it’s very difficult to cover and if each different break looks the same in the deceleration and acceleration, it’s impossible to cover.

There was something else that McCardell spotted on tape that he wanted to emphasize: Effort.

No, McCardell did not have to teach Jefferson to try hard. He was always high motor. For every coaching point, we’re talking about the differences between good and gold-jacket. What he wanted to see out of Jefferson was the exact same effort on plays where he knew he wasn’t getting the ball as plays that he was getting the ball.

“You must play hard every single time for your opponent to really respect you,” McCardell said. “You don’t want to be the superstar receiver that only plays when the ball is coming to you. It will make your job a lot easier if you play that way, because if you don’t play hard then people know the ball isn’t coming to you. I wanted him to continue to do that.”

Imagine the difference in stress for the opposing cornerback if he has to focus on every single down rather than the dozen per game where the receiver knows he could be targeted.

In 2021, with McCardell in his corner, Jefferson took another step forward. He caught 108 passes for 1,616 yards, scored 10 touchdowns and produced 75 first downs.

What McCardell realized about the star wide receiver is that he was confident but not arrogant. He respected his coach’s acumen and took heed to his teaching from the start.

“He wanted to learn,” McCardell said. “He was willing to learn. It was never hype, it was always humble. He was very humble about learning. He really responded to what I what I was telling him about how he could be even better — and he always wants to be better.”

After the 2021 season, the Vikings fired Zimmer and McCardell’s job was in question. When Kevin O’Connell was hired, Jefferson called the new head coach and requested that McCardell be kept on as the wide receivers coach.

“That meant a lot,” McCardell said. “KO could have gone in a different direction. Jets’ word meant a lot for [O’Connell]. He knew that I was really teaching [Jefferson], and I think they all realized that once he got there, I was teaching him how to become the best.”

McCardell continued to add layers to his coaching as O’Connell arrived with a complex system for wide receivers.

The biggest emphasis was pushing the slider of Jefferson’s football IQ all the way to 100. After two years of total dominance, he was seeing every coverage in the book on a weekly basis.

“As the years went by, things got different for him and now everybody’s just trying to gameplan for you,” McCardell said. “Now you gotta get smarter and understand how defensive coordinators are trying to play you. What is he trying to take away from you? [Jefferson] became more of a student of the game as the years went by. First couple years, it was really off natural talent and understanding fundamentals of running routes. As he got older, he was like, ‘man, these guys are putting their hands on me every time, anywhere I go, I’m inside, I’m outside, they’re trying to grab me, push me around, beat me up.’ You gotta start to learn where to go, and how to get there. He started to understand that.”

In 2022, the physical skill, thousands of hours of technical polishing and X’s and O’s study began to peak for Jefferson. In his first year with KOC, the new head coach had zero regrets about keeping on McCardell as Jefferson’s star ascended to a league-leading 128 receptions for 1,809 yards, All-Pro and Offensive Player of the Year.

With great production came great expectations and Jefferson continued to meet them in 2023 and 2024. While he dealt with a hamstring injury, he still cleared 1,000 yards in just nine games in ‘23 and grabbed 103 passes for 1,533 yards in ‘24.

At that point, McCardell didn’t need to do any more refining. When Jefferson would make a mistake on a route detail, he would just say to his receivers coach, “yeah, I know.”

When Jefferson held his wide receivers camp, McCardell could hear his words coming out of the receiver’s mouth.

“He’s teaching like I was teaching,” McCardell said. “I just laugh. I know he knows it, and it’s fun, man.”

As he grew up, Jefferson and McCardell got closer and closer.

“He’s like my kid, to be honest with you, he’s a part of my family,” McCardell said. “If he needs some advice, he can call me. He has his mom and dad and I don’t step on toes, because his mom and dad are great human beings. They raised him right.”

McCardell continued…

“We might just be sitting up there before a meeting and talking about some stuff and he might ask me something, I’ll give my answer like, being a mentor and stuff like that. Our relationship is, it’s been great the whole time, and just getting closer and closer being around each other all the time, you know? He invites us over, invites the kids to go to certain things and stuff like that. So it’s just like family.”

In 2025, Jefferson needed McCardell’s mentorship as much as his weekly gameplans and route detail reminders.

For the first time in his entire career, he was struggling to put up numbers. Jefferson went 11 straight weeks in 2025 without reaching 100 yards and had a three-week stretch where he only caught six passes for a total of 37 yards.

Normally it hadn’t mattered who was playing quarterback. He had tremendous chemistry and trust with Kirk Cousins and then Nick Mullens threw it his way over and over in 2023 and Sam Darnold was built in a lab to push the ball downfield to Jefferson. Even when Carson Wentz was in, he was on a 115-catch pace.

But with JJ McCarthy, it never clicked. He dropped more passes than we would expect and had more inaccurate throws his way than ever before.

This is where McCardell’s experience was extra helpful. He played in the NFL from 1992 to 2007 and saw every phase of the league that a person could see. He was a special teamer at one point and a superstar at another. He played on a 5-11 Browns team where everything fell apart and a Super Bowl champion team in Tampa Bay where everything went right.

The 56-year-old coach is aware what often happens with receivers under circumstances such as this.

“We had some good hard conversations last year. Some guys would have — I know they would have blown up,” McCardell said. “I played with some guys that would have blown up and would have the right to blow up. But it ain’t about that. You have a C on your chest. It’s about the way you carry yourself. Guys look up to you. Guys understand that if Jets is going this way then we are going this way.”

McCardell is particularly proud of Jefferson being named the Media Good Guy for 2025 — an award that honors Korey Stringer and is given to the player who best represents the team in the media.

“I’ve been down this road before, so I can kind of, like, guide him away from some of the stuff that people are trying to run him into,” McCardell said. “Trying to get him to say things and this, that and the other thing. The biggest thing about that, I always stress, it’s team first. It’s your family name on your back and the Minnesota Vikings.”

This summer, it appears Jefferson has put the struggles of last season behind him. He and new quarterback Kyler Murray have been connecting repeatedly downfield, including hitting home run touchdowns in the joint practices and the team scrimmage on the final day of camp.

The emphasis for McCardell to Jefferson this year is about opportunities. He believes that the Vikings’ emphasis on the run game and addition of Jauan Jennings as the No. 3 wide receiver will give Jefferson more chances to see one-on-one coverage.

“Each year teams play him differently,” McCardell said. “So it’s about recognizing when you have single coverage and take advantage of it. You’re hoping that they come out and play you in single coverage but go out onto the field expecting to get doubled. As soon as you survey the defense and see single high [safety], then it’s, ‘now I have to win one-on-one.’ That’s the type of thing he’s gotten a lot better at and I want it to be like clockwork.”

McCardell remembers during his career joking around with Fred Taylor about getting the double coverage off he and Jimmy Smith and Taylor telling him to get the eight men out of the box. The Vikings want to create a similar conflict for teams this year.

One thing McCardell is keeping in the front of his mind as he works with Jefferson to get back to his typical 100-catch, 1,500-yard type seasons is how important everyone else is to that process. If teams have to pay attention to Jennings and Jordan Addison and depth players like Myles Price and Tai Felton, the job becomes easier for the No. 1 guy. His message to the other receivers: Have the same mindset as Jefferson.

“I think my biggest thing is to make sure the people around him are playing at his level,” McCardell said. “You gotta have the same type of mindset as Jets. You gotta be that dude, be that superstar, right? Because every time you step on that football field, you have to be, you have to think that way, be that way.”

During our conversation, McCardell never stopped smiling. He described his time coaching the Vikings as “having a ball” and he said that he tells his players that he wants to see smiles on their faces as they play the game because beating the guy across from you is fun.

But nobody should mistake McCardell’s personal connections with his players and his pure joy for football as a calm Sunday gathering around the camp fire. The Super Bowl champion receiver, who had more receiving yards in his career than Chad Johnson, DeSean Jackson, Joey Galloway, Keyshawn Johnson, AJ Green and Gary Clark, is burning to win again.

“We’ve had a lot of success but not the success that we’re chasing yet,” McCardell said. “We want our hoist that trophy up. You go through some things, you learn, you grow and each year to get a chance to go after it.”

As you watch Justin Jefferson go after it this year, keep in mind that his coach is right there with him every catch of the way.

By Matthew Coller

On Tuesday night, the Minnesota Vikings signed veteran outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy, per Tom Pelissero of The Ringer.

For the entire summer, we speculated over whether the team would add to the outside linebacker room because they were short on proven depth. When they lost OLB Tyler Batty for the season to an ACL tear, the Vikings were put in a position of desperation to find a veteran option.

But despite the desperate position, they landed about as good of an option as they could dream about considering we are only a week-and-a-half from the opener against the Green Bay Packers. Normally it’s hard to find productive players who are very good fits during this time of year.

For starters, Van Noy’s history is with Brian Flores in both New England and Miami. He was used as a versatile linebacker, similar to what we have seen from Andrew Van Ginkel in Minnesota, but the Patriots ramped up his pass rushing snaps in 2019 and he posted an impressive 58 QB pressures and 6.5 sacks.

He went back to more of a 50-50 split between coverage and rushing while in Miami with Brian Flores and still posted 6.0 sacks and 31 QB pressures in just 246 pass rush snaps, per PFF. He continued a split role when he returned to New England in 2021 and with the Chargers in 2022. Van Noy then returned to a pure rusher role in 2023 when he signed with the Baltimore Ravens.

With the Ravens, he was very successful rushing quarterbacks in 2023 and 2024, combining for 21.5 sacks in those two years. He also totaled 100 QB pressures in those two years.

Last year, Van Noy’s production dipped to just 2.0 sacks and 27 pressures with a Ravens defense that fell off as a whole.

As a Viking, he can act as a body double for either Dallas Turner or Andrew Van Ginkel. If Turner were to need a replacement, Van Noy can come off the edge as a pure rusher and if Van Ginkel missed time he could also drop back into coverage when called upon.

His knowledge of Flores’ defense and previous experience should allow for a quick adaptation into the system, similar to what we saw from Stephon Gilmore in 2024.

Van Noy doesn’t have to just be a fill-in. In fact, it’s likely since he decided to sign in Minnesota that he will have a role designed for him by Flores.

In previous years, the Vikings’ DC has used players like Jihad Ward and Patrick Jones as situational rushers on third down as part of a “NASCAR” package with more pass rushers and fewer defensive tackles. In 2024, Ward played a total of 467 snaps and 393 of them were chasing the quarterback.

Van Noy could play mentor to second-round pick Jake Golday, who has a similar skillset and has played inside and outside linebacker throughout camp and the preseason.

Signing Van Noy is also a further commitment to winning this year. This offseason the team signed veteran receiver Jauan Jennings and retained other veteran players like Aaron Jones and TJ Hockenson.

Outside of Jamal Adams and Tyler Batty, the team came out of camp healthy and the defense dominated joint practices against the Ravens, giving credence to the idea that the ceiling could be high for them again under Flores.

In the best-case scenario, Van Noy can provide valuable depth and help push them over the top.

By Matthew Coller

On Sunday afternoon, the Minnesota Vikings cut their roster down to 53 and left some interesting questions about depth positions and potential additions. In terms of fodder following the preseason, cutdown day is top notch intrigue. In terms of actually mattering to the result during the regular season, that’s pretty questionable.

When we look back at Vikings last-minute additions of the past, it’s tough to find many that had a legitimate impact. Back in 2017, the Vikings added cornerback Tramaine Brock, who was cut by the 49ers. He was on the field for 51 total plays. Tight end Blake Bell was also added that year. He caught three passes as a Viking.

In 2021, they brought in former Jets tight end Chris Herndon in exchange for a fourth-round pick. He made four catches, though one of them was a touchdown.

And last year’s Adam Thielen debacle took the cake. After haggling over price with Carolina for days, the Vikings finally were able to peel Thielen away from them. He finished 2025 with eight receptions in purple.

The point is: The Vikings’ roster may be tweaked going forward but for all intents and purposes the 53 that was announced Sunday is made up of the players who will determine whether the Vikings return to the playoffs in 2026 or not. So where are they the best? Where are the deepest and where are the biggest concerns? Let’s have a look:

Where they are the deepest

That conversation begins in the wide receiver room. The addition of Jauan Jennings to Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison looked like a home run signing in training camp, especially on the final day of camp when Jennings took a slant route over the middle for about 25 yards. His hands, ball tracking and connection with Kyler Murray this summer should give the coaching staff confidence that he can be a key receiver and play in bigger roles if called upon.

What the Vikings might not have been as sure about was the backup receiver positions. During Tai Felton’s rookie year, he was a punt gunner and rarely saw the field as a wide receiver. Myles Price was purely a kick and punt returner.

Felton flashed deep ability similar to that of Jalen Nailor throughout camp and replicated practice with a 50-yard reception. Myles Price was a vacuum for the football in camp and had five receptions for 59 yard and a one-handed touchdown in two preseason games.

Dillon Bell made the initial 53-man roster but was waived on Monday. We’ll see if the Vikings are able to get him through waivers and work with him as a project for the future.

The receiving corps has megastar talent at the No. 1 spot, a 1B talent in Addison, a No. 2 receiver playing No. 2 in Jennings, two young players on the rise and an intriguing youngster. You can’t ask for much more than that.

The next spot on the 53 with depth is cornerback.

It wasn’t clear whether the Vikings were going to keep four or five corners but 2025 UDFA Zemaiah Vaughn made the squad after a strong training camp and played all phases of special teams during the preseason. That gives them two solid starters in Isaiah Rodgers and Byron Murphy Jr. along with veteran James Pierre and emerging rookie Charles Demmings.

While Demmings went to Stephen F. Austin and expectations were that he would be more of a project, he immediately worked his way up the depth chart and rotated in with first-team reps by the end of camp. In the third preseason game, he had an impressive PBU and another strong play in coverage on a downfield throw. He may not be ready to start at the moment but if he was needed on the field, the highly-athletic and aggressive corner proved he would have a chance against starting receivers.

Flores also mentioned Jay Ward as a nickel corner during his last press conference of the preseason. In college, Ward played outside and inside corner and safety and has been trained through his first couple seasons in the NFL as a safety. However, with Josh Metellus moving back to a traditional safety spot, Ward has taken over his big nickel role. That gives the Vikings additional depth at both positions.

The other position that has an argument for being deep is linebacker. The Vikings have two quality veteran starters in Blake Cashman and Eric Wilson and added second-round draft pick Jake Golday, who flashed impressive movement skill for his size and play aggressively in the preseason games. The fourth linebacker is Ivan Pace Jr., who was a full-time starter just two years ago.

Where are the concerns?

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By Matthew Coller

The Vikings cut their roster from 90 to 53 on Sunday. Here’s a dive into each position, the decisions they made and what could come next…

Quarterback

Kyler Murray, Carson Wentz, JJ McCarthy, Max Brosmer

Analysis:

At least for cutdown day, McCarthy remains a Viking. We can’t know for sure whether the Vikings tried to trade him or not but it’s pretty clear that a trade would have had complications, including the price tag for McCarthy how much the Vikings would need in return to make it worth their while. If teams were offering late-round picks, it may simply be better to keep him as a backup QB who knows the offense.

Brosmer making the team is interesting. Kevin O’Connell has made no bones about his appreciation for the former Gopher, though they may have decided to keep him so another team doesn’t pick him up and then they could bump him to the practice squad at another time when they make additions.

Running back

Jordan Mason, Aaron Jones, Demond Claiborne, Max Bredeson

Analysis:

Because Zavier Scott showed the Vikings he could get into games last season, it was a little surprising that he got cut but it might be more about Demond Claiborne not being ready to play significant time than it is Scott. With Jones having past injuries and Mason not being an all-around back, they might need someone who is more capable of taking on a heavier workload if called upon.

Wide receiver

Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, Jauan Jennings, Myles Price, Tai Felton, Dillon Bell

Analysis:

Bell had a really good second preseason game, showing off his speed and explosiveness. While he’s still a raw prospect, the Vikings probably were concerned that another team would see his talent and pick him up off waivers.

Tight end

TJ Hockenson, Josh Oliver, Ben Yurosek, Gavin Bartholomew

Analysis:

Bartholomew had a very strong camp and good final preseason game as a pass-catching tight end with some YAC ability but Yurosek showed last season that he can be a blocker and catch the ball when called upon. They elected to keep both, giving them backup options if Hockenson’s role needed to be replaced or Oliver’s spot. The four-TE room might also be tenuous depending on other moves that happen on the roster.

Offensive line

Christian Darrisaw, Donovan Jackson, Blake Brandel, Will Fries, Brian O’Neill

Ryan Van Demark, Caleb Tiernan, Joe Huber

Analysis:

The Vikings placed backup center Michael Jurgens on short-term injured reserve, leaving them with only eight linemen and Huber to be the current backup center. They decided to cut Henry Byrd and trade Walter Rouse to the New England Patriots, leaving them with a clear need for another interior offensive linemen. Presumably they will be looking for a player with center/guard experience.

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By Matthew Coller

The Minnesota Vikings wrapped up their preseason on Friday night. It was an another underwhelming showing (being very polite). Let’s get into what stood out.

Starting lineups

Offense

QB: Carson Wentz

RB: Demond Claiborne, Chaz Chambliss

WR: Dillon Bell, Tai Felton

TE: Ben Yurosek

OL: Ryan Van Demark, Walter Rouse, Joe Huber (center), Vershon Lee, Henry Byrd

Defense

DT: Elijah Williams, Caleb Banks, Domonique Orange

OLB: Tyler Batty, Jake Golday

LB: Bengaly Kamara, Jacob Roberts

CB: Charles Demmings, Zemaiah Vaughn, Jay Ward

S: Jacob Thomas, Jakobe Thomas

Mixing in: Bo Richter

JJ McCarthy

After Kevin O’Connell said earlier this week that he was hoping McCarthy could play after suffering an ankle injury in last week’s game, he was not in the lineup on Friday night. Alec Lewis of The Athletic reported he was “not comfortable” enough to play.

It would have been good for him to get some more work in preseason action after the first two games didn’t go to plan. But, as has often been the case during his career, he’s missing reps due to injury.

Also as usual, we’re left with a lot of questions surrounding McCarthy. Does this mean he’s going to be QB3? Did they elect not to play him due to a potential trade? Or was this simply a precautionary measure?

Caleb Banks and Domonique Orange

Banks opened the game with a decent pass rush and held the line on a third-and-short, though the Broncos did convert.

Orange was in on a couple of run stops on the first

On the second drive, both players got moved out of the way for an easy 10-yard run up the middle. At the goal line, the Broncos scored easily running right at the two DTs.

Both players were in for just the first two series. Overall, not particularly promising for either.

Tyler Batty

Was shot out of a cannon on the opening play and made an impressive tackle to cut a run for the Broncos short.

Charles Demmings

Was one-on-one with Troy Franklin on a jump ball and he was able to go up and break up the pass.

On the second drive, Demmings missed a tackle on an outside run where he was one-on-one with the RB. He was later targeted on a deep ball where he had strong coverage.

Jacob Thomas

On Denver’s first drive, he went up to make a play and tumbled hard on the sideline and needed medical attention. The Vikings’ safety room has been banged up, so they didn’t need another injury. Thomas has also been the story of camp as a UDFA who fought his way into getting first-team reps.

Jakobe Thomas

Saw his first preseason work after dealing with an injury and got banged up on the second drive but he did return. Played into the third quarter and had a good tackle.

Carson Wentz

On the first third down of the game, Wentz had Dillon Bell open over the middle of the field and missed him, throwing the ball too far out in front of the UDFA receiver.

Wentz got a drive moving by completing a pass to Chambliss.

Max Brosmer

Came in for the second quarter. Finally got the offense going in the second quarter but had to throw the ball away three times in the red zone and settled for a field goal.

Overall he wasn’t particularly accurate and the offense sputtered for most of the night.

Gavin Bartholomew

Caught back-to-back passes on the second drive of the night, one on a screen and the other over the middle underneath the coverage. He’s put together a strong camp overall and the Vikings have to make a decision on him vs. Ben Yurosek for TE3.

Caught a pass on a Brosmer rollout for 12 yards and forced a missed tackle for a first down.

Demond Claiborne

Another unexciting game for Claiborne. He gained 21 yards on 8 carries.

Chaz Chambliss

Started at fullback. He is set to be the backup fullback for Max Bredeson. On the second drive, he caught a pass for a first down.

Kahlef Hailassie

Jumped a hanging Sam Ehlinger pass for an interception.

He also blew up a pass behind the line of scrimmage in the red zone.

Brett Thorson and Johnny Hekker

The rookie punter has done a lot to make his case this preseason. He opened the game with a monster punt that traveled 54 yards and had no return.

Hekker has stepped up the last two weeks. His first punt came from around mid-field and ended up inside the 20. His second punt was also a boom and went inside the 20.

Thorson got another one inside the 20 early in the third quarter but Hekker had another in the fourth.

Dillon Bell

Committed a penalty that negated a first down. Tried to run in reverse on a screen and got tracked down from behind.

Caught a pass late in the second quarter but couldn’t stay in bounds.

Bell dropped a pass in the third quarter.

Kenny Dyson

Had a sack last week and got a pressure midway through the second quarter that caused a throwaway on third down.

Dontae Fleming

Made three grabs in the second quarter to spark a long drive. Flashed impressive speed with the ball in his hands. Caught a pretty fade ball from Max Brosmer for an explosive play in the third.

Jahvaree Ritzie

Made several tackles for loss in the third quarter.