By Matthew Coller

EAGAN — One of the things that Ty Ingram-Dawkins, a fifth-round pick of the Minnesota Vikings, has always prided himself on is being able to play anywhere along the defensive line.

At Georgia in 2024, he played 104 snaps at defensive tackle, 186 snaps at defensive end and 218 at outside linebacker, per PFF data. The start of his career in Minnesota was no different as he mixed about a 50-50 split of his 250 snaps as a rookie in 2025 between a 3-4 defensive end and outside linebacker.

Going into this season, Ingram-Dawkins still viewed himself as a player who could take on any role in the front seven but he spent the offseason shaping his workouts and his preparation to get ready to rush the passer from the outside.

“They’re tapping into how they want to use me…you really put those tools together during the offseason, working with edge [rusher] work,” Ingram-Dawkins said. “Last offseason, I kind of did just defensive tackle work because I knew how they were going to utilize me in this defense.”

This offseason the Vikings traded veteran Jonathan Greenard, bumping up Dallas Turner on the depth chart and opening up a competition for outside linebacker reps behind Turner. There has been plenty of speculation about whether the Vikings will add another player in free agency at that position group but thus far in the early days of camp, Ingram-Dawkins has appeared to be one of the key depth players.

Knowing that this opportunity could arise, Ingram-Dawkins knew that he needed to focus on quickness and bendiness rather than girth.

“Doing a lot of more agile stuff than I would do if I was playing the inside,” Ingram-Dawkins said. So it was a little bit different, but I got used to it… I just built up my body to be able to be efficient on the edge, then it would be in the middle.”

Does that mean he dropped a few pounds and thinned down? It appeared that way to the eye but he used a different term to describe his look.

“I just got leaner, still the same weight,” Ingram-Dawkins explained. I just fixed up my diet and changed a few things in my everyday routine.”

In a mixed role last year, Ingram-Dawkins rushed the passer 72 times and had six QB pressures and had one sack. In 2024 at Georgia he had 3.0 sacks.

What the Vikings are betting on is his impressive athleticism translating into a problem for opposing offenses. At the NFL Combine, he ran a 4.86 40-yard dash at 275 pounds and had a 36-inch vertical jump. Ingram-Dawkins thinks he can turn the corner in part because he is a self-described film junkie. He spent the summer watching every play

I went back and watched my snaps from last year and [looked at] all my strengths that I felt like I did good last year and I went down all the cons, and things I didn’t do really well last year,” Ingram-Dawkins said. “And just the strengths that I had, keep building on them and the cons, we just X them out as we go day by day.”

If there is anyone who can maximize a versatile player, it’s Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores. He has found unique roles within the defense for a number of players. The most comparable to Ingram-Dawkins in recent years may be Jihad Ward in 2024, where he mixed inside and outside rushing. Though Ingram-Dawkins might also be helpful against the run if they want to give starter Dallas Turner a break in certain situations.

Whatever the role, Ingram-Dawkins has a lot of trust in Flores finding the right spots for him.

“Me and Coach Flo, we have a unique relationship,” Ingram-Dawkins said. “I feel like he’s a great coach, probably one of the better coaches I’ve had in my career. Me and his conversations are very, very positive. He’s straightforward about how he wants to use me, and I’m very intentional with how I come to work every day to do that job.”

In the coming weeks as pads come on, Ingram-Dawkins will have a chance to prove that the Vikings don’t need to go into the free agent market for another outside linebacker.

By Matthew Coller

On Thursday, the Minnesota Vikings took the field for Day 2 of training camp. Here’s a breakdown of the day at TCO Performance Center…

What I heard

Christian Darrisaw is feeling great

Following practice, Darrisaw had a huge smile on his face when he was asked how he was feeling.

“The best I’ve felt in two years,” he said, beaming. “Definitely came a long way and this offseason has been huge for me.”

He described practice the last two days as being “tremendous” and said that the rest this offseason for the knee that plagued him during an ACL recovery last year was absolutely vital to getting back to full strength.

“Just feeling like myself truly, like not even having to worry about like just like stiffness waking up and things like that,” Darrisaw said. “It’s just like night and day from how I came into the season and how I’m feeling.”

I asked Darrisaw how much it weighed on him mentally last year when he was battling to get back on the field and several times had to remove himself from games.

“Definitely taxing,” Darrisaw said. “Because my brothers, man, we worked so hard together, and I know I worked my ass off to get back into point, put me in that position [to play last year]. And just my body was not responding the way I wanted to, and not allowing me to do the things I needed to do. It kind of restricted me a bit. But now we’re here and ready to roll.”

Last season demonstrated how difficult it is for the offense to operate without a fully healthy Darrisaw. If he has a healthy summer and goes into the season at 100%, it raises the floor and ceiling of what the offense can be.

Wes Phillips on scripting out the offense

To begin camp, Kevin O’Connell said that Kyler Murray and JJ McCarthy would both be getting 50-50 split and then they would assess how things were going and shape the practice reps from there.

On Thursday, offensive coordinator Wes Phillips discussed the process of scripting out the plays for each quarterback.

it takes maybe a little extra thought than if you just had one guy where you're working through,” Phillips said. “We know who's getting what, and then you want to make sure that in one rack, ‘okay, he had three passes, and he had three runs, what kind of passes were they?’ And are we really giving them a good and fair opportunity as we go through this competition.”

In terms of splitting the rep share, there is the queston of the coaches making sure that Kyler Murray gets enough work so he is totally prepared for the start of the season if he wins the starting job. Phillips said that the onus is on the player to adjust but he didn’t have any concerns about Murray being ready.

“If you're not getting the share of the reps that you need or would like, you have to be able to learn from the other guys that are out there, and you have to hear the coaching, and maybe Josh [McCown] is giving, or Kevin [O’Connell], or whoever it may be, you have to hear their coaching and take it and make sure you don't make the same mistake [twice],” Phillips said. “Kyler just being a veteran is that he's got a lot of banked experience under his belt….He's seen just about everything, and knows how to play football.”

Intrigue with Gavin Bartholomew

On Day 1 of camp, the Vikings 2025 sixth-round pick, who missed last season with an injury, had a strong showing y making a couple catches downfield.

Phillips talked about what he sees in the former Pitt tight end.

“A really good athlete, catches the ball really well, as, in the short time, we had him last year, he showed that he could come off the ball in the run game, and he's got some twitch, some explosiveness to him, that you see when he's catching some passes,” Phillips said. “Generally if a guy's big enough, and willing enough, that usually translates to the run game as well. He's a football guy. He's all about it, so I expect him to only improve his camp goes.”

Jordan Mason…. best shape of his life?!?!?

Shoutout to Emily Leiker of the Star Tribune. She said during practice on Wednesday that it looked like Jordan Mason had slimmed down a bit. There may have been some skeptics within the media contingent but it turns out that she was right.

“What I'm really impressed with Jordan is that, some guys come back, and you just know they're in shape, and you look at, he dropped some pounds, he felt like he was too heavy,” Phillips said. “He put a lot of work this offseason, both in the spring and the summer, into coming in and making sure he's at his best. So, really impressed with his mindset coming in here.”

The Vikings, who have reiterated their commitment to improving the run, will have to decide how they want to divy up the reps between Mason and Aaron Jones. Last year they were fairly closely split when both were healthy and both players had their moments but the 27-year-old Mason ended up with 4.8 yards per carry and in the top-15 in yards after contact.

If the team can trust Mason with all aspects of the offense i.e. pass protection and receiving, it stands to reason that they would lean on him more in hopes of keeping Aaron Jones healthy all year. Being in shape to take on an RB1(ish) workload could help Mason from the jump.

Demond Claiborne’s first impression

It takes about two seconds watching Demond Claiborne run to realize that his quickness and agility is on a different level from most running backs. The former Wake Forest running back, who the Vikings picked in the sixth round, could have an opportunity to carve out some type of role due to his potential home-run capability.

In order to get to that point, Claiborne will need to make strides when it comes to understanding the details of the Vikings’ running and pass protection schemes.

Phillips said that it was a challenge in the spring but Claiborne has put in the work to prepare for training camp from a playbook perspective.

“Some of these college systems are very different from the pros and and and Wake Forest’s was no different,” Phillips said. “It was very different from terminology and things that he had to learn here. So, there were a lot of growing pains in the spring, as far as being disciplined with his footwork, his tracks, and then learning the protection scheme, and all the calls, and the things that go into it. You just see a much more comfortable player, even in the first few days here coming into camp.”

Special teams coordinator Matt Daniels was asked if Claiborne could have a potential opportunity to get involved in the return game, even though they have Myles Price as the KR1.

“I'm really excited about Demond… movement skills, explosiveness, I don't think we've had a guy like this since Kane [Nwangwu], honestly,” Daniels said. “The way that he moves, his first step, the first step burst that he has, the explosion that he plays with and the lateral quicks, short area quickness, and lateral agility…. it gets you really, really excited.”

Daniels said that if Claiborne does have a role in the return game, ball security will be the thing they are focusing on to whether they can have him paired with Price on returns during the regular season. Tai Felton is also a candidate for the KR2 job.

Last year Price emerged as a quality punt and kick returner, earning the job in training camp but there were some missteps that went along with his strong season. Daniels wants him to focus on certain details to protect the ball better this year.

“The next thing for him is gonna be, how good can we be at playing with quiet feet when we do catch it, especially on points, you know, catching it with good, clean, square feet,” Daniels said. “A lot of the times, last year, he was a little off balance, maybe stagger feet not catching it square to the chest.”

What I saw

There was a clear shift in reps on Thursday. Whether that maintains into the future is to be determined by Kevin O’Connell but Kyler Murray clearly took the majority of the first team reps. Onlookers counted 12 reps with the first unit for Murray to just six for McCarthy.

Overall, here’s how I charted the day’s throws:

As you can see, Murray had the higher ups and downs while McCarthy threw a lot of his passes underneath and completed a higher percentage.

Here is the breakdown of exactly where Murray’s throws went:

Murray’s highlights:

Read more

By Matthew Coller

EAGAN — Welcome back, everybody.

The Minnesota Vikings opened training camp on Wednesday with a 90-minute practice and four press conferences.

Let’s dive in…

Everything I heard

Brian Flores on Jamal Adams

To open camp, the Vikings signed the former Seattle and Las Vegas safety/linebacker. GM Nolan Teasley said that he had communicated with Brian Flores about the potential fit for Adams before they made the signing. On Wednesday, Flores talked about his excitement for Adams to join his defense.

“Always had a lot of respect and a lot of admiration for Jamal and his game going all the way back to college,” Flores said. “Obviously a high draft pick, who has had a lot of very, very productive years…just spending time with him, this is a football guy. He kind of lives and breathes the game. There’s a joy and a love for the game that’s infectious. You can kind of feel that in 24 hours.”

The Vikings are listing Adams as a linebacker so he is presumably going to spend the vast majority of his time in the box. But Flores’ defense always opens the door for versatility when it comes to LBs and safeties.

“He’s obviously played a lot of different roles, so i’ll see what that that looks like,” Flores said. “I tell guys all the time your your role on this unit is whatever you make it.”

Adams talked after practice and said that he’s willing to take on any job on the defense.

I can play linebacker, safety, corner, nose tackle, D-end, kicker, it don’t even matter. Whatever position you want me to play, I’ll play. You want me to walk the dog, I’ll walk the dog.”

Asked why he was interested in playing for the Vikings, he said: “Nolan and Flo”

The message to Dallas Turner

With the Vikings sending Jonathan Greenard in a trade to the Philadelphia Eagles, 2024 first-round pick Dallas Turner is now in a position to take over as the Vikings’ top pass rusher. Flores’ message to him, however, was that he needs to focus on his job on every given play and not the pressure of replacing Greenard.

“Losing J.G., obviously [Turner will] have a bigger role, he understands that,” Flores said. “But it’s not like we’re throwing a lot of pressure on him saying, ‘hey, you have to be this.’ That’s not really our style of play. The message to our guys always is we play team defense. I’m not asking anybody to take over a game. We do it together as a unit, as a group.”

B-Flo without Hitman

As of Day 1, this is the first time that Flores will be the defensive coordinator of the Vikings without Harrison Smith by his side. Over the years, Flores has explained how Smith is basically a defensive coordinator on the field with total freedom to make calls when he identifies things within the offense. It won’t be easy to replace that, though Flores still seemed to be campaigning for a return.

“I still haven’t gotten over it,” Flores said. “He brought a lot to our team. We love him dearly. Hope he hears that.”

In terms of how it will be replaced, Flores thinks that the other players’ time with Smith will help them going forward.

“I think his impact on the other guys as far as leadership, communication, ownership of the defense…and the ability to, you know, change it based on what they see. I think we got a few other guys who learned that from him,” Flores said.

The obvious candidate to take over Harrison’s role is Josh Metellus, though it’s unclear how the positions will be distributed in terms of the box/big nickel/free safety situation.

Kyler Murray worked in the offseason to lock in KOC’s offense

During the spring, it was clear that Murray was still working through parts of O’Connell’s offense. He said that he spent the time between minicamp and training camp working to lock in all the details.

“Going over scripts, going over playbook for the last six weeks. and then obviously workouts and stuff, going out there and implementing what we’ve done and just trying to get more familiar with the verbiage and the footwork and all that stuff,” Murray said.

He did not want to get into details of his side workouts with players but Jordan Schultz tweeted a video of Murray and Jordan Addision and reported that they had spent the last two months throwing together.

Murray didn’t seem concerned about the preparation part.

“I truly believe that going through OTAs has prepared me for what’s to come,” Murray said.

“For me, I think it’s a reps thing. Continue to do it over and over again, say it over and over again, and the more you do it, the more you say it, the more it comes natural, the more it comes easier. I think that’s really the process for me. I think once all that settles down, for me, it’s just playing football.”

Murray’s balance of playmaking/pocket in camp

In the coming weeks, Murray will be aiming to show O’Connell and the offensive staff that he can operate within the system. For a quarterback with a tendency to scramble and make plays happen off script, that could take some restraint. But Murray didn’t seem concerned about striking the right balance of scrambling and playing on time.

“This isn’t my first rodeo,” Murray said. “I was going into my eighth season, so I know how it is. If a defensive guy would have made a play, you get to hooting and hollering about who would have done what, and everybody’s going back and forth. But I’m an honorable guy when it comes to making plays out here on the gridiron… when it is an opportunity for me to use my legs, do that.”

JJ McCarthy’s knowledge of the offense is making it ‘instinctual’

Last year McCarthy was coming into a situation where he had to master the offense on the field for the first time as QB1. This year he has had an entire offseason to process his performance last year and focus on areas where he needed to improve. McCarthy says that he will walk to the line of scrimmage now feeling locked into to what he’s supposed to be seeing.

“I feel at that point right now just being able to have every play call click in my head and just seeing it like full clear picture and knowing my job each and every down,” McCarthy said. “Knowing the intent of each and every play call, it makes it a lot easier to have those instinctive moments when things break down.”

McCarthy called it a “clarity of mind” to have mastered all of the formations, splits etc. that go into O’Connell’s offense and now he can see the defense better because he understands the game at a higher level than heading into camp in 2025.

“Everything seems to be slowing down on the defensive side and being familiar with defensive structures and philosophies,” McCarthy said.

In terms of the competition, the young QB talked about his discussions with O’Connell about what he needs to do.

“Conversations were great, just all about doing my job and doing it to the best of my ability, taking completions, taking what the defense has given me, making smart decisions,” McCarthy said. “At the end of the day, just doing my job. Very simple.

As far as whether it’s going to be a “fair” competition, McCarthy responded: “100% yes.”

Brian O’Neill has a new contract but the same mentality

Speaking with the media today about his new four-year, $96 million extension, the Vikings’ right tackle was asked what he’s most proud of during his time in Minnesota.

He paused and then gave an answer that shows you exactly why O’Neill is the type of player that he’s become.

“We’ve won one playoff game in eight years…we haven’t done it,” he said. “We did a little bit. That’s not why you do it, right? I want to be most proud of when I’m done here that we went on a couple runs and gave ourselves a chance at the big one and turned this thing around and got over that proverbial hump. Yeah, that’s what I want to be most proud of when I’m done for sure.”

Jake Golday’s preparation

O’Neill mentioned that the second-round linebacker was one of the guys who worked out with him in Minnesota over the summer.

After practice, Golday spoke with Purple Insider about getting ready for a very unique position in Flores’ defense in which he is beginning his journey as an inside linebacker but may have to pivot to a role out the outside as well.

“The 1st step to it is just breaking down the playbook,” Golday said. “And then I like to write out what everybody's job is on the field so that I know exactly where my spot is. Even if I go out there and they just throw me in a position I'm not that familiar with. I still know it because I've been studying everybody else's spots, and it's just process of elimination at that point.”

Once Golday learned everyone’s assignment, he would go out to the field in Eagan or at a high school in his hometown when he was home and start simulating the game action.

“I like to imagine, like, stuff's going on,” he said. “It’s cardio at the same time. I'm getting cardio dropping in my spot, getting back lined up, making sure that I'm yelling at communications and stuff.”

Eric Wilson said after practice that he’s been impressed with the way Golday has picked things up.

“He's doing a really good job, but he seems to have a good football IQ,” Wilson said. “Dude's very versatile, which is very helpful in our defense, for sure. Big guy, and it seems like he loves to put in that work. So I appreciate that. So he's just fitting in well.”

Everything I saw

Both quarterbacks had solid days.

Here’s how Murray performed in terms of where the football was thrown and whether throws were positive, negative or routine passes.

Some of the highlights of Murray’s day:

Read more

By Matthew Coller

EAGAN — A decade ago when the Minnesota Vikings acquired Sam Bradford from the Philadelphia Eagles, head coach Mike Zimmer was so concerned about the Green Bay Packers finding out that Bradford was going to start Week 2 that he refused to admit throughout the weeks’ press conferences that Bradford was going under center that week rather than backup Shaun Hill.

Inside the media room, there was howling laughter when Packers coach Mike McCarthy said, “we’re definitely preparing for Sam Bradford.”

Zim didn’t fool the Pack, but he did get the win that week.

Kevin O’Connell has decided that playing smoke and mirror games with the media, fans and opponents and/or treating the quarterbacks like they are on Survivor Season 50 are unnecessacary tactics.

During Tuesday’s press conference at TCO Performance Center, he opted out of subterfuge and explained exactly how things were going to work in the coming weeks.

For starters, the plan to begin training camp during the unpadded practices is to split the first-team reps 50-50 between Kyler Murray and JJ McCarthy.

As camp progresses, the rep counts aren’t likely to stay exactly at 50% for each QB because of the way certain drills play out.

“There’s some periods where the amount of plays is unknown sometimes as you really start to get into what real football is,” O’Connell said. “So there may be some [days] where it’s going to be hard to really kind of quantify, what exactly was [the percentage]? As practices get going, it’s not that exact science.”

O’Connell could have elected to flip QB1s by the day and have Murray or McCarthy take all the reps one day and then switch but O’Connell indicated that’s not how it’s going to go. Instead it will be by the period. But the quarterback who isn’t taking the first team reps will be working with the second unit.

“I think that gives different layers to the evaluation as well,” O’Connell explained. “We want an elevator at the quarterback position. And in many ways, doing that in this system is kind of a do-your-job mentality, which is running the show, throwing completions, and just showing the ability to execute our offense with comfort.”

One of the biggest questions about the competition is when O’Connell and the staff will make their decision. It’s a tight rope to walk because the head coach wants to give each QB their fair shake but the competition can’t go on all summer. The starting quarterback will need plenty of time to get ready for Week 1.

“There’s absolutely a date in mind and subject to what we think is best,” O’Connell said. “If we feel like we can make the decision before that date, we will. If we feel like we need a little bit more time, we’ll take it. And ultimately, a lot of work’s been done to this point and been evaluated both on the field and where we think guys are at from their understanding and comfort of our offense.”

O’Connell was asked specifically about whether he would continue the competition into the joint practices, which are set for August 19 and 20th.

“We want this to be the right decision when that time comes,” O’Connell said. “What I will tell you is we want to make sure that there is a comprehensive decision made, but I’m well aware having gone through training camps before as a player and a coach at that position, the time it takes to truly go into Week 1 comfortable and ready to get off to a really good start.”

One could interpret his comment as saying that they would like to have a QB1 settled by the joint practices because the starting quarterback for Week 1 needs a certain amount of time to feel fully prepared for the season.

When the competition is said and done, we will not have to wait with bated breath to know the victor.

O’Connell said that he plans to make an announcement when the dust settles.

“When the decision’s made, a process will take place and then we’ll move forward and go try to win games,” he said.

The terms of engagement that O’Connell laid out for the media on Tuesday are not new to the combatants involved. KOC got together with all the quarterbacks and explained to them exactly how things were going to play out.

“I met with all those guys on an individual basis over the last day or so and really just want to be able to articulate the vision and the plan,” O’Connell said.

Another thing worth wondering is how involved new general manager Nolan Teasley will be in the process of selecting the starting quarterback.

He explained that this operation falls under the coach’s juristiction.

“We’ve actively talked about every decision that we’ve made, big or small,” Teasley said. “This will be no different. When it’s decision-making time, I mean, ultimately, you want to give your coaching staff that freedom to make that choice. But certainly, I should have the ability to offer a different vantage point, and we’ll discuss it actively.”

So we know exactly how it’s going to go. Now it’s time to play football.

Brian O’Neill extension

Read more

By Matthew Coller

As the Minnesota Vikings arrive in Eagan, new general manager Nolan Teasley made a notable addition to the squad: S/LB Jamal Adams, who spent 2025 with the Las Vegas Raiders.

File the Adams signing under the “intriguing” category. He was once a rising superstar with the New York Jets and then the Seattle Seahawks acquired him in a trade and turned him into a prolific pass rusher for one season. In 2020, he racked up 9.5 sacks and 34 QB pressures on just 104 pass rush snaps but then in 2021 Adams’ pass rush snaps were cut in half and his production dipped.

An injury set him back and he spent 2024 with Tennessee and Detroit, only seeing 40 total snaps between the two teams.

The Raiders reinvigorated his career as more of a linebacker. He took all of two snaps as a deep safety and played 254 in the box and 124 plays in the slot.

His performance was solid. Adams had seven QB pressures on 35 rushes and allowed just 5.9 yards per reception into his coverage. Per PFF, he created 23 negative plays (STOPS) on 45 tackles.

A few thoughts on the signing:

— Adams would seem to be a fit with Brian Flores. Last year Flores used Eric Wilson in a blitzing role as an undersized linebacker and had wild success with it in the second half of the season. Adams’ speed might not be exactly what it was seven years ago but he has great instincts for getting after the passer and he’s experienced. He fits the mold of an undersized LB/S hybrid that has worked for Flores in the recent past with Josh Metellus.

— If Adams makes the team, he could be a Metellus replacement while Metellus moves back into a more traditional safety role (not that there’s anything particularly traditional about Flores’ defense).

— The brakes do need to be pumped on expectations. While this is the first Nolan Teasley signing of some significance, Adams is going to be 31 years old this season and only had six games in 2025 where he played more than 30 snaps.

— This move is likely of no consequence to Harrison Smith’s future and it probably doesn’t impact the safety room either. It may simply be depth behind Wilson and Blake Cashman. The only players behind them at LB are Ivan Pace Jr., who has seemingly fallen out of favor with Flores and rookie Jake Golday, who is a rookie.

— Overall, this is a zero downside move with the potential to give Flores an extra piece to work with that would fit his defense. The upside is likely limited.

Vita Vea, anybody?

Read more

By Matthew Coller

The strange thing about Kyler Murray’s career is that the opinions on him from NFL analysts can be wildly different depending on the date. For example, if you asked someone on November 10, 2024 about Murray, most would have told you that he was finally becoming the complete quarterback that everyone dreamed he could be. They would have declared offensive coordinator Drew Petzing the Murray Whisperer and said that head coach Jonathan Gannon’s approach to working with Murray pushed him toward greatness rather than coddling him like Kliff Kingsbury.

On November 10, 2024, Murray had just reeled off his fourth win in a row for Arizona Cardinals, who were heading to the bye week as one of the pleasant surprises of the NFL. He had just completed 22-of-24 passes in a 31-6 win over the New York Jets to improve the Cards to 6-4 on the season. Murray was named Gatorade Player of the Week.

“The quarterback was the best player on the planet today,” Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon told the media following the win over the Jets.

Overall, he was completing 69.2% of his passes and had 2,058 yards at 7.5 yards per attempt with 12 touchdowns to just three interceptions and a 100.8 passer rating. He had also only been sacked 15 times and rushed 46 times for 371 yards and four touchdowns. He was PFF’s seventh highest graded quarterback at that point.

On November 11, 2024, FOX Sports published a breakdown of every game from the weekend with the title, “Kyler Murray squarely in MVP race.”

At that time, nobody was talking about Murray playing video games. Nobody was talking about whether he “really loves the game.” Nobody was asking whether he was a good enough leader of men.

Those questions only came up again during the following weeks. Out of the bye week, the Cardinals faced Seahawks, Vikings, Seahawks. They lost all three to those top-notch defenses, including falling to Minnesota on a last-minute Sam Darnold drive after Gannon settled for a field goal that only put the Cards up six points. Murray then beat the lowly Patriots and lost an overtime game to Carolina in which the offense posted 30 points but the defense gave up 36.

Then with the season on the line, Murray struggled against the Los Angeles Rams, and the Cardinals’ playoff hopes were dashed.

From Week 11 through Week 17, PFF graded Murray has the 23rd best QB out of 38 and his passer rating fell to 79.5 in that stretch.

Out came the knives.

The Washington Post’s Jason La Canfora played all the hits in late December 2024. He quoted anonymous executives wondering why he always runs out of gas down the stretch and saying that they couldn’t believe the Cardinals paid him. He mentioned “suspect work habits.”

Amazing how the Murray narrative bounces back and forth like a snowbird going from Minnesota to Arizona in the winter and back to Minnesota in the summer.

Last year Murray started out the season OK but his team was a disaster in the clutch, losing three games by a total of five points, including a 21-6 blown lead against the Tennessee Titans. He was dealing with a foot injury that appeared like it would keep him out for a couple of weeks but instead they decided to stick with Jacoby Brissett and improve their draft status. When the season ended, they fired Gannon and cut Murray.

Now that the Minnesota Vikings have signed Murray with hopes that he can get them back to a “baseline” of quarterback performance, the NFL is wondering whether Kevin O’Connell has another Sam Darnold in his pocket — a flawed quarterback who can be harnessed by a great passing scheme and outstanding weapons — or if Murray will always be the rollercoaster quarterback who ends the season in disappointment.

The thing about Murray is that he is 28 years old and has been in the NFL since 2019, and yet he remains a complete enigma. Why is he so hot and cold? Why do people seem to talk about his personality so much? How much was Arizona to blame? Can he really lead a team with high expectations?

Over the last four months since Murray signed with the Vikings, I have attempted to speak with as many people as posible about the veteran quarterback. From folks who covered him in high school to people with knowledge of the Cardinals organization to NFL evaluators and executives to former teammates.

The circle

While there are plenty of people with opinions about Murray, the hardest part of the endeavor was trying to find someone who really knows Murray. I kept hearing, “he has a small circle.”

However, I was able to connect with someone within Murray’s circle, former Arizona Cardinals running back Chase Edmonds, who played with him from 2019 until 2021.

“I don’t want to say he’s a closed off person, but he’s just a very personal person,” Edmonds told Purple Insider over the phone. “Like his circle is his circle. And unless you’re in that circle, you might not see all of who K1 is from that personality standpoint.”

Edmonds said that in the earliest days of Murray’s career the team’s PR had to “drag him to the podium” because he wasn’t fond of the public speaking element of being an NFL quarterback.

“To the public eyes, it can come across almost like standoffish because he’s just quiet, man,” Edmonds said. “It’s a unique blend of personalities, where you just have this guy that is quiet, but super confident. Definitely a jokester, man. When we would get together, the guys back in AZ, he always had jokester days.”

Edmonds became close with Murray because they were two young players on a rising team. They would work out together along with Murray’s dad, Kevin, a former Texas A&M quarterback.

“When we were doing routes and throwing, [Kyler] would be out there all day with us, if we didn’t get s— right,” Edmonds said. “That’s the one thing that I can always just take from my friendship from him, the moments that I got to actually play ball with him, how much we would actually work when we got together, the sessions and how intense it would be, trying to get everything literally squared away and as perfect as it could be.”

When Murray was drafted and Kliff Kingsbury hired as head coach, the Cardinals began building their team around their No. 1 overall draft pick quarterback, particularly with a trade for receiver DeAndre Hopkins that took their group of weapons around Murray to the next level. By Murray’s second season in 2020, Arizona had produced an 8-win season and had the No. 6 ranked offense in the NFL in total yards.

The world was buying Murray’s ascent. Edmonds saw him pushing to take the next step.

“If I were to use two words to describe Kyler, it would be: competitor and confident,” he said. “K1’s one of the most competitive people I’ve ever got to grace the locker room with. Also there’s just the aura and the confidence that he brings in the huddle, the confidence that he approaches the field with.”

During the 2021 season, the Cardinals opened the season 7-0 with Murray playing like an MVP and they were one play against Green Bay away from an 8-0 start.

“Every Tuesday we’d have dinner at his house and we would talk about the games or talk about the Monday night game or the game that we had coming up,” Edmonds said. “Man, I just remember the conversations that we had and the aspirations that we wanted when we were so young about where we wanted to go.”

Murray got hurt in the game against the Packers in ‘21 and missed three games. When he returned, they only won two out of seven games, including losing to the eventual Super Bowl champion Rams in the playoffs.

The way that season played out was crushing to the tight-knit Cards. Along the way, there have been suggestions that Murray doesn’t love football or doesn’t care about winning but Edmonds says it’s the opposite.

“He took losses super, super hard,” Edmonds said. “I think that was also a combination of, he didn’t go through a lot of adversity in high school and college, but also just how competitive he was. Like, he truly wanted to win. I mean, everybody wants to win every game, but he truly, truly, wanted to win bro. Those losses really hurt his soul, you know?

Edmonds suggested that growth and scar tissue from adversity has helped Murray learn to deal with failure and not let the tough losses compound.

But I was curious, why hasn’t Murray ever tried to explain to the world the work that he’s putting in or how badly he wants to win? There are some quarterbacks — take Baker Mayfield, for example — who will clap back when certain narratives are spun about them.

“He can say something back, but then all it is just more clickbait for someone to somehow misconstrue and angle it at a different way, right?” Edmonds said. “It just opens the door for more nonsense. I feel like when you’re a quarterback, no matter what, people are going to talk about you. It doesn’t matter what you say, what you don’t say. You’re going to be a talking point in the National Football League if you’re a starting quarterback.”

I was also curious about Murray’s leadership style. During OTAs and minicamp, there weren’t too many examples of Murray being demonstrative in any way. At one point, he threw a brilliant deep pass to Jordan Addison that traveled about 40 yards in the air and settled right in the receiver’s hands as if Murray had walked up and placed it there. I looked back at the quarterback and there was no reaction. He doesn’t seem to have typical quarterback body language in those moments.

“He never was like...high-fiving guys because he’s very much a business approach when he’s out there,” Edmonds explained. “If I had to guess, I would bet K1’s mindset right now is to win that damn job and it’s all business. So he’s not going out there singing Kumbaya with people. He’s probably going very much business approach until [he’s the guy]. I think until that moment you probably won’t see those instances.”

I ask Edmonds about the coaching and organizational structure and how they might have impacted Murray’s results in Arizona. He’s a Fordham man, so he puts it to me this way:

“Out of all the main American professional sports, organizational structure, head coaching competency for the NFL is the most determining factor of… a player’s success,” Edmonds said. “You see it time after time now. Someone like Sam Darnold, who is talented as hell, by the way, finally goes to a structural organization and wins the damn Super Bowl. The year before won 14 games in Minnesota. It is so much of a determining factor of how a player can just grow and get their confidence and be better.”

That brings us to the next part of the conversation…

The survey, the clause

A major part of trying to find out about Kyler Murray was determining exactly how different his circumstances in Minnesota are going to be in comparison to Arizona.

That discussion begins with the NFL Players Association survey. This year, the league tried to keep the results of an anonymous poll taken by the NFLPA that graded every aspect of each franchise. ESPN’s Kalyn Kahler obtained the results and, well, you will notice a stark difference between Arizona and Minnesota. The Cardinals rated 31st, while the Vikings were No. 2.

Arizona’s owner was graded an F (up from an F-minus the previous year) and Minnesota’s was given an A+. The Cardinals’ offensive coordinator got a B-minus, while the Vikings’ head coach/playcaller Kevin O’Connell got an A and OC got an A-minus.

The organizational competence of the Cardinals has come under fire numerous times during owner Michael Bidwill’s tenure both from a football perspective and internal operations.

In 2023, the team’s former VP of player personnel filed a complaint accusing Bidwill of gross misconduct in allegations that involved discrimination and harrassment. The accusations included that Bidwill retaliated against people within the organization who pushed back against his attempts to communicate with general manager Steve Keim during a five-week suspension for a DUI. The words “working in fear” were used to describe the workplace culture. In 2025, former assistant Brittany Neuheisel sued Bidwell on claims related to workplace harassment.

One person with knowledge of the situation told Purple Insider that Bidwill’s reactionary decision-making caused chaos within the team.

The relationship between the people at the top — Bidwill and former GM Steven Keim — and Murray is complicated. Bidwill is said to have been a believer in Murray and Keim was the GM who boldly traded top pick Josh Rosen in favor of picking Murray.

But when Murray had a strong 2021 season overall that resulted in him being ranked by PFF as a top-10 quarterback, contract negotiations got very dicy between the two sides. At one point, Murray’s agent released a massive statement sending a message to the Cardinals to put pressure on them to complete his contract extension.

A person with knowledge of the negotiations said that the team was deeply frustrated with the way Murray’s agent had held them hostage. At that point, the price of QB extensions was exploding and Murray landed a $230 million deal over five years with over $100 million guaranteed. But the annoyed Cardinals made sure to fire a shot across the bow to their quarterback by leaking to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network that there was an “independent study” clause within the contract. Rapoport tweeted out the entire clause, which set off a firestorm of people talking about Murray not being committed to his craft.

Eventually the clause was removed. That didn’t stop folks from holding it against him for the rest of his existence, of course.

Murray held a press conference in which he called the clause “disrespectful” and said, "there’s multiple different ways to watch film. Of course we all watch film. That doesn’t need to be questioned. I refuse to let my work ethic and my preparation be in question. I’ve put in an incomprehensible amount of time in what I do.”

However, in an interview with the New York Times, he made a comment that may have hurt his case.

"I think I was blessed with the cognitive skills to just go out there and just see it before it happens," he said. "I'm not one of those guys that's going to sit there and kill myself watching film. I don't sit there for 24 hours and break down this team and that team and watch every game because, in my head, I see so much."

One person close to Murray said that he has an incredible, near photographic memory, and that he may rely on that too much. Another said that his process in Arizona was to spend the day at the facility working on his game preparation and film study but he did not take the film study element home with him in those early years with the Cardinals.

That’s hard to comprehend considering the complexity of the quarterback position.

Because Murray is a fan of gaming, like playing Call of Duty online or blitz chess on Chess.com, the internet took shots at him in any way they could, even producing a “study” of when the new video games would come out versus his performance.

“I had a person say to me, ‘would you rather have him go to a night club or strip club and that’s how they decompress or would you rather have him go home and throw on the video game and watch some TV, he’s not getting in trouble,’” ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss told Purple Insider.

“It was never really a thing,” said teammate Trey McBride on Bussin’ with the Boys about Kyler’s video game distractions. “He never talked about playing video games, but every single week he was in the media…he never talked about gaming or anything. I think they were just finding any stat to get on him.”

Weinfuss also said that Kingsbury implemented a hybrid college/NFL offense that was reflective of Murray’s Air Raid offense at Oklahoma and was “basic stuff.” Murray had been running something similar since eighth grade when his coach learned it from Kingsbury at a coaching clinic. Murray knew the offense’s details inside and out because he’d been using it for his entire football life.

“I think everyone’s study habits are different and how they learn is very different,” Weinfuss said.

Some believe that Kingsbury did not push hard enough on Murray to learn the ways of the National Football League. Cardinals analyst Alex Clancy told Purple Insider that he viewed Kingsbury as a “PE coach when he needed a cool history teacher who would smack you with a ruler but make you smarter.”

And Weinfuss said that Murray wanted to be coached harder rather than have things simplified.

“What I heard multiple times was that Kyler Murray loves to be coached, he loves to be yelled at,” Weinfuss said. “His high school coach MF’d him, his college coach MF’d him, Kliff never did. Kliff handled him with kid gloves. Everything was very soft. I think having that type of approach as he entered the NFL, I think that was the root of some of the issues.”

By the end of Kingsbury’s tenure, he and Murray were hardly speaking and Kingsbury was no longer attending QB meetings because the relationship had soured to that point.

“Those two hardly talked at all the last year-and-a-half of Kliff’s tenure,” Weinfuss said. “Kingsbury stopped going to quarterback meetings because of his relationship with Kyler. It was not good. There’s blame on both sides. Everyone wants to pin it on one or the other but that’s not fair and not accurate.”

Murray suffered a torn ACL midway through a miserable 2022 season and when he returned he had a different coach in Gannon.

The Cardinals hired Kubiak/Shanahan-inspired offensive coordinator Drew Petzing to implement a more pro-style offense that put Murray under center more often and utilized the run game to build off with play-actions. The plan was essentially similar to what the Seahawks did last year with Sam Darnold: Put Murray in more favorable passing situations rather than asking him to do it all.

Murray learned the offense.

“When Drew Petzing got there, [Kyler] studied hard — he had to study hard,” Weinfuss said. “This wasn’t basic. It wasn’t addition, subtraction, division and multiplication, this was pre-calculus. It was algebra. It was an advanced level of football, so the work ethic thing is ridiculous.”

At the same time, he clicked with Gannon as well.

“Kyler Murray and Jonathan Gannon got along very well,” Weinfuss said. “They lived near each other and Kyler had gone to Jonathan’s house to watch the Super Bowl and they would call each other on the way home from games to debrief. They were very close.”

“People make these assumptions and create these narratives and they run with it,” Weinfuss said. “But I’ve seen him do things that are against what everyone is saying.”

The independent study clause still lingers though.

“I don’t want to hear about my franchise quarterback that he’s going home and playing video games,” one former NFL evalutor told Purple Insider.

In Mike Sando’s Quarterback Tiers piece last year, a GM said:

"I still don't trust him. He has [second tier] talent but is still a [third tier] to me. Is he committed to it? He always tends to tail off as the season goes on."

And there are some who still see his less extroverted way of approaching the game as a detriment.

“To me, it starts with body language. As a quarterback, a lot of guys on the team look to see how you carry yourself,” former teammate Patrick Peterson told 98.7 The Game in Arizona. “If he’s continuing to not have good energy and (not) cheering his teammates up, the team is going to continue to look the way that it’s looking.”

Supporting cast

In the same article, Sando mentioned this tidbit: “Arizona owes its 14-22 record in Murray's last 36 starts to its defense (-110.4 EPA), not its offense (+41.6 EPA) or its special teams (+0.8 EPA, which is near average).”

During the three years that Murray was with Gannon in Arizona, the Cardinals went 13-17 when Murray started and 2-19 when he did not.

In a league where Sam Darnold went from starting his career 21-34 with a 78.2 quarterback rating to 28-6 with a 100.9 rating and a Super Bowl ring over the last two years, is it possible that Murray has been greatly impacted by the folks around him?

How do we figure that out?

For starters, as Sando wrote, the Cardinals’ defense has done Murray very few favors. Since 2019, only Detroit, Carolina and Las Vegas have allowed more points against.

The Cardinals are only 31-26 in games where the QB finishes with a passer rating over 90 since 2019. The Eagles are 48-12 when their QB clears the 90.0 threshold.

One of the reasons Arizona’s defense has struggled so much was their failures in drafting around Murray.

The website PerThirtySix.com does historical draft value charts and they ranked the Cardinals 31st since 2019. One by one, their drafts after 2019 ranked 27th, 28th, 12th, 15th, 31st and 28th. Here is their entire drafting chart:

They were on the other side of the trade that sent Will Anderson Jr. to the Houston Texans. The draft pick that they acquired in that deal turned into defensive tackle Darius Robinson, who ranked as the worst starting DT in the NFL by PFF last year.

They missed on Isaiah Simmons, the No. 8 overall pick in 2020. Players like Tristan Wirfs, AJ Terrell, CeeDee Lamb and Justin Jefferson were still on the board. In 2021, they took Zaven Collins at No. 16. He has become a starter but not a difference maker, ranking highly as a run defender but 80th out of 80 edge rushers by PFF last season.

The Cards nailed the Trey McBride pick and he turned into a star with Murray at quarterback but they whiffed on replacing DeAndre Hopkins and Larry Fitzgerald with highly-touted WR prospect Marvin Harrison Jr.

When Murray targeted Hopkins during his time as a Cardinal, the QB’s passer rating was 109.5 on 259 attempts. When he targeted McBride on 263 attempts, his rating was 94.5 with a 74.9% completion percentage. But when he tried to get the ball to Harrison Jr., he only completed 55.4% with an 87.4 rating.

Harrison Jr. only caught 16 of 38 contested-catch opportunities in 2024, which ranked 79th out of 99 starting and part-time receivers. He and Murray struggled to get on the same page at times with the details of plays and his focus early in the 2025 season was questioned. A drop on a wide open throw against the 49ers proved costly in a one-point loss, for example.

Things didn’t change when Murray went out in 2025 as Harrison Jr. only caught 21 passes on 41 targets from Jacoby Brissett in seven games.

The challenging thing to parse through is how much Murray could have done to overcome some of the shortcomings.

While his team did have issues around him, he hasn’t come through when his team has needed him. Over Murray’s career, he has just a 78.3 passer rating in the final four minutes of games in which his team is trailing and he’s only gone 18-24 in games separated by one score.

He has struggled mightily on third-and-long with ratings of 76.0 between 7-9 yards to go on third down and 75.9 with 10 or more yards to go. Too often opportunities to close out games are missed.

“I can’t remember the last time Murray was in victory formation,” Locked On Cards’ Alex Clancy told Purple Insider.

“The question I have is: Will he make hits to make the game-winning throw?” Clancy said. “I don’t know if the answer is yes.”

Minnesota?

I asked a former NFL scout: What if Kyler Murray’s draft status set unfair expectations and he really is similar to a lot of other quarterbacks who are good enough to win with good teams but flawed enough to struggle with bad teams?

“I think he’s closer to the Lamar Jackson, Mahomes, Burrow talent than he is [quarterbacks] who can be pushed either way [by circumstances],” he said.

That may be the tough part for people with Murray. Because he was a No. 1 overall draft pick and a breathtaking player early in his career, the failure to meet expectations is perceived much differently than if he had been a second-round draft pick.

Volatile players always flummox analysts too. We can see on paper where a lot of Murray’s ups and downs come from. In 2025, Murray graded by PFF as the seventh best quarterback against pressure. In 2024, he was 30th. In 2023, 15th. In 2021, 7th. In 2020, 10th. In 2019, 20th.

Basically, all over the place. His size and playmaking style opens the door for having things really work for stretches and then fall apart for stretches. Quarterbacks who love to throw the ball downfield like Eli Manning and Joe Flacco were like that during their careers. When they got hot, they were able to win. When they were cold throwing downfield, they failed.

A similar current quarterback is Baker Mayfield, who was a risk-taking, volatile player who came on the scene strong with Cleveland as the No. 1 pick and then struggled with Carolina before finding himself with a stable organization and good supporting cast in Tampa Bay.

“Coming from someone who has been in a similar situation where you think you’re going to be somewhere forever and just needing a new change of scenery… I think this fresh start for him is going to be amazing,” Mayfield said earlier this offseason at a youth camp. “Kyler gets a bad rap. People want to put a certain persona on him.”

When things went sideways, Mayfield’s personality was scrutinized. When things went well, it was ignored and he was lauded.

The question is how much the Vikings’ outstanding situation with their offensive weapons can even out the volatility? Here’s how the supporting casts of the Vikings since Kevin O’Connell arrived compare to Murray’s career since 2020 by PFF grade and defensive points allowed:

The gap between receiving and defense really jumps off the page.

In terms of blocking, it is vital that the Vikings protect Murray.

When he had good protection in Arizona, he was very good in 2024 and posted strong clean pocket numbers. He was the 8th highest graded clean pocket QB by PFF and led the NFL in clean pocket Big-Time Throws.

Even during his rough 2022 season, Murray still was 21st of 40 QBs when clean and had the 16th best QB rating.

In 2021, he was the 4th best clean-pocket QB in the NFL by PFF and 10th by QB rating.

Chase Edmonds admits that he’s biased when it comes to his analysis of Murray because they are friends but he strongly believes that things are going to click in Minnesota.

“I can’t wait to see him in that system and with a guy that can just make the game so much easier for him,” Edmonds said. “This is the first time he’s going to go in and 90% of the time he’s going to have the best coaching staff on the field.”

All summer long, analysts have ping ponged back and forth about what Murray will do with the Vikings, assuming he wins the quarterback competition versus JJ McCarthy. Some think he will win the division and become the long-term Minnesota quarterback. Some think the Vikings will finish last in the NFC North and that he will be mediocre.

And that’s why they play the games.

What we do know is that Murray will have his chance to rewrite all the narratives on his career in the same way that Sam Darnold did. All of the criticisms of the past will disappear if he performs like a franchise QB and the Vikings finish with a top-10 offense.

Is it fair to say that the real Kyler Murray will be revealed this year? Maybe. Maybe not. But he will never have a better opportunity in his career to set the record straight.

“I think he’s going to win comeback player of the year and I wouldn’t be surprised if he makes the Pro Bowl….I’m definitely going to be a Minnesota fan,” Edmonds said.

By Matthew Coller

Happy Friday folks. Think about this: The next time that there is a Friday mailbag without football practice or games will be in January. Let’s go.

Bradley P… Help me understand how coached like Matt Eberflus and Kliff Kingsbury go from respected defensive and offensive coaches enough to get head coaching jobs to just being awful, albeit both are still assistant head coaches for respected organizations.

A few things come to mind. First is that the league is always changing. If a coach has something work for them and then the rest of the NFL adapts and they don’t make changes, they are going to fall behind very quickly. So maybe Kliff Kingsbury’s offense had merit but opposing teams were able to decode it and then it didn’t work as well after that.

The other thing is circumstances with the roster. During Kingsbury’s two good years in Arizona, they had strong rosters and Kyler played well overall but in 2022 they were 31st in defense and DeAndre Hopkins only played nine games and the whole thing became a mess.

With Eberflus, it’s a little hard to understand how he got a head coaching job since the Indy defenses were never that great but he was considered to be a strong defensive mind and his teams gave the Vikings some fits along the way. But being a good defensive mind doesn’t make you a great head coach and it never seemed like he understood how to command a room and operate a franchise from the top. And then in Dallas that roster was so atrocious in the secondary when he took over that I’m not sure what could be done with it.

Fit and circumstances are really important to coaching success just like they are to player success. There’s a lot of coaches who are B- type talents that could look like B+ or A level talent with the right players and fit or can look like a D- with the wrong players or fit.

And there’s very few people who are cut out to be head coaches.

Matt D… Time to figure out who we should be zeroing in on at training camp. Aside from the QBs, who is the guy who will have the biggest impact on the team if he hits his upside? Might be the same guy, but who would have the biggest negative impact if he fails to hit his upside?

I’m sure you’ve answered this a hundred times already, but when do you see them making the QB decision? With the two division games to start the season, I don’t think they can afford to hold off too long before they declare a QB1.

The most obvious answer for both questions is Caleb Banks. If we see him dominating during training camp, that’s going to bode extremely well for the regular season especially with the quality of O-linemen he’s going to face with the first team. If he can become a force, then the chances of the front seven being very good increase significantly. If he struggles in camp and it doesn’t look like he’s ready to be an impact player, we’re probably talking about them needing a lot of others on the D-line to step up in order to make up the difference.

I don’t think there’s a bigger swing player than him when it comes to how we feel coming out of camp because with someone like Dallas Turner we have already seen them play and won’t be moved much based on camp alone, that can only happen in season. But if you’re talking about in the season too, Turner will be massive. If he gets 12.0 sacks or something, they’ll be cooking. If he’s just OK, it’s going to be hard to have a top-notch defense.

I would be surprised if KOC declared the starting quarterback officially before the end of training camp but I’m expecting it to be clear by the third week of camp. In the first week, we’ll see them without pads and it’ll likely be a 50-50 split and then when the pads come on the evaluation really begins and then the third week is when we get preseason action. If Kyler is getting most of the reps and starting the preseason game and playing one or two series, then it will tell us the story.

Douglas J… Assuming Kyler is here beyond 2026 would you consider trading a 1st for Bijan Robinson?

That would really depend on how close they were to being a championship contender. If Kyler was a top 10 quarterback in 2026 and a bunch of other things came together to look like they were super close, then I’d consider it. You’d need Turner and Banks to be awesome, the offensive line to look awesome and other draft picks from 2026 to show promise and look like it’s going to be a complete roster.

Robinson would be an exception when it comes to acquiring a running back because he’s A) elite B) 24 years old. If you acquired him at 25, he would probably have three to four more seasons of being elite in front of him. And oftentimes the all-time great RBs, which he has the potential to be, last a little longer than your average/typical RB in the same way that AP led the NFL in rushing at 30.

It’s probably more realistic to draft your own running back with a second-round pick than to trade for Bijan. But I have come around to thinking of things as three-year windows when it comes to team building. Rosters just don’t stay together for more than three years so if you can grab any player who has absolutely elite top-five talent in the NFL even if he might only be elite for three more years then you should do it.

Jimmy B… Well Matthew by now you know I don’t like asking the same question as everyone else just repackage. Lol My first question is, how does the money work for training camp? Players that don’t have current contracts with the team. How do expenses get handled for players that are invited to camp? Is there a flat fee paid to the player and they pay for there expenses? Etc? Does that money come from the salary cap?

Everyone on the 90-man roster has a contract with the team. The only time there are tryouts is in rookie minicamp. Those contracts come with signing bonuses. I believe there is a limit on total signing bonuses for a UDFA class. So let’s say that’s $200,000 and they give their top two or three guys $50K and then the lesser guys like $5,000.

During camp, everything is taken care of for the players in terms of living. They stay in the hotel and they can eat at the team facility and all that stuff. If you’re a UDFA who makes the team, then your contract kicks in for something like $900K or whatever it is this year. If you make the practice squad, it’ll be like $100K.

The salary cap only counts the top 51 players on the roster.

Wade C…. More of a suggestion than a question. It would be pretty cool for you and a guest pick the schedule for the all the NFC North teams. Games between the division have to have the same winner!

Are we in for a Wade Wilson/Tommy Kramer year? Both do well and they pick the wrong QB in the playoffs.

That would be some type of epic podcast but it sounds like a great challenge. Fun idea!

That’s a great callback with Wade Wilson adn Tommy Kramer. There is definitely a scenario where Kyler isn’t healthy for the full season and JJ ends up playing intermitently and it isn’t totally clear which guy is the better choice to win with at the end of the season. I was thinking the worst case might be something like Tavaris Jackson/Gus Frerotte in 2008. Neither guy is really playing that well but the coach is still hanging onto his first-round pick and he gets hot at the end and then falls apart in the playoffs.

There’s a bunch of situations where I’m wondering what they would do. Like if they started out 3-6 with Kyler, would they try to save the season or just go to JJ? Or if they were 10-3 and Kyler got hurt and JJ got them to the playoffs and played well, would they bring back Kyler or JJ in 2027?

It’s all so interesting…

Chris C…. You were talking to that scout that worked under the dreaded Sean Payton and his philosophy of getting up early by explosive pass plays and then ground and pound by running the football to run the clock out. Do you think KOC could lean more into something like that with Kyler?

Also is first half vs second half run/pass ratio under KOC a stat you could provide? It would be interesting to see those metrics from prior years and see how it shakes out this year. To point everyone’s making about KOC running more I could see something like this increasing the run volume assuming we can get up early with Kyler. I know under Zimmer we all got mad he was far too conservative with a lead but I don’t think that’s KOC.

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By Matthew Coller

We continue our series analyzing the entire Vikings roster before camp with the cornerbacks…

The depth chart

Byron Murphy Jr. — Murphy Jr. enters his fourth year as a Viking. He has been remarkably healthy in Minnesota, playing 48 of a possible 51 games.

Isaiah Rodgers — A part-time player before being signed by the Vikings last year, Rodgers emerged as a reliable starter. He played 963 snaps in 2025, nearly double his previous career high.

James Pierre — The Vikings added Pierre in free agency after he put together a strong 2025 with the Pittsburgh Steelers. His 377 snaps in 2025 were the second most of his career.

Charles Demmings — The fifth-round pick out of Stephen F. Austin is considered an outstanding athlete who may need development time to adjust from FCS to the highest level.

Dwight McGlothern — The former UDFA has only seen 51 snaps at corner over the last two years and hasn’t seen much special teams action either.

Zemaiah Vaughn — Saw a lot of development time and showed promise in camp in 2025 and spent the year on the practice squad.

Marcus Allen — Former North Carolina corner played a ton of football in college, racking up over 2,500 snaps as a TarHeel. He only picked off three pases but had seven pass breakups last season.

Da’Veawn Armstead — Armstead spent time at TCU, Sam Houston State and North Texas in college. Last year he played 702 snaps and allowed just a 62.0 passer rating into his coverage, per PFF.

Tyreek Chappell — Another experienced player, Chappell had just over 2,500 snaps at Texas A&M over his career.

The numbers

— Byron Murphy Jr.’s performance over the last two years demonstrates how circumstances can dictate a corner’s data set. In 2024, he ranked as the 18th best starting corner (out of 77) by PFF coverage grade and allowed a 79.8 passer rating against despite being targeted 108 times (second most in the NFL). That caliber of play earned him a big contract extension from the Vikings.

Last year, however, he was 55th out of 77 in grade and gave up a 96.1 rating against. What was the difference? One is that he did not have as many interceptions. His six picks led all corners in 2024. The other was penalties. PFF dings corners significantly for penalties and he had the ninth most in the NFL in 2025. He was also only targeted 56 times, giving him nearly half the chances to make plays on the ball.

The longest completion that Murphy Jr. allowed last year was only 30 yards, making him one of just seven starting corners to have their longest completion allowed 30 yards or fewer.

— Isaiah Rodgers finished as PFF’s 13th best overall corner in the NFL. His area of weakness was tackling, where he ranked 65th in PFF tackling grade. He also did not make a lot of plays on the football with just three pass breakups and one INT. Rodgers' 99.9 PFF grade in his game against Cincinnati may have impacted his overall grade quite a bit.

— James Pierre may have only played 377 snaps last year but he made a huge impact on Pittsburgh’s defense. He made nine pass breakups and only gave up 14 completions on 33 targets into his coverage. The sample size is small but even between 2022 and 2024 he only gave up 23 completions on 43 passes in his direction.

— Pierre has played 1,173 career snaps as an outside corner and only 45 in the slot.

— Dwight McGlothern has been used as much as any player on the team over the last two years in preseason action, playing 184 snaps with only 65 yards allowed into his coverage.

— Charles Demmings was targeted 37 times last season at Stephen F. Austin and still had four interceptions and six pass breakups. Opposing QBs had a 39.8 passer rating when throwing in his direction.

The storylines

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By Matthew Coller

On May 15, the Minnesota Vikings signed wide receiver Terrill Davis.

The addition to their 90-man roster didn’t make the ESPN ticker or get an Ian Rapoport tweet. They didn’t debate it on Get Up or put it on the front page of the New York Times. Locally it was noted but not explored much.

When you pull up his stat line from 2025 at Oklahoma State, the lack of reaction is reasonable. Davis caught 29 passes for 373 yards.

His pro day measurables don’t jump off the page either. He is a hair under 5-foot-11, has 29-inch arms and a hand size that you would expect from an accountant. His 40 time doesn’t wow you and he didn’t look like James Harrison when doing the bench press.

If we are being honest, when the Vikings take the field at TCO Performance Center on July 28, Davis is their longest longshot. He doesn’t have measureables or a D-I production resume that would suggest that he has high odds to stick.

Yet the history of the Vikings and the NFL suggests that there are always longshots that become outlier NFL players. Did you know that Adam Thielen went to Mankato? You remember that John Randle played his college ball at Texas A&M–Kingsville Javelinas?

Of course, outliers don’t always have to become legends to still be an incredible story. Last year Morgan State defensive tackle Elijah Williams was signed after a rookie minicamp tryout. In 2020, the Vikings signed track athlete Dan Chisena, who only had three college receptions, and he made the team as a punt gunner.

That’s the beauty of NFL training camp. As long as you have a helmet, you have a chance.

The reason Davis is in Minnesota for training camp despite not having Megatron-like size or Jefferson-like numbers is that his path to the NFL is unique.

At Choctaw High School, Davis was a basketball player and a basketball player only. By his junior year, he was ranked as the 24th best baller in the state of Oklahoma by MaxPreps. He played on a highly successful AAU team that featured a current NBA player Trey Alexander.

Despite leading his team in points and assists, he didn’t have the D-I offers to play basketball that you might expect. A 39-inch vertical may not have been enough to convince folks that a 5-foot-11 point guard could handle the power conferences.

He was hoping to crush his senior year and get an opportunity to play somewhere when the pandemic hit and shut down gyms. In order to stay in shape, he started doing football workouts with some of his friends on the team. A couple of things struck him: He was good and football is fun.

Choctaw football coach Jake Corbin had been prodding Davis for years to come out for the football team because he had seen Davis’s athleticism on the basketball court.

“We tried to talk him into it every year,” Corbin told Purple Insider over the phone.

Davis finally agreed to play football.

Still having aspirations as a basketball player, Corbin made him a deal: Whenever basketball things come up during the season, make that your priority. Shoot when you need to shoot and give the football team as much as you can.

Not only did he pick it up almost instantly, Davis also fell in love with football.

“He just absolutely took to it so fast, it was unreal,” Corbin said. “Obviously he took some coaching, but I’ll give him all the credit in the world for his athleticism and being a smart player.”

In Choctaw’s third district game, he caught nine passes for 209 yards against the team that eventually went on to win the state championship and Davis helped lead the team to its second ever state championship appearance.

“He was just unguardable,” Corbin said. “A lot of 50-50 balls that he’s coming down with, like, ‘geez, this guy is not scared at all.’ It became very evident that he was going to be that guy.”

While Davis was a natural at football, that doesn’t mean they could just toss some pads on him and start hucking footballs in his direction. Football in Oklahoma is way too good for that. He worked hard with the coaching staff on the technical elements of the wide receiver position. It’s quite different than one-on-ones with your buddies after school and they had to start from square one.

“You’re like, ‘this is a fade, this is a corner, this is a dig, this is a curl, et cetera,’ and you start teaching those, and you’re like, this is what we’re calling this, this is how it’s layered,” Corbin explained. “You just kind of go there from a holistic approach and then continue from the getting down to the footwork, the releases, all that kind of stuff, which all that was pretty natural for him.”

“I can teach the same to 100 kids, and they’re not going to come out with the same outcome that he did,” Corbin said. “It just made a lot of sense to him.”

It wasn’t just Davis’s natural athleticism and his ability to adapt quickly that impressed coach Corbin. As Corbin had been watching him play basketball, he thought that Davis had a little football to his game. At his size, he had to fight extra hard for every edge and Corbin figured that could translate nicely to the gridiron. When Davis actually got into the football program, it turned out his mentality was tailor made for football.

”Watching him on the court, he was a tough kid and you could tell that like he had a degree of toughness where he wanted the ball in his hands when the pressure was on all those kind of things,” Corbin said. “So you could see that and I felt like he had a football player’s mentality when he was playing basketball and I thought it could transition to football. Did I know at the time that he would be in the NFL? No. That’s a pretty long shot, but it was not shocking to me that he was a good high school football player.”

Davis decided after his senior year that that he would continue his sports career in football.

But putting together an impressive season as a senior was not enough to garner Davis much attention at the Division-I level. After all, most colleges are focused on players who are juniors and sophomores when they are recruiting. By the time you’re a senior, it’s too late. Not to mention that the measurables were still working against him in football.

He landed at Division-II Central Oklahoma. His first year was rough. He was redshirted in 2021 so he wasn’t able to play in games and his mom told The Colly that he was not enjoying the atmosphere in the same way that he did in high school.

Davis might have chosen to leave football if not for a coaching chage at UCO. The university hired Adam Dorrel, who had gone 76-8 at Northwest Missouri State and then coached at D-I Abilene Christian. Dorrel brought a different vibe to the program and that clicked with Davis.

Dorrel didn’t realize that he was inheriting a player who would eventually dominate the D-II level. And that took a long time to manifest itself. When Dorrel first took the job, all he knew about Davis was that he was a good athlete.

“When we did an eight week training cycle, we tested and it was like right away, his testing numbers were really, really, really good,” Dorrel told Purple Insider over the phone. “So you’re like, ‘okay, this can be interesting.’”

They were impressed by Davis’s first spring but the team’s quarterback situation was pretty rough. He only finished with 11 catches as a redshirt freshman but things started to show as a sophomore. Davis was starting to get it and ended up leading the team with 43 receptions and 538 yards.

Still, through two seasons as the D-II level, there wasn’t much to suggest that any NFL team would ever come calling.

His junior year, UCO landed a quarterback transer from Houstin. Dorrel knew they could open up the offense at that point and start utilizing everything that Davis could do.

“We just said, ‘man, with the quarterback we have, with Terrill really showing us [his development — we had a couple other guys too, a couple good running backs — we switched our offense and went to up-tempo spread offense,” Dorrel explained. “That really highlighted Terrill’s skills. That spring, I knew if we stayed healthy in the fall — I’ve just been in this league a long time. I just knew we were going to have a chance to be good.”

At the same time, Davis’s knowledge of the game was starting to catch up with his natural ability to run routes and catch the football.

“It was really like a light clicked on for him as far as football, reading defenses, coverages,” Dorrel said. “Obviously, he had continued to get stronger but we really started weaponizing him in the with reverses, short screens, his ability with the ball in his hand is good.”

Everything came together and Davis’s game took off. He finished his junior season leading all NCAA players, regardless of division, with 1,609 receiving yards on 109 receptions and he scored 15 touchdowns. He became the only player in school history with three 200-yard receiving games in a single season.

UCO went 11-2, had the top-ranked offense and won the MIAA conference.

“By the middle of the season, my daughters would go, ‘I know where the ball’s going,’ Dorrel said laughing.

Davis did it all. When they needed a play on third down, they called his number. When they needed a play in the red zone, bang, Davis. They moved him all over the field, field side, boundary side, slot. Teams tried all sorts of different coverages to slow him down and nothing worked.

“I know a lot of the other head coaches and when you’re meeting that two hours before, the head coach or assistant coaches at other schools, some of the first words out of their mouth were like, ‘good Lord,’ Dorrel said. “It was like, we’ve got something. Cat’s out of the bag. [Opponents were saying,] ‘we’re going to try to hold him under 15 catches. Well, I don’t know if we can, but we’re going to try.’ Stuff like that.”

Dorrel said that all the attention directed toward Davis resulted in the team’s run game going off as well. He was the center of an offense that UCO had never seen before.

Along the way, Dorrel took notice of the same thing that his high school coach observed about Davis: His toughness.

“He’s a tough son of a b—,” Dorrel said. “He gets punched in the mouth. He’s not the kid that’s going to stand there and bleed. He’s going to fight back…he was very competitive at practice, never backed down. So we knew he had all that there. We just kept challenging him.”

The area where Dorrel challenged him the most as he was emerging as a star was as a leader.

“He learned how to channel his body language, he learned how to channel that inner beast in a more positive way,” Dorrel said. “I’m just so proud of him. Some kids don’t do that. You can challenge them and challenge them, especially when they’re good players. Sometimes they’re just like, ‘yeah, f— it. I don’t need to do that.’ But he took it upon himself to become a better leader.”

After Davis’s massive season at UCO, he decided to transfer to a Power 4 school. He chose Oklahoma State with the thought that he could become a weapon for a program that has been successful passing the ball for many years under Mike Gundy.

Unfortunately things did not go as expected. The Cowboys struggled mightily in the passing game, throwing for only 174 yards per game as a team and Gundy was fired before the calander even reached October.

Their passing game was so rough that OK State’s leading passer had three touchdown passes. That’s not a typo. Three.

While Davis only had 29 catches, that was the second most on the team, as was his 373 yards.

The tough circumstances kept Davis from having any chance of getting drafted but scouts have their jobs for a reason. The Vikings may be able to find a diamond in the rough because his situation didn’t play out as expected.

But what are Davis’s realistic chances of sticking in purple?

With the recent increase in the number of practice squad positions, grabbing onto a position in the building is much more possible for longshot players than it ever has been before.

If Davis is going to catch the attention of the coaching staff, there is one area where he is going to have to shine.

”Special teams, that’s something I talk to him a lot about his junior year,” Dorrel said. “At our level, when you get a kid as talented as him, we protect him as much as possible. So he did not play a lot of special teams here. Now, I will tell you this. He’s always embraced it.”

Dorrel continued…

“I think he could be a gunner or maybe capitalize on the ability to slip people and go potentially block punts. He’s going to have to make it, in my opinion, the big four on special teams. I’m very confident there’s going to be a want there by him to do that. And there’s enough athleticism there to do that as well.”

In the coming weeks, Davis’s toughness, ability to adapt quickly and patience will be tested. Training camp is a tough place for receivers who aren’t getting very many reps to show what they can do. Oftentimes they have to rise to the occasion and make splash plays during preseason games.

But despite needing to go a long way in order to make a difference, Davis has a helmet so he has a chance. We’ll be keeping an eye on his progress to see if the Vikings can find another gem.

By Matthew Coller

We continue our series analyzing the entire Vikings roster before camp with the linebackers…

Inside Linebackers

The depth chart

Blake Cashman — The Vikings’ clear LB1, Cashman is an every-down player who handles the green dot duties and is vital to their front seven.

Eric Wilson — Last offseason when Wilson arrived the expectation was that he would be a depth player and special teamer but instead he ended up playing 965 snaps. Wilson shined when Cashman was out with an injury and then turned into a versatile weapon when Cashman returned.

Jake Golday — The Vikings’ second-round draft pick played multiple spots at Cincinnati and has a chance to carve out a role and act as depth as a rookie.

Ivan Pace Jr. — The former starter has been relegated to a special teams role, only playing 324 snaps last season. After drafting Golday, it’s hard to see that changing.

Bangally Kamara — The Vikings signed Kamara after his rookie minicamp. He is an undersized player at 6-foot-2, 223 pounds who played inside and outside linebacker in college at Pitt and Kansas.

Keli Lawson — Lawson has a unique body type at 6-foot-4, 220 pounds. He made Bruce Feldman’s “Freak List” in 2023 due to his 82-inch arms and 39-inch vertical. His college production did not match his athletic prowess as he only managed a 53.5 PFF grade last year at UCF.

Jacob Roberts — Roberts was a CFL’er in 2025. He was an effective tackler and blitzer in college.

Josh Ross — Ross was a UDFA in 2022 with the Ravens and appeared in a handful of games for Baltimore. He was with Seattle in 2024.

The numbers

— In 2024, Blake Cashman ranked by PFF as the 13th best linebacker in the NFL. He was a force in the pass rush and ranked in the top 20 in run defense, tackling and coverage.

— Cashman’s 2025 season was tougher. He was slowed by a hamstring injury to start the season and didn’t return until Week 7. He still finished the season a top run defender but his coverage and pass rush numbers declined. Cashman was 37th of 59 starters in coverage and 38th in pass rush.

— Eric Wilson led all inside linebackers in QB pressures with 37 in 2025. He ended up playing 336 snaps as an outside linebacker, three times more than his career high.

— Wilson also ranked 9th in STOPS (tackles on unsuccessful play for the offense) despite missing 17.5% of his tackles (5th worst).

— Golday played 500 snaps in the slot over his last two years at Cincinnati. He had strong 81.8 and 77.5 PFF coverage grades in those years.

— Golday was an elite run defender with a 90.5 PFF grade and and only had 10 missed tackles.

— In 2023, Pace Jr. had a 77.1 PFF grade, 15th best in the NFL. Since then his performance declined. He dropped to 64.6 in 412 snaps and then 45.1 in 324 snaps last season. What happened? His coverage performance plummetted and missed tackle rates blew up. Pace Jr. only allowed a 75.9 rating into his coverage in 2023 but those numbers went up to 115.6 and 121.8 in the last two seasons. His missed tackle percentage also jumped from 9.4% to 18.6%.

The storylines

— Will Cashman land an extension?

Cashman is going into the final year of his contract and is only making $7.5 per year average annual value. That ranks 29th among linebackers. From Cashman’s perspective, he is likely looking for a significant raise as players like Quay Walker got $13.5 million per year this offseason in free agency and Tremaine Edmunds landed $12 million per season. Are the Vikings going to lock him in for the long term or might there be concerns about his injury history and age?

— Can Golday carve out a role?

The formre Bearcat has a versatile skillset that might open the door to him mixing in as a rotational player. During training camp we will see if that can become a reality in 2026. Heading into camp it appears that Golday is going to be depth at inside linebacker and a special teamer. If he can emerge as more than that during the summer, it could give Flores another weapon to use.

— What does Year 2 in Flores’ defense look like for Eric Wilson?

Wilson took everyone by surprise last year when he turned into a star player by blitzing from the inside and mixing into an outside linebacker spot. At his age, there isn’t another step in development to take, rather it’s another step in what Flores believes he can do with Wilson. Will they be trying to recreate the role again or add more to his plate? We will be looking for signs during camp.

— Will any UDFAs win a job on the 53?

It wouldn’t be a shock to see the Vikings keep a fifth inside linebacker because of the increased importance of the kickoff. While the preseason has been deemphasized for starting players, it could be big for any of the ILBs who are aiming for a potential final spot.

Outside linebackers

Read more

By Matthew Coller

We continue our series analyzing the entire Vikings roster before camp with the defensive line…

The depth chart

Jalen Redmond — 2025 was a breakout season for the former UFL’er as he played 793 snaps in his second season as a Viking. He has earned the title of every-down player and is central to their success on the D-line.

Caleb Banks — The Vikings’ first-round pick will be expected to play a significant role on the defensive line right away. He is likely to be used as a three-techique and traditional 3-4 defensive end.

Domonique Orange — The Vikings haven’t had a true nose tackle since Linval Joseph. Orange will take over that spot directly over the center.

Levi Drake Rodriguez — Queitly played a fairly significant role on the defense last year with 461 snaps. LDR will be asked to use his strength and power similarly to Harrison Phillips.

Ty Ingram-Dawkins — The 2025 fifth-round pick could have a dynamic role on the defensive line, working as a three-technique and outside linebacker

Eric Johnson — A fifth-round pick of the Colts in 2022, Johnson has some experience with 701 career snaps. He hasn’t created many QB pressures but does have strength and some tools to work with. He will have a chance to earn a depth spot.

Isaiahh Loudermilk — The 6-foot-7 D-lineman was a fifth-round pick of the Steelers in 2021. He has played 843 career snaps and might be able to carve out a rotational role.

Elijah Williams — Signed from a rookie minicamp tryout, Williams made the team after a terrific preseason and saw 42 snaps last year. He’s fighting for a rotational role.

Taki Taimani — Saw a handful of snaps in 2024 and 2025 and spent time on the practice squad. The 330-pounder may have a better chance of making the team this year because the Vikings are using a traditional nose tackle.

Jahvaree Ritzie — The former Tarheel bounced around a couple of practice squads as a UDFA last year. He didn’t have big numbers in college but he had a great NFL Combine, which will get him some looks.

The numbers

— Jalen Redmond quietly was one of the best defensive tackles in the NFL last year. Among the 90 DTs who played at least 400 snaps, he ranked 20th best. Redmond was an elite run defense, ranking 9th, just ahead of Philadelphia’s Jordan Davis. He was fifth most in the PFF “STOPS,” based on tackles made that create an unsuccessful play for the offense.

— Redmond finished with the 25th most QB pressures in the NFL among DTs. However, he was only 53rd in pass-rush win rate. That’s an area he can continue to grow.

— Caleb Banks’ last full season in 2024 only saw him ranked 63rd out of 200 DTs in college football by PFF grade but he was strong in pass-rush win rate, ranking 17th. He was also sixth in Pass Rush Productivity among DTs, which is the pressure rate weighed heavier toward sacks.

— In 2024, when Domonique Orange only played 367 snaps, he ranked as the 19th best DT in college football by PFF and was surprisingly solid as a pass rusher, finishing 17th in pass rush grade. In 2025 when his snap count increased to 547, his efficiency decreased from a 82.6 grade to 68.3 (183rd) and his pass rush grade plummeted to average. This may suggest that keeping his reps down is key.

— Levi Drake Rodriguez was solid for the Vikings last year, ranking 68th of 142 full or part-time DTs by PFF. He would have graded even better if not for one issue: Tackling. He missed 15.2% of possible tackles and had only a 31.2 PFF tackling grade. If he improves there, he can take a jump forward.

— Ty Ingram-Dawkins played 250 snaps last season, and had 135 as a three-technique DT and 97 as an outside linebacker. With a lack of depth in the OLB room, will he see more time there? Or will they need him to rotate more at DT/DE?

— During last year’s preseason, Elijah Williams played 79 snaps and picked up 8 QB pressures and had an 80.4 PFF grade.

The storylines

— How much will Banks and Orange see first-team reps?

Clearly the Vikings would love if their two rookie players were ready to set the NFL on fire but defensive tackle isn’t a particularly easy position to transition from college to the pros. Last year there were only three defensive tackles who played over 500 snaps but there were seven who played between 400 and 500. Is that the expectation that we should have for Banks and Orange? We’ll begin to find out by how many first-team reps each player is taking during training camp.

— Will any of the other young DTs take a big step forward?

In 2025 camp it was Jalen Redmond who was so impressive that the Vikings traded Harrison Phillips away. This year there are candidates to take the big step, including Ty Ingram-Dawkins, Levi Drake Rodriguez, Elijah Williams and Taki Taimani.

The favorite to make the jump would be Ingram-Dawkins because he has an extremely high athletic ceiling. Whether he’s playing inside or outside, he has the burst and strength to be a difference-making player if it all clicks. Rodriguez has also quickly developed for a small school player and the same can be said for Williams. We’ll see if the change in scheme benefits Taimani.

— Can the Vikings find any gems in low-key signings?

When we look at the resumes of Eric Johnson and Isaiahh Loudermilk, there isn’t much to write home about. Neither player has never cleared 300 snaps in a season and the only year Johnson played more than 200 snaps his PFF grade was 30.5.

But we have said the same thing about other Vikings free agent signings who ended up working out. While Eric Wilson had a stronger history than either of these DTs, he was expected to only be a special teamer, not a borderline star player. Isaiah Rodgers was a backup for the Eagles and became an above-average starter. At DT, Jonathan Bullard and Jerry Tillery played a lot of snaps on a top-notch defense in 2024.

They may need one of these guys to step up if they feel that Banks and Orange aren’t quite ready for the workload they need. In camp, we will find out if either of them have some juice.

— How good can this unit be?

The defensive tackle group has the widest range of outcomes of any position on the field for the Vikings. If things click and Redmond continues to ascend and the rookies are ready to roll and the others start to show signs of improvement, these big fellas can be pretty good. They certainly have the physical attributes to be difficult on opponents. But if the rookies aren’t ready and the depth doesn’t prove to be strong enough, then it could be a rocky ride up front.

In the coming weeks, we’ll get a sense of which direction it’s going.

By Matthew Coller

Happy Friday, everyone. Hope you’re enjoying the last couple weeks before camp gets roling. Let’s dive into the mailbag…

Anonymous Ravens fan… Ravens fan infiltrating here.. obv a huge fan of defense and the crazy stuff Flores does so looking forward to learning about it!! I wanted to ask how you think the Vikings can maximize Kyler’s athleticism in their offense (especially given the somewhat shaky OL situation)

Thank you for dropping by, Ravens Fan. I think they can use his athleticism in a few ways. Getting him rolling out on some bootlegs makes sense. That gives him an easy choice to either find guys in his vision or take off for a few yards. I could see them using some RPO game and the threat of him taking off would be enough to hold the linebackers in place.

They can definitely up their creativity in the run game to use him a little bit but I wouldn’t expect that he’s suddenly going to be a Lamar Jackson level designed runner. He’s more of a guy who scrambles when he gets pressured or something goes sideways than a player who you want running out in space and taking hits.

Matt D… Who is your all-time holy bleep training camp guy? A guy who from the first day of camp just looked like a different category of human. Percy Harvin?

I wish I could tell you Justin Jefferson but his camp was such a bizarre situation. He got COVID and missed the first part of camp and then it took most of the shortened summer for him to begin showing signs of excellence. It’s too bad because he’s a “holy bleep” guy in every other year except that first one. I always thought Zim got wrongly criticized for not playing him until Week 3 because he didn’t have the full camp.

Anyway, the one that stands out most is Dalvin Cook. He was shredding the defense in 2017 camp and all the defensive players were talking about it. That was the best run defense in the NFL and he was not having problems finding holes and accelerating. I remember doing a story about it and Terence Newman told me that he knew as soon as Cook ran into him during a goal line drill that it was different.

If you’re talking about guys who were already established that blew me away the first time I saw them, there are three that stand way out from the others: Sam Bradford, Everson Griffen and Stefon Diggs.

Darnold is close to Bradford in terms of throwing the ball but I’d say Bradford was still better. His ball glided through the air, yet it was also cooking in terms of velocity. Griffen terrified people. He was so strong, so fast and so competitive that the offensive tackles would just get worn down by him. Diggs wanted to demolish every cornerback who dared to cover him. His route running was total insanity at his peak. Nobody could stick with him and he caught everything.

Anglo Vike…. Firstly thanks for all the content you provide, especially at this time of year.
As a fan from the other side of the Pond for 40+ years I’ve seen many changes in access to Vikings & NFL news, information, games etc in that time. So what do you think is the biggest change in the way that fans get information or interact with reporters like yourself or the team? Has it made for smarter fans or do we prove the ‘little knowledge is a dangerous thing’ rule ?

Thank you for following along!

It depends on the information we’re talking about. I love the fact that fans know the salary cap because of OverTheCap.com and they know every player in the draft because of Dane Brugler and Daniel Jeremiah and that fans have PFF subscriptions and Pro-Football Reference to analyze the team in deeper ways. I greatly appreciate that fans have taken a viewpoint on the front office of timelines and player analysis that goes multiple layers deep.

That means that we can all have a conversation about the team rather than the reporter just telling fans what’s going on. We can really dive into stuff and put ourselves in the GM and coach’s seat. That’s incredible. I always hoped we’d get to that point.

The only downside is that there is such a desire for more angles and more news to analyze that disingenious aggregators can successfully drum up bogus drama and misrepresent opinions and reporting from reporters in order to try to rile people up for their own clicks.

I have no issue with social media accounts or websites who share the news and cite our work properly but those who either straight up steal it or spin it to get more attention are a scourge on sports.

Overall, internet good. Just make sure you’re supporting the people who actually cover your team or write good commentary and analysis.

Brent M… Hi Matthew, During this “break” in the NFL calendar, do you get any “official” updates/info from the Viking organization, or have access to any players that are using the facilities? Or are the only new tidbits from sources like when KOC joined the Dan Patrick show?
Also, I agree with Anglo Vike. Thank you for helping us through this dreadful period!

All of the reporters hope and pray that we do not get any official updates from the organization at this time. If there’s news two weeks before camp, it’s bad 90% of the time. So yeah, if a Vikings player or coach does an interview, we’ll pay attention to it and break it down if there’s something there but otherwise we’d all prefer to let the sleeping dog lie and enjoy the quiet time.

I’m perfectly fine doing content without any pressing news or quotes for the summer because it allows for a lot of space to do things that I otherwise wouldn’t have time to do. The series on the most underrated players of the last 50 years was a really fun research project. If I was typing out quotes, I wouldn’t have been able to do it. I’ll have a couple other interesting things coming your way soon too.

Once we get started with camp, the press conferences and scrums will be a fire hose and it’ll be tough to keep up.

KellyJ… Love the show Matt! Really appreciate the journalistic integrity. You’ve talked a lot about the QBs that finally find their footing but always with the second or later teams. Is there a scenario where you can have patience with JJ and he develops but not until year 5? It’s like Jordan Love but add basically add a year plus. In this hypothetical scenario, they don’t exercise the 5th year option, he hasn’t proven much yet so the post rookie scale contract is more like a back-up contract for say 2-3 years. If he prefers to stay here, betting on himself, and finally figures it out, then it’s a win-win. I’d love to hear your thoughts. In my mind, why not give it a shot as long as his approach is to work to get better at those “correctable” flaws.

Thank you!

In theory, there could be a world where JJ McCarthy develops this year and in 2027 and then convinces them that he is good to go and signs a new contract to stay here and be the starter going forward.

I don’t see how that could actually happen in real life though. If McCarthy isn’t the locked-in starting quarterback after 2027, he isn’t going to agree to stick around based on a promise that he would finally get his chance. At that point there would absolutely be other teams who were willing to sign him and give him a fresh start, so there’s a 99% chance he’d be looking to find a franchise that would let him restart his career fresh.

There is only one path to McCarthy remaining this team’s quarterback if he doesn’t win the competition. That’s if Kyler either gets hurt or struggles and he comes in the game and then plays really well over an extended period of time and they win.

If they went 3-6 to begin the year and then went to McCarthy and he played great football and went 6-2 the rest of the way, then he’d go into 2027 as the starting QB and all sins would be forgiven.

They could keep him through 2027 if things went OK with Kyler and they didn’t sign him just to give it every possible chance but if he’s not playing by the end of this year it feels like that would be time to trade him and get something back.

Josh I… Im going to start by saying I really loved the QB competition article huge fan of hearing old NFL stories like that! I’m getting really excited to see how the QB competition plays out over the coming weeks there is a apart of me that is rooting for JJ to win the job and prove he deserves the job just as a good redemption story. If you were to put a percentage on JJ McCarthy to beat out Kyler Murray what would it be?

Thank you, Josh! I loved doing that article.

It would be a good redemption story and the best possible outcome for the Vikings because it would mean that he grew a ton and played really, really well.

Right now I’m only putting 5% on McCarthy to beat out Murray. As we learned the hard way last year, training camp only tells you so much. How the guys have actually played in real NFL games will still weigh extremely heavily in the decision. McCarthy’s burden of proof is so much higher than Murray’s is. McCarthy has to be incredible and Murray has to struggle to have any shot and even then I’m not sure if they would do it based on each guy’s past.

That’s why there are so many skeptical folks about the merits of the QB competition. The bar has to be extremely high for McCarthy because he looked good in camp last year and then struggled so much in the regular season and they brought Murray here to start.

Jason… Can you do a pie chart for JJ McCarthy’s career outcomes based on Tannehill being the most likely good outcome?

I’ll go…

— 5% chance that everything comes together and he becomes an elite QB.

— 25% chance that he has the Tannehill outcome and it eventually works out

— 40% chance that he is Zach Wilson-y where teams want him but they are always looking for their starter.

— 30% chance that nothing really materializes.

The history on this one is pretty clear. Once a quarterback plays like this to open their career and they aren’t a top-five pick, the odds are against them.

Personally I think he can be in that 25% and turn into a good quarterback. The pie chart, however, has to be shaped by what has happened in the past to QBs like him.

Florian K… This is something from what I’ve read and heard. How much of a deal is it between Murray being more of a shotgun/pistol QB and KOC liking his QBs under center more for play action? Are there any stats or metrics to speak to that?

The idea that KOC wants his QBs under center all the time is way overstated. Like, way, way, way overstated.

In 2022, Kirk Cousins threw 454 passes from the shotgun and 189 from under center. In 2023, it was 214 to 97. In 2024, Darnold was 390 to 155.

Let’s add those all up…. we get 1,058 shotgun to 441 under center. Or 29% under center.

In 2024, Kyler Murray was under center 22% of the time.

Yeah, not exactly the massive gap that some folks have made it sound like.

It’s quite possible that the Vikings ran under center a lot more often than the Cardinals but that would make no difference to the QB and they’re designing the run game with Miami roots this year and they ran out of shotgun a ton.

(Pro-Football Reference with the data).

Ben… Are the Packers entering “no mans” land as a franchise?? We are getting pretty deep into the Jordan Love era and the results haven’t really been there. Fun fact ( If the 7th seed didn’t exist the Packers would not have made the playoffs once in the post Rodgers era.)

Yes and no. Last year they were 9-3-1 with a lead over Denver with Micah Parsons in the mix and then it all came crashing down. Parsons is going to be there a long, long time and they will have every chance to build around him on defense. If they draft really well and put more talent alongside Parsons, they are going to be really, really good.

On paper, Love is good enough to win. They have ranked 12th, 8th and 16th in points over the last three years and he’s put up some really good numbers. He’s still relatively early in his career and I don’t think that him being expensive should destroy their chances of winning because he has the talent to take a team into the playoffs and win.

The way I think it’s going to go with Love in Green Bay is that he will be a bit like Joe Flacco. A downfield passer who needs to get hot at the right time and have everything else fit perfeclty into place, especially the defense. And then get the right matchups and so forth.

That’s more of a long-term, next-five-years answer. In terms of 2026, it’s hard to see that team having enough talent through the entire roster to be more than the seventh seed you’re talking about. I just wouldn’t count out the idea of it all coming together sometime for them during Love’s career.

Eldon… Is this a must win a playoff game year for KOC?

Yes and no. I don’t see any other NFL head coaches that are employed right now that have gone five years without a playoff win. It’s a reality of the NFL that you don’t get a decade to win in the postseason. At the same time, I could absolutely see a scenario where they win 11 games and lose in the playoffs to the Rams or Seahawks by 7 points and nobody’s calling for KOC’s head.

If they were to miss the playoffs entirely, then the pressure is going to be ramped up to the max going into 2027.

So I would say that for the fans to really buy into him, they need to see postseason winning. Nobody rational thinks he’s anything less than an average or above average coach but the scoreboard in the playoffs has to eventually reflect that in order to have full belief that he is the one who can win them a championship.

Jordan D… Talk me into the Vikings winning the Super Bowl in 2027 without JJM as the starter. Is there another good QB we could sign for a Kyler Murray-esque contract? Can we compete that year in the roster building competition if we’re losing so much cap space value to potential Kyler Murray and Jalen Redmond contracts? Is Joe Burrow the only win-con? You are allowed to trade JJM for assets in this talk-me-into, but he can’t make any hypothetical on field impact for me to convinced.

Baker Mayfield is another possibility, though it’s hard to see that resulting in a Super Bowl.

I’m not too worried about the salary cap situation if Kyler is really good and they believe he can win a Super Bowl, then they can design that thing to be managable in 2027 and still spend on other parts of the roster.

It would have go go something like: Kyler is a top-10 QB, the weapons stay together and they draft a sick running back, the O-line is great and the defense is really close in 2026 but just needs some parts. They go add some more pass rush, a big-time safety and Will Reichard goes 30-for-32 (hits a wire twice) on the season and bang you’re a serious contender.

It’s just that easy, right?

Matt R… Who is the best NFL player golfer you’ve ever seen play? I’m guessing some of these pro athletes in other sports end up being great golfers.

I have only seen Adam Thielen play in social media highlights and on TV but he’s absolutely unreal. He can drive it like 350 and apparently his handicap is almost scratch. Patrick Peterson is also a really good golfer.

Maybe the best of anyone was Tony Romo. There was talk when he was still playing of him making the US Open or something like that.

Of course, even the gap between great NFL player golfers and real golfers is hilariously large. They might be able to play par golf on the easiest PGA tour course where the pros are 20 under par.

Bradley P… Who’s this year’s Seattle Seahawks? Who surprises most by winning the Super Bowl?

The funny thing about Seattle winning last year is that normally betting market underdogs do not win the Super Bowl. It’s almost always favorites or teams that are hovering around the top. If there was another team that was going to be a big surprise, I would go with the Commanders at +5000 on FanDuel. I don’t think they are quite deep enough but they still have Jayden Daniels, who was a step away from the Super Bowl two years ago with a worse team. They have put a lot into the defense and have a chance to be pretty good.

I still see Washington is just OK but they’d be my pick for a long(ish) shot.

Brent O…Looking at the Jeremy Fowler/ESPN top players by position rankings, not 1 Vikings defender made a list OR even the honorable mention. Does that make Brian Flores the best assistant coach in the NFL to have a highly producing defense without a top player at any position on the defense?

The PFF data also backs up the idea that Flores is enhancing the defense beyond the skill on the roster. Last year they finished 7th in points and 3rd in yards allowed, yet PFF graded them 16th overall, 14th in coverage and 19th in pass rush. That means they weren’t getting mindblowing individual performances, yet the final results were elite.

It’s going to have to be the same story this year unless Dallas Turner turns into a 15-sack guy or Caleb Banks dominates right away.

The problem with that is eventually it becomes hard to always have to squeeze every ounce of blood out of the stone.

Carter… ESPN ranked Kyle Hamilton as their #1 safety. If the Vikings stick & pick him at 1.12 in ‘22, where are we today? Same place, only with Harry comfortably retired? Kwesi still around?? Vikings beat the Giants in ‘22 wildcard, Donatell sticks around another year, miss out on Flores???

Kyle Hamilton as a rookie wasn’t changing the fate of the 2022 defense. The scheme was so atrocious and the cornerbacks struggled so much that they still would have been really bad. If Donatell couldn’t get much out of Harrison Smith, he wasn’t going to make Hamilton into the freaky piece he eventually became.

Brian Flores, however, would have had an absolute freaking field day with the guy. That would have been his favorite player ever. If Flores was the DC then, he probably would have pushed super duper hard for them to pick Hamilton and it might have happened. We can’t forget that Cine was suppposed to be the perfect Donatell fit.

I’m not sure that I can come up with any other results that would be crazy different because Metellus and Bynum were an awesome pair in 2024. Maybe they squeeze out one more win last year and find their way into the playoffs if they had that guy. We might not even know who Metellus is though.

Don’t get me wrong, it would have been an outstanding pick and we all know that they should have just taken him. I’m just not sure that the results would be much different because the defense has already been very good.

Bradley P… Shiver my timbers, Matthew, has ESPN awoken a sleeping drunk in Wisconsin. How dare they say Caleb Williams is better than Jordan Love?!? What are your thoughts on their top 10 rankings?

It just shows you that NFL executives don’t have magic powers and can totally fall victim to the last thing they saw. In no world was Williams better than Love last year and there’s no guarantee he surpasses him but that Bears/Packers end to the season absolutely convinced everyone that he’s the next coming of John Elway.

Also, he might be, so we’ll see.

By Matthew Coller

We continue our series analyzing the entire Vikings roster before camp with the tight ends and safeties….

The tight end depth chart

TJ Hockenson — Entering his fifth season as a Minnesota Viking as TE1. It was uncertain whether the Vikings would bring him back based on his contract situation but it’s telling that they wanted him in the mix. Hockenson is aiming to prove that he can still be a top tight end after two down seasons.

Josh Oliver — The Vikings extended Oliver last year after he has become one of the premier blocking tight ends in the NFL and a reliable weapon through the air. Injuries limited him to 400 snaps on offense in 2025 but he played 553 in 2024 and 467 in 2023, so we can expect him to be on the field often.

Ben Yurosek — After going undrafted in 2025, Yurosek ended up on the active roster and saw a decent amount of playing time. He appeared on offense in 12 games and finished with 116 snaps. While he only grabbed two passes, Yurosek showed to have potential as a blocker with reliable hands. He will be in a battle for TE3.

Bryson Nesbit — Last summer, Nesbit showed flashes of strong athletic traits and potential as a receiving tight end. He caught five preseason passes for 73 yards and a touchdown. If things click, he has a chance to make a case for a roster spot.

Gavin Bartholomew — Drafted in the sixth round because of his pass-catching ability, Bartholomew suffered a back injury in rookie minicamp and was unable to play in his debut season. This year he will get an opportunity to show why the team picked him.

Marshall Lang — After catching 48 passes over four college seasons at Northwestern, the Seahawks signed Lang as a UDFA last year. He spent time with the Patriots this spring before being released and signing in Minnesota.

The tight end numbers to know

— It was a down year for TJ Hockenson in terms of volume but quarterbacks targeting him actually had success in doing so. QBs had a rating of 110.8 when tossing the ball to Hock in 2025.

— But Hockenson was not given many opportunities to make plays. In 2022, he had 29 contested-catch opportunities and then 25 in 2024. Last year he only had five chances and caught three. Also his career average depth of target is 7.7 yards but last year it was only 5.2 ADOT. As a result, Hock’s PFF grade dropped from a solid 74.2 in 2024 to 61.2.

— Josh Oliver’s run blocking has been elite in the past but last year he wasn’t as effective as previous seasons, only grading 29th out of 93 tight ends in 2025 as a run blocker. In 2024, he was No. 1 in run blocking grade. That number may be the result of some injuries and inconsistency on the offensive line.

— Oliver has been a very effective weapon despite getting limited targets. As a Viking he has 59 receptions on 70 targets with nine touchdowns. With so many weapons on the team, we can’t expect a lot of passes going his way but he can’t be forgotten as an effective option.

— Ben Yurosek played 91 of his 116 snaps as a blocker and performed solidly overall. He had a 62.6 run blocking grade, which is a shade above replacement level and allowed zero pressures on 13 snaps as an additional pass protector.

The tight end camp storylines

— Chemistry with Hockenson and the quarterbacks

It’s notable that Hockenson was on pace for a 78-reception season while playing with Carson Wentz but after Wentz got hurt he only caught 24 passes in the final eight games of the season. Will he either connect instantly with Kyler Murray or get on the same page as JJ McCarthy during training camp?

Nobody loved throwing to his tight end more than Murray in recent years as Trey McBride had 111 catches in 2024 with the Cardinals.

We know that that most important player in camp is Justin Jefferson but Hockenson might not be far behind. Bringing him back was a loud signal that they do not think his talent has faded as much as he was a victim of circumstance. Whoever is playing quarterback, they should be able to take advantage of space that is created underneath to find him regularly. If either QB is not gettting him the ball, they are probably doing something wrong.

— Who is TE3?

There is a very interesting battle set to play out between the backup tight ends. Last year, Yurosek showed that he can get into games as a blocker and be trusted and he flashed solid hands in training camp if they need to throw the ball his way. But Bartholomew was drafted for a reason. He’s a really good athlete and has decently high potential as a receiver. Nesbit is the fastest of the group and could go downfield but doesn’t exactly have the size to make a difference as a blocker. And it’s worth noting that Nolan Teasley had Lang in Seattle before bringing him on board.

The safety depth chart

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By Matthew Coller

For Part 3 of our series previewing the Minnesota Vikings training camp roster, we dive into the offensive line…

The Depth Chart

LT, Christian Darrisaw — When healthy, the Vikings’ veteran left tackle can dominate in both the run and pass because of his size, length and athletic prowess. The Vikings are hoping that he can return to the peak of his powers and drive the offensive line from the most important position.

LG, Donovan Jackson — Going into his second season, the team is looking for the former Ohio State star to have things click and raise his level of play to become a difference maker. Jackson’s IQ, size, athleticism and hard-nosed play style project to him becoming a force. They will be aiming to get him to that point quickly at a position that is harder than ever.

C, Blake Brandel — It’s been quite a journey for Brandel in purple. He began his career as a swing tackle and then bumped inside in 2024 as a full-time left guard. After the Vikings picked Jackson, Brandel was relegated back to the bench. His stint didn’t last long

RG, Will Fries — In his second year as a Viking, Fries will have an entire healthy offseason to lock into the offense and get himself in shape for an entire season. He is entering a pivotal season in his career because his cap hit is set to take a big jump after this year and the team will need to decide whether they are going forward with him.

RT, Brian O’Neill — As reliable as they come, O’Neill enters his ninth season as a Viking. He is a key part of the team’s leadership group and brings his athletic prowess to the run game and technical work to pass protection. His contract will be a story but O’Neill as a player is an enormous part of the team’s core.

IOL, Michael Jurgens — Last year Jurgens saw the first action of his career, playing 309 snaps. He struggled with penalties but otherwise performed like you would expect from a replacement-level backup center. He will need to impress during camp or the Vikings might be looking for a different backup for Blake Brandel.

IOL, Gavin Garhardt — A rookie seventh-round pick, Garhardt is very experienced as a college player. He played in 53 games over five seasons for Cincinnati. In the best-case scenario, he could provide depth at center and potentially guard. He is most likely earmarked for the practice squad.

IOL, Henry Byrd — The 27-year-old lineman has been in the NFL since 2023. He was a UDFA signing of the Broncos and picked up by the Vikings after he was released in August 2023. After a short stint in San Francisco, he came back to the Vikings late in the 2023 season and has been on the practice squad for the last two years. They have kept him around for a reason but will he finally earn a spot on the 53 this time around?

IOL, Joe Huber — Huber was a standout during the preseason last year and ended up playing in one game against the Cleveland Browns. It was a tough outing but the UDFA did show in camp and preseason last year that he has some potential as a backup interior lineman.

IOL, Vershon Lee — Lee is a former South Carolina guard who signed as a UDFA last year and spent the season on the practice squad outside of being activated for the game against Cleveland (he played on special teams). Lee played reasonably well at right and left guard and center during the preseason. He will compete for a deep depth spot.

OT, Walter Rouse — The 2024 sixth-round pick was called upon for 88 snaps last year during the regular season due to injuries. The Vikings made two acquisitions in the offseason at tackle, putting Rouse’s future in an uncertain place. He worked at guard during the spring. Is that where he fits in or could this be his last camp in purple?

OT, Caleb Tiernan — The Vikings’ third-round pick is very experienced as he enters the NFL with 52 games played at Northwestern. His athleticism and production were worthy of a higher draft pick but there were concerns about his length. That may eventually cause him to be bumped inside but for now he’s in line to be a swing tackle.

OT, Ryan Van Demark — The Vikings signed Van Demark as a Restricted Free Agent. He played 557 snaps over the last two seasons and split between left and right tackle. We should expect to see him starting as the swing tackle behind Christian Darrisaw.

OL, Tristan Leigh — Leigh was a three-year starter on Clemson’s offensive line and is a former five-star recruit. He was All-ACC honorable mention in each of the last two years. He is athletically gifted but his numbers in college were underwhelming. He only had a 49.5 PFF grade in 2025.

OL, Delby Lemieux — The Dartmouth lineman played tackle in college but is expected to move to the interior in the NFL. He played almost 2,000 snaps and is considered a quality athlete but he will need to pass block inside better than in college in order to have a chance.

OL, Tomas Rimac — Rimac moved from left tackle to guard when he transferred from West Virginia to Virginia Tech. In the second half of the season his numbers improved greatly. His size, 6-foot-6, 317 pounds, makes him an interesting prospect to develop.

The numbers to know

— Last year Christian Darrisaw finished with a 65.6 PFF grade, which is by far the lowest mark of his career. The last three seasons he’s been over 80, consistently putting him in the top-15 graded tackles in the NFL. The Vikings desperately need him to return to that level of play. It clearly had a trickle-down effect on the entire offense in 2025.

— In terms of average annual value, the most comparable right tackles to Brian O’Neill are Carolina’s Tyler Moton and Cleveland veteran Tytus Howard. Last year Moton signed a two-year, $44 million extension with $36.8 million guaranteed and Howard signed a two-year, $45 million deal this offseason with $34.5 million guaranteed.

O’Neill is likely to be aiming for a little higher AAV and possibly more years, so we could see the Vikings shoot for another year longer than his colleagues.

Last year, O’Neill ranked 13th by PFF among all tackles.

— In his rookie season, Donovan Jackson graded 36th out of 61 starters at guard. That’s decent for a rookie but it deserves more context. He was the second highest graded rookie guard in terms of pass protection and third overall. He also did not allow a sack after Week 9.

— Overall, Will Fries had an average season. He finished 34th of 61 starters in PFF grade and played all 17 games despite coming off a brutal injury in 2024. Missing a big part of his offseason may have impacted Fries’ ability to play at a high level for the entire season. In the last six weeks of the season, he ranked 47th in pass blocking whereas he was 12th through the first 12 weeks of the season. A fully healthy Fries could play up to his contract this year.

— Compared to his peers, Blake Brandel was OK as a pass blocker in his limited action last year. He ranked 15th by PFF in pass protection and that’s despite playing his first two games against Cleveland and Philadelphia. His run blocking as to improve with the new system as he was only 30th of 33.

— Ryan Van Demark played 312 snaps for the Bills last year and finished with a 74.0 PFF grade. His run blocking was particularly impressive (74.3) but his pass protection left some to be desired (65.6). He gave up nine QB pressures in 147 pass blocking snaps, which was only good for the 55th of 95 efficiency rate among part-time or full-time tackles.

— Caleb Tiernan had the ninth best PFF pass blocking grade in college football in 2025 and the fifth best grade in 2024.

— In Michael Jurgens’ numbers as a pass protector and run blocker were passable. Out of 41 full-time and part-time centers last year, he was 27th in pass blocking and 27th in run blocking. The issue was that he committed five penalties in just 309 snaps.

Training camp storylines to watch

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By Matthew Coller

The depth chart

Justin Jefferson — Entering Year 7, Jefferson is still considered the premier wide receiver in the NFL despite a down 2025 season.

Jordan Addison — The 2023 first-round pick might be higher on many depth charts in the NFL but he’s the clear No. 2 option behind Jefferson.

Jauan Jennings — Over the last two years, Jennings has been forced into roles in San Francisco where he was higher than WR3 but this has been an ideal position for him during his career. He can “play up” if required due to injury.

Tai Felton — The Vikings drafted Felton in the third round in 2025 with hopes that he could be a WR3 type. He will begin the season as the presumptive WR4 and a key special teamer.

Myles Price — Exclusively a kick and punt and kick returner in 2025, Price has a chance to work his way into the lineup as a role-playing receiver.

Jeshaun Jones — After spending his first two seasons on the practice squad, Jones is looking to make the 53-man roster this year.

Dontae Fleming — A top contender for “wide receiver dark horse,” Fleming has long speed, which might intrigue the Vikings at the bottom of the depth chart

Dillon Bell — A UDFA from Georgia, Bell caught everyone’s eye at minicamp for his burst and reps with the first and second teamers

Luke Wysong — An undersized speedster from Arizona who was a star at New Mexico before 2025. Should be hoping to make the practice squad

Marcus Sanders Jr. — Had a big 2025 season at Georgia Southern with 50 catches. A practice squad hopeful.

Trayvon Rudolph — The 5-foot-10, 190-pounder caught 193 passes over five seasons in the MAC conference.

Terrill Davis — A D-II star at Central Oklahoma who caught 29 passes for Oklahoma State last year. Probably the longest longshot on the roster.

Michael Briscoe — A 6-foot-2 receiver who had a breakout in 2025 at Cal Poly with 43 catches averaging 18.0 yards per catch

The numbers

— Normally Justin Jefferson’s training camp performance is not something to be given much attention because he’s already proven to be the best receiver in the game but this year is different. Coming off a season in which all Vikings QBs had only a 58.3 QB rating throwing in his direction, there will be a focus on whether he begins to connect better with JJ McCarthy and/or he has instant chemistry with Kyler Murray.

— Similarly, Jordan Addison’s season in 2025 was brutal by his standards. He ranked 67th by PFF in overall grade and had the sixth worst drop rate in the NFL.

— Jauan Jennings is known as a grinder and was called a “dirtbag” in a complimentary way by Kyler Murray but his production suggests that he’s much more than a bruiser. He’s only dropped seven passes on 199 targets over the last two years and has 132 receptions and 15 touchdowns. His third down production is remarkable with 19 of his 22 receptions on third down last season turning into first downs.

— Tai Felton caught 96 passes in his final year at Maryland, but he only had three receptions for 25 yards in his rookie year. However, he played 293 special teams snaps last season and made an impact with his speed as a gunner.

— Myles Price was only used as a returner last year, averaging 25.8 yards per kick return and 9.8 yards per punt return but in college he played a lot of wide receiver. He caught 196 passes between Texas Tech and Indiana over five seasons.

— Dontae Fleming only grabbed three passes in preseason last year but he averaged 23.7 yards per reception and was close to grabbing another deep ball. He showed in practice that he may have some talent for being a deep threat.

— Dillon Bell ran the football for Georgia 51 times for 373 yards to go along with catching 120 passes.

Training camp storylines

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By Matthew Coller

Folks, it’s that time already. We are just two weeks away from the Minnesota Vikings beginning training camp. In the coming days we will be looking at every position in depth, analyzing every player on the depth chart, the most important storylines and the key numbers to know.

We begin with the Vikings’ running back room….

The depth chart

Jordan Mason — The 5-foot-11, 230-pound back was the team’s leading rusher in 2025 despite only technically getting the start five times out of 16 games. As the younger back at 27 years old, we might see a shift toward him in terms of starts and snap count but we shouldn’t declare him as the clear RB1 yet.

Aaron Jones — Jones enters his third year with the Vikings and his 10th NFL season. Last year when he was healthy he was part of a duo with Mason. The expectation is that it will continue to be a 1A/1B with the two runners depending on the opponent and game situation.

Zavier Scott — Scott was picked up in 2024 after he was released by the Colts and spent the 2024 season on the practice squad. He emerged during 2025 training camp as a potential third-down back type with strong receiving skills and the ability to pass block. When injuries hit, he ended up on the field rushing 32 times for 114 yards and catching 14 passes for 98 yards.

Demond Claiborne — The Vikings’ sixth-round draft pick from Wake Forest was an explosive run machine in college and ran a 4.37 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, catching the team’s attention as they look for more burst.

Kejon Owens — A breakout college player in 2025 at Florida International, Owens was an undrafted free agent signing by the Vikings. He is 5-foot-11, 210 pounds.

Max Bredeson — More of a tight end in college, Bredeson will be a fullback for the Vikings. He was a fifth-round draft pick in 2026 from Michigan. His job will be to replace long-time fullback CJ Ham.

The numbers to know

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By Matthew Coller

Happy Friday, everyone! Hope you’re enjoying the summer days. They always open up the door for some fun questions so let’s dive in…

32BeatWriters If Murray wins the QB job, how do you expect him to be utilized from a rushing standpoint in KOC’s offense?

I don’t think the designed run game is going to be a very big part of the Vikings offense. I see the majority of his running being from the scramble game. In 2024, Murray finished the season with 75 carries and PFF tracked 40 of those as scrambles. I’m not sure that KOC is going to want to put his QB in harm’s way by having him do a bunch of QB draws. My guess is that it will be much more of a surprise thing. Maybe something they use on third down or red zone.

Where Kyler can impact the run game more significantly is with the pistol formation. The Vikings are going to bring some schematic stuff over from Miami where they ran a ton of outside zone out of the pistol with a lot of success. I think the threat of having Kyler’s wheels will be enough to cause defenses to have to worry about whether he’s going ti pull the ball away and take off with it. If Kyler has success with doing that once or twice, every linebacker is going to be hesitant to fully commit to the running back on those looks.

@Stain_12_

In a perfect world, what NFC North quarterback would work the best in KOC’s offense?

There’s a pretty good case for Jared Goff or Jordan Love. It’s pretty clear that Goff is a top three QB in the NFL when it comes to processing information and bringing plays to life. If you can draw it up, Goff can run it as long as he has the proper pass protection. KOC could put anything on his plate and he would be able to execute it. Imagine Goff hitting those timing routes over and over to Justin Jefferson on dig routes.

But if KOC was asking me which one to take, I’d tell him to go with Jordan Love. He might not be as perfect when it comes to timing and accuracy within the system but his arm talent as a downfield passer and his ability to avoid sacks and stand in the pocket and make plays under pressure gives him a higher upside. Love is similar to Sam Darnold with his arm and willingness to take deep shots but he’s got better pocket presence.

The ups and downs would be sharper with Love. The upside would be higher.

@D79169761 What if the Saints didnt come back to score in the NFC Divisional game? No miracle? You the players from that team talk about how mentally exhausting that game was. Do we beat the Eagles? Superbowl? Does Zimmer still have his job today?

The miracle was only a percentage of what made that game exhausting. It was also one of the most violent football games you’ll ever see. Had they dominated the entire game and had an easy win, then there would have been a much greater chance of them succeeding in Philadelphia.

However, I don’t think they win the game. The injury to Nick Easton really threw the O-line into disarray and they barely survived against a good D-line in New Orleans. Philadelphia’s D-line in 2017 was as deep and talented as any team of that decade. I’m not sure how the Vikings would have run the ball or protected Case Keenum enough to put together a strong offensive performance.

I do think the defense would have had a much better chance but the Eagles’ scheme was also a major part of why they won that game in a blowout. They understood Zimmer’s defense inside and out and took advantage of the way the matchups worked.

Even if the Vikings played a better game against Philly or went to the Super Bowl, I have a tough time believing that Zimmer would still be the coach today. Regardless of that outcome, eventually the roster would have been taken down and they would have gone through a more challenging period. Coaches like him can be great when you’re fighting for relevancy but they wear out their welcome pretty quickly when challenging times arise.

@MrEd315 In your opinion, current Vikings player or coach could cut the best pro wrestling promo? Makes no difference if babyface or heel promo.

Probably Josh Metellus. He’s the best talker in front of the camera in the locker room. He has a big personality and a sense of humor if he wanted to do the heel thing. I could also see Blake Cashman being pretty good at it.

@SKOLinMichigan This popped into my head today. Who had a worse QB performance. Josh freeman vs Giants, Sean Mannion vs Packers, Max Brosmer vs Seahawks ?

Answering a question like that requires an adjustment for expectations from the guy. Forcing Sean Mannion into a must-win game at Lambeau Field in the dead of winter against the QB who won MVP that year is pretty darn difficult. Also making your UDFA development QB play the Super Bowl champs with the best defense in football on the road for his first ever start is really unfair as well.

Josh Freeman was new to the Vikings and that’s tough but he had a lot of experience as an NFL starter and more talent than the other two guys combined. The Giants were 1-6 at the time. It’s not like they were a dynamo that year. He should have been much better.

@BaseballNorm When is the drop dead date for Harrison Smith to make a decision?

I don’t think there is one. If he wanted to come back during the last week of training camp and try to play 17 games, they’d be happy with that. If they were 6-2 and needed help at safety and Brian Flores wanted him back, he could return then and it would be fine. If he’s coming back, that’s the most likely scenario in my mind. I’m totally guessing but it makes more sense to me that he would want to wait and see if the team is going to be seriously competitive and I’m not sure that he wants to put his body through 17 games again,

Jason… What players or coaches from throughout routinely get the most vitriol from the Vikings fan base that you find the most and least understandable?

Is it too obvious to say Sam Darnold?

If so…

I thought the most unfairly trashed guy by the fans was Tom Compton. He was never supposed to start that season and then gave them mostly good games. He got absolutely demolished by Aaron Donald and Akiem Hicks, which happens to everyone and was otherwise fine. People acted like he was the most atrocious football player they’d ever seen. He was 34th 56 starters by PFF that year. You would have thought he was 700th. I thought fans went too far with that one and it seemed like they were trying to take the blame off Kirk Cousins by pinning it all on the O-line.

Sean Mannion was another guy. There are like three or four backup QBs in the NFL that have any capability to win enough games to keep their team in the race and a lotta folks acted like it was an affront to the game that the Vikings didn’t have one of those guys. Mannion was great for the QB room and has such incredible knowledge of the game that he got an offensive coordinator job just a few years after retirement. I could never really understand why people thought that Randall Cunningham was available as QB2 in 2021.

It’s much easier to say guys that don’t deserve it than guys who did because there’s a lot of players who just weren’t that great and got crushed by the fans for it.

One guy that got a lot of noise that proved later that it wasn’t deserving was Klint Kubiak.

john m… Can’t believe you didn’t have Marcus Sherrels on Jim Kleinsasser on you list. Every year Sherels, an undrafted free agent was expected to be cut and he made the team. He returned kicks and punts and was a gunner on kickoffs. And the Vikings would Draft defensive backs who didn’t seem able to cover people and they stick them in part way through the game and he seemed to get the job done. Jim Kleinsasser had to babysit Bryant McKinney and help him block defensive ends. Sometimes they just let Jim block them on his own

Les Steckel hands down gets all the vitriol he deserves. Why they ever made him head coach as a head scratcher.

So this was something that we really battled with during the process. The word “underrated.” Sherels being from Minnesota and having the backstory that he had, I feel like he was unequivocally beloved by fans. I’m not going to say he was overrated by Vikings fans because he was outstanding at his job and a great teammate who was willing to take on any task. Underrated would mean that fans or media (local or national) missed something about him and didn’t appreciated him enough. I thought he was properly rated as an awesome returner and amazing story.

Same for Kleinsasser. Anyone who watched any Vikings broadcast from that era would hear the broadcasters fawning over him and fans are over the moon about how great the guy was as a blocker and a versatile piece on offense. If you asked 100 Vikings fans who were around for that time period to name their favorite non-star Viking, you might get 65% of them saying Kleinsasser.

Again, 1000% deserved. He’s an absolute joy to watch block defenders into oblivion. Properly rated as super cool and good at football.

We wanted to highlight guys who would be totally forgotten like Tom Johnson or players who were actually elite and never got their due as superstars like Linval Joseph. The lines certainly were blurred by guys like Carl Lee and Anthony Carter but Lee had one great season overshadow a really good career and Carter’s team being the best WR crop in history made his greatness go forgotten in history outside of 80s fans.

That was the thought process. Totally understand if some fans would have gone with a different criteria.

Arin J…. Matt loved the Underrated players Hassan Jones was amazing in 87. I listened to Tom Brady on The Heights and he was asked, paraphrasing, with all the QB gurus are QBs more prepared enter the NFL, he said No the NFL with the NFLPA has reduced practice and that trickled down to college and high school. Very interesting.

I took a look at Brett Favre early years as I think JJ McCarthy is very similar, a gunslinger cares and Brett had a propensity to believe in the fastball early on his 3rd year in the NFL he threw more interceptions than tds. He also had more seasons of college than JJ 1994 his 4th season with great coaching Mariucci, and Holmgren he won MVP. McCarthy has only had 10 games and needs more time on task having said that, I am excited for Murrays improvement under O Connels, O Connels got the best version of Cousins, Darnold, Dobbs, etc and I believe a combination of better skill players and coaching we will see the best of Murray. McCarthy no trade if he improves start next year unless Murray takes them to the NFC championship

I agree with Brady to some extent. I also saw Jayden Daniels, Bo Nix and Drake Maye all reach championship weekend by Year 2 and Caleb Williams come within a hair of that.

The recent data goes against Brady. Young quarterbacks are actually performing better than ever overall, which shows you how hard it used to be when they didn’t have those things like QB trainers from a young age and access to playbooks and all that stuff.

I don’t mean to rain on your thoughts there but I don’t see anything similar between Favre and McCarthy. By age 23, his first year as a starter, Favre a Pro Bowler (when that used to mean something). He was instantly incredible and was never anything less than a megastar. From the first game he ever played, he was unbelievable.

To be fair, comparing anyone to Favre is pretty much a no go. He’s one of the most unique QBs in NFL history and has a great argument for the strongest arm of all time and was brilliant, insanely tough, a great teammate and his will and desire to win was unmatched. This isn’t something that can be replicated in any way.

(I know what you’re getting at with the touch on the ball but I think Favre’s fastballs are just a different story).

The name you should be looking for is Ryan Tannehill. He was inexperienced in college, asked to play right away and was pretty terrible and then worked his way into being a reasonably good starter by his third season. He was a really good athlete and had a strong arm but struggled with decision making and consistent accuracy. Once he got into the right situation and developed a lot more, he turned into a quarterback who could win games. I could see that being the case with McCarthy.

The hard thing about McCarthy’s development is that his raw talent is just OK. He’s a good athlete and throws the ball hard but the tools aren’t off the charts. That means the technical elements have to be there. That’s going to take time and the Vikings don’t have a ton of time.

Steve T… If Kyler Murray has a big year, do the Vikings do whatever it takes to lock him in long term considering the Sam Darnold situation?

Read more

By Matthew Coller

Warning! If you grew up a Minnesota Vikings fan during the Fran Tarkenton era, this factoid is going to hit you pretty hard: The 2026 season will mark 50 years since the Vikings have reached the Super Bowl.

So we are counting down the most underrated players of the last 50 years of Vikings football.

Let’s continue our countdown….

5 -- Carl Lee

Carl Lee is not underrated by his own team. He was on the 50 Greatest Vikings list and 40th anniversary team. He played 11 seasons in purple and during that time it was not lost on Vikings fans that he was a steady presence at cornerback.

Where he doesn’t get the credit is that the era had some superstar cornerbacks that got a ton of shine i.e. Ronnie Lott, Rod Woodson, Darrell Green, Deion Sanders and a player like Lee went under the radar. The 80s defenses also had Joey Browner in the secondary and Chris Doleman on the defensive line, so it was easy to get overshadowed.

When we talk about things lost to history, Lee’s 1988 season is one of the best ever by a cornerback. Pro-Football Reference’s “Approximate Value” statistic ranks Lee’s ‘88 as tied for the 40th best performance by any player at any position. The players who scored a similar mark as Lee’s 1988 include Jim Brown, Peyton Manning, Alan Page, Warren Sapp, Bruce Smith, Brian Urlacher and Tom Brady. In terms of cornerbacks, Darrelle Revis’s 2009 season, Patrick Peterson’s 2011, Stephon Gilmore’s 2019 and Deion Sanders’ 1996 are the only corners who have had a better single season.

In ‘88, Lee picked off eight passes, returned two of them for touchdowns and the defense overall was No. 1 in opposing passer rating allowed (41.2) and QBs completed just 45.6% of passes. He earned All-Pro but only finished eighth in DPOY voting.

Lee never repeated that season, as most cornerbacks do not when it comes to crazy high numbers of interceptions, but his longevity deserves to be celebrated. During Lee’s 11-year tenure in Minnesota, he only missed three games.

Lee ended up with 169 games played for the Vikings, 22nd most in team history and he picked off 29 passes, which is seventh on a team that had many great defensive backs.

The long-time defensive back also had an underdog story. He was a seventh-round draft pick in 1983 and barely saw the field in his first season. He was forced to earn his spot every step of the way and it took six years before he made his first Pro Bowl.

Lee had to fight his way to the top, posted one of the best seasons ever and wasn’t considered a top player for much longer after that because he didn’t get the interception numbers. I suspect if we had better data back then, we would have realized his impact year after year.

4 -- Doug Martin

— By Matthew Coller

Doug Martin’s 1982 season should be talked about more under the all-time great pass-rushing seasons. It was the first season that the league officially tracked sacks and Martin led the NFL with 11.5. Keep in mind, that season was shortened to only nine games so he was the first ever NFL sack champion.

The following year, Martin didn’t lead the NFL but he picked up where he left off with 13.0 sacks.

He never quite reached that peak again but he did manage 9.0 sacks in 12 games in 1987 (the replacement player season) and he was a key part of the defense that helped them to the NFC Championship and then a top ranking in the NFL in 1988.

Martin played the entire decade of the 80s for the purple and never played for another team. After Pro-Football Reference did its research on sacks prior to 1982, they credited Martin with 11.0 more between 1980 and 1981. With those extra sacks, he is ninth all-time in sacks, just ahead of Brian Robison and Kevin Williams and behind Everson Griffen.

When Martin passed away, I went looking for more information on him. For such a key player on the Vikings defense in the 80s, it was hard to find much. Martin was a humble player, credited for doing the dirty work that went beyond just getting to the quarterback.

“He was a huge part of any success we had, and you could count on him,” Scott Studwell told Vikings.com. “He was a great player and a better man. We will miss him.”

Players like Martin, who were on the field for all of the greatest moments of a decade yet Google searches don’t even turn up many stories, are pretty much the reason why we wanted to make this list.

3 -- Linval Joseph

— By Matthew Coller

From 2015 to 2017, Linval Joseph was the best nose tackle in football. His performance peaked in 2017 when the Vikings ranked No. 1 against the run and pass and gave up the fewest points in the NFL.

Joseph was the starting point for that success, grading as the sixth best overall defensive tackle by PFF and the fifth best against the run while racking up 30 QB pressures and 35 run stops, which was sixth most total.

At a position that is known for coming off the field when it’s time to rush the passer, Joseph played 644 snaps in 2017 and ranked as the 11th best pass rushing nose tackle in football.

At 6-foot-4, 330 pounds, Joseph was probably in the top five strongest players in the NFL. At the Combine, he benched 39 reps (96th percentile) and he was definitely stronger by the time he reached the Vikings. I have no earthy idea how anyone in the NFL could block someone that large with the quickness that he developed.

There were two things about Joseph’s play that became almost comical over those seasons. One was that teams kept running up the middle on third or fourth-and-short. Week after week, opponents would hand off and get stuffed into oblivion by the big man in the middle. Not that there were many easy answers against those defenses but the worst possible answer was to run at the most dominant player on the field vs. the run.

The other thing that happened pretty often was Joseph would track down screens and short passes. Imagine being a slot wide receiver and catching a low crossing pattern and Joseph is there to take the soul out of your body. Or imagine getting tracked down as a running back on a screen while you’re trying to dodge traffic and a 330-pound man lands on you.

Of course, we haven’t even mentioned Joseph’s most memorable moment: His interception for a touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles in 2018. Not that anyone questioned his quickness but he was flying. The pick-six turned into an iconic image of Joseph getting oxygen on the sideline, looking like nose tackle Darth Vader. After the game, he wore a hot pink suit.

Joseph didn’t just go underrated because of his position, he was overshadowed by a ton of superstar talent on that defense. Mike Zimmer was clearly the face of the D and all-stars like Xavier Rhodes, Everson Griffen, Danielle Hunter, Anthony Barr and Harrison Smith got the majority of the love.

What I enjoyed about covering Joseph is that he was a kind soul. He had been bullied as a kid and made efforts off the field to quell bullying. When he talked to media, he was soft-spoken and friendly. The locker room didn’t just like him, they seemed to care about him. They wanted everyone to understand how important he was and they wanted him to get it too. That was cool.

Funny though, the guy who brought so much violence to the field was the person you would most want to water your plants while you are on vacation.

When the Vikings drafted Caleb Banks and Domonique Orange, it was a reminder that Joseph was basically both of those guys’ talents combined. We don’t appreciate enough how difficult that position is and the incalculable value that it brings to have the best of the best.

2 -- Chris Liweienski

— By Matthew Coller

I’m sure that some of you are having a “huh?” reaction to Chris Liweinski being tabbed as one of the most underrated players of the last 50 years but hear me out: This one is for all of the offensive linemen of yesteryear who didn’t have QB pressure numbers or PFF grades to make their case for greatness. None of them were celebrity podcasters and there weren’t All-22 analysts to point out when they had thrived.

So this one is for Jeff Christy, Kirk Lowdermilk, Jim Hough, Wes Hamilton and the other grinders who never got any limelight.

The reason why I picked Liweinski to represent the underappreciated Vikings linemen of the last 50 years was because he had a very difficult situation to start his career. He was a seventh-round pick of the Lions who got released out of his first training camp. The Vikings signed him and put him on the practice squad in ‘98 and ‘99 and then he was a backup in 2000.

Liweinski went into the 2001 season expecting to play guard but when Korey Stringer died he was the unfortunate soul tasked with trying to replace the great Stringer. That was a very rough season on everyone but Liweinski carried on as the starter in 2002, when the Vikings offense ranked 8th best in the NFL behind Daunte Culpepper throwing to Randy Moss for 1,347 yards and Michael Bennett rushing for 1,296 yards at 5.1 YPC.

For his efforts, Liweinski was named to USA Today’s “All-Joe” team, that was meant to highlight unheralded players.

In 2003, Liweinski moved over to left guard, a more natural position for him. While the season ended in stunning fashion and the Vikings missed the playoffs, the offense as a whole led the NFL in yards and Moss led the NFL with 17 touchdowns.

The 2004 season featured one of the most prolific passing years in NFL history with Culpepper going for 4,717 yards and 39 touchdowns with a 110.9 QB rating. As a team they averaged 4.7 yards per rush (2nd) despite not having a clear No. 1 running back.

Liweinski was a member of the offensive line through 2005 and then the Vikings got Steve Hutchinson and he went to Arizona with Denny Green. The only statistics we have for linemen from that era is Pro-Football Reference’s “Approximate Value,” which ranks the tackle/guard 86th in team history, right around Stefon Diggs and Xavier Rhodes.

The current Minnetonka resident was never a Pro Bowler. Won’t ever be mentioned on a list of the best Vikings offensive linemen in team history but he battled his way into the lineup, played multiple positions and was there during a stretch of great offenses. That’s what being underrated is about.

1 -- Jake Reed

Here’s an unforgettable setting for you:

Lambeau Field, Oct. 5, 1998, 8:20 p.m.

Who in this audience doesn’t have recurring dreams about that utterly glorious Vikings evening?

I revisited it recently — but not for the obvious reason. Meaning, not to re-watch Randy Moss’ astounding star launch.

No, I wanted a reminder of a different pass-catcher’s usage in that deliciously historic offense. I wanted to see how good Jake Reed still was as he accepted a backseat role after serving — largely under the radar — for four years as arguably the NFL’s best No. 2 wide receiver.

And, yowza, here’s what you see a quarter into a 3-3 tie:

The 6-foot-3 Reed trots to the bottom of the screen, streaks downfield, snags a back-shoulder pass from Randall Cunningham at the Packers’ 25, shirks a Craig Newsome tackle attempt and saunters into the end zone for a 56-yard touchdown on ABC’s Monday Night Football.

As Reed celebrates, arms outstretched, Al Michaels calls him “the forgotten man.” Boomer Esiason wonders aloud how Reed had been feeling up to that juncture.

“A lot of his passes have gone to No. 84, Randy Moss, and [Reed is] a Pro Bowl receiver himself,” Esiason said.

Boomer was right on the first part, wrong on the second. Reed had never been selected to a Pro Bowl (and never would). But the error was understandable because Reed had been such a convincing talent.

Big, strong, complete and quietly productive.

We probably don’t think about Jake Reed enough. And we certainly don’t think about him when we reminisce on that game. Yet, there he was, lighting the fuse for an offensive explosion — and then just stepping back.

After a frustrating journey to gain a role, Reed was, in most circles, just the lesser known sidekick to record-breaking Cris Carter. Then, after Moss landed in Minnesota’s lap, he selflessly accepted even more of a complementary job as the offense set the league ablaze.

It’s easy to forget that, at various points, without much individual fanfare, Reed was the other guy in perhaps the finest WR tandem and trio in NFL history.

For these reasons and several others we’ll exhibit, Reed wears the crown as our list’s most underrated Viking.

In many ways, Reed was an anomaly. He’s the rare NFL wideout who only played the position for one year in college, then endured, as he said in 1994, “one injury after another” that disrupted his development before he earned enough trust from a coach (Dennis Green) who didn’t draft him to replace a departed legend (Anthony Carter) despite logging just 11 catches in 27 games over his first three seasons.

At Grambling State, Reed spent three years as a running back/wingback. A switch to WR as a senior resulted in a 1,500-yard season and — per Vikings scouting reports in 1991 — comparisons to both Eric Dickerson and Art Monk.

But after Minnesota took him in the third round (with a pick it got back from Dallas in the Herschel Walker trade) and a spate of health issues, the idea of Reed completing the vision of a prototypical pro receiver was difficult to see.

Partly because of his right eye.

In 1993, Reed was diagnosed with binocular vision disorder. He had trouble coordinating the focus of his eyes. His peripheral vision was weak. He did vision agility drills for an hour a day, five days a week in the offseason. He wore an eye patch. He endured some laughs.

He caught 200 passes a day. He beat the problem. He benefitted from Green’s patience and belief. He slayed the internal and external doubts and became a starter in ’94, fending off a training camp pelvic injury.

Then, with little warning, he came into his own. By Week 4, he was snatching 100 yards worth of spirals from Warren Moon. The QB praised Reed’s speed (4.4 seconds in the 40), body control and rise to reliability. For instance, Reed would’ve been rated a contested-catch beast if the modern analytic had existed then.

Soon, Cris Carter and Reed were being referred to as Moon’s “go-to duo.” By the end of that season, they had become the NFL’s all-time leading receiving tandem in total catches. Reed notched the first of his four straight 1,000-yard campaigns and Carter — partly thanks to the additional threat of his cohort — broke the single-season record with 122 catches.

From 1994 through 1997, Reed had the NFL’s fifth most receiving yards (4,800, just behind CC’s 4,859). Yet he’s the only one of the group who was his team’s obvious No. 2 WR.

In 1996, he was third in the league in yards per reception (18.3) — but he had at least 20 more catches than the two players ahead of him, finishing with 72.

In 1997, he caught the biggest TD of his career on a late 30-yard toss from Cunningham to aid Minnesota’s improbable Wild Card playoff comeback win over the Giants in the Meadowlands.

Then, in 1998 — after Carter and Reed had each put up 1,000 yards for the fourth time to complete a never-before-accomplished feat by a pair of WR teammates — along came the supremely gifted Moss.

Carter and Reed accepted mentoring duties for the rookie. And while Reed, then 31, remained a starter, it was his target share that decreased, an inevitable outcome on a loaded unit.

But Reed never complained. Instead, he spoke of Moss as a family member and compared him to Michael Jordan.

Recently, the “3 Deep” brothers filmed a fishing trip together for a Moss series called “Chasing 10.” Reed recounted watching film of Moss at Marshall ahead of the draft and CC saying they might get him.

“I said, ‘We’re about to get him?!’” Reed recalled. “I said, ‘OK. We about to be trouble.’”

Just think back to that beautiful blowout in Green Bay — when Reed set it off with a terrific play, only to become an afterthought as Moss Mania took hold that very night.

Alas, Reed injured his back in November ‘98, necessitating surgery. He watched the next week as Moss carved up Dallas on Thanksgiving.

Reed never returned to the thousand-yard ranks. But his part in “3 Deep” burnished his legacy. He’s sixth all-time in Vikings receiving yards, and he was crucial in three of the franchise’s top seven passing seasons.

Compared to his brethren, Reed’s list of accolades is minimal. Not a single Pro Bowl, Boomer. Zero bold, league-leading numbers.

But he fought hard to build an esteemed receiving career during a timeframe when passing took off.

No vision problem could cloud the picture of his worth. Over his time with the Vikings, Jake Reed was a dangerous No. 3 and a peerless No. 2.

And now, here at Purple Insider, he’s finally a clear-cut No. 1.

— Josh Smith

Honorable mention

Jesse Solomon

By Matthew Coller and Josh Smith

Warning! If you grew up a Minnesota Vikings fan during the Fran Tarkenton era, this factoid is going to hit you pretty hard: The 2026 season will mark 50 years since the Vikings have reached the Super Bowl.

So we are counting down the most underrated players of the last 50 years of Vikings football.

Let’s continue our countdown….

10 -- Tim Irwin

— By Matthew Coller

I debated with myself for way longer than is rational about whether Tim Irwin is underrated. In one sense, the Vikings organization fully understood his contributions. He was named to the 40th anniversary team and put on the 50 Greatest Vikings list. It’s difficult to say that someone is underrated when they are beloved by the club that employed them to that degree.

But there are a few things about Irwin that I decided make him less appreciated than he should be. The first is that he never made a Pro Bowl. Unfortunately we don’t have metrics like we do now to describe how many QB hits, pressures and sacks that an offensive lineman gave up or exactly what his impact was on the run game but Irwin was playing a key position as a starting tackle from 1983 to 1993 for the Vikings during an era where they had a lot of great offenses.

In 1986, the Vikings ranked 4th in scoring. They went to the NFC Championship game in ‘87 and then had a top-five offense again in ‘88, top-10 in 1990 and top-five again in ‘92. In Pro-Football Reference’s “Approximate Value” stat, he’s 20th in Vikings history.

Irwin’s durability was unfathomable. In those 11 seasons from ‘83 to ‘93, he missed zero games outside of the strike in ‘87. How is that even possible for an offensive lineman? Zero? Can you imagine how many times that guy must have been banged up and found a way to fight through it?

Right tackles also never got their due in Irwin’s day. It was all about left tackles until the 2010s when we started to study stuff closely and realized that the difference between LT and RT is nowhere near what we think it is.

I was also thinking about how many moments that Irwin was there for. Every play, every game, Mr. Reliable was there through the Les Steckel nightmare of 1984 and Bud Grant’s return in ‘85 when they beat the 49ers. He was there in ‘87 when they shocked the 49ers and came within one drive of the Super Bowl. He was steady at RT when they got Hershel Walker in the worst move ever and when they got Cris Carter in the best move ever.

We don’t give enough credit in sports to reliability. Irwin was the definition of that and even if the franchise has recognized him, he didn’t get enough attention for his contribution during his era and his greatest talent goes overlooked in sports in general.

9 -- Wade Wilson

— By Matthew Coller

As an eighth-round draft pick, Wade Wilson had to wait his turn. Wait and wait and wait and wait. He was taken in 1981 and only started 10 games by the end of 1986. In those contests, his performance was pretty mediocre. He was only 5-5 with more interceptions than touchdowns and a 63.6 QB rating. In today’s game, there is no world where this guy would ever turn out to be a good starting QB. He’d be in the UFL by that point.

I always thought that something must have happened to Wilson during his time on the sidelines. Imagine how anxious you must get standing there with a clipboard hoping. My theory is that he waited so long to play that when he finally got his chance in 1987, he was going to let loose. No regrets, aye Wade?

Wade’s ‘87 is a crazy journey. He started the season and played well in the first two weeks, getting wins over the Lions and Rams and then the NFL went on strike. When the players returned, Wilson struggled and then the QB situation turned into a back-and-forth with him and Tommy Kramer. There was a game against the Raiders where Kramer started and Wilson came in during the second half and threw two passes for 69 yards and two touchdowns. Basically every week they were both getting playing time — and they were winning.

At the end of ‘87, Wilson had a terrible game against Washington with 3 INTs in an overtime loss and it looked like it was over. Then he fought back with two legendary performances in the playoffs vs. New Orleans and San Francisco and gave them a shot at the Super Bowl in a 17-10 loss to Washington. Wilson ended up leading the league in yards per pass attempt (8.0) and he averaged 15.0 yards per completion in ‘87. Just throwing bombs.

The following season he made the Pro Bowl and operated an elite offense with the highest completion percentage in the NFL.

After that, his performance drifted and his time ended with the hiring of Dennis Green but Wilson eventually won a Super Bowl with the 1995 Cowboys as their backup quarterback.

He also went on to coach for a long time with Chicago and Dallas.

Quarterbacks like Wilson will never be fully appreciated but his resilience and willingness to air it out makes him a Vikings legend at QB.

8 -- Ben Leber

— By Matthew Coller

If I time traveled 20 years back and analyzed the performance of Ben Leber, he would have been one of the first “analytics darling” type players. After four seasons with San Diego in the pre-PFF era, Leber signed with the Vikings as a free agent. In the first year of PFF’s grading system, he ranked as the 14th best linebacker in the NFL with at least 500 snaps. He played a lot of outside linebacker that year and picked up 14 QB pressures and ranked fourth in run defense grade behind the Williams wall. He finished with 48 tackles on one of the best run defenses of all time.

His role changed to exclusively playing inside LB after that but Leber continued to create pressures, racking up 27 in 2007 along with 5.0 sacks. Where he developed in those first few years was in coverage, where he ended up ranking No. 2 in the NFL in 2009. He gave up just 8.0 yards per reception into his coverage and led the league in PBUs.

In the Vikings’ playoff win over the Cowboys in ‘09, he had an interception and he totaled 18 tackles in two games. Yes, it was a bogus flag against him in overtime vs. New Orleans.

In total for his Vikings career, opponents only had an 89.1 quarterback rating when throwing into his coverage.

Leber wasn’t just one of the earliest players that advanced data highlighted, he was incredibly durable, playing 15 games in 2006 and all 16 games every other season in purple. He brought quickness to the second level, which played off the beef up front excellently and there was some violence to his game.

Leber never made a Pro Bowl and he won’t get discussed as often with those great defenses of the mid-to-late 2000s because of the Williams Wall and Antoine Winfield Sr. but anybody who watched during that time could match the eye test with the data and agree that he was underrated.

7 -- Rickey Young

— By Matthew Coller

Had Rickey Young played in a different era of Minnesota Vikings football, maybe his career in purple would have been amplified more. Between 1978 and 1983, the Vikings finished with eight, seven, nine, seven, 5-4 strike-shortened season and eight wins. It was a run of mediocrity that would make Jeff Fisher blush. Good players during that time got overlooked because the overall product was so bleh. Young was one of those guys.

It’s funny, in the NFL’s early days, Chuck Foreman was one of the only backs who became a legitimate weapon in the receiving game and then in the 1990s there were a ton of guys in the backfield like Thurman Thomas, Amp Lee, Larry Centers etc. who caught a ton of passes but Young was ahead of his time in the late-70s and early 80s as a pass-catching back.

In 1978, Young led the NFL in receptions with 88 on 112 targets. He never quite reached that peak again over the couple following years but from ‘78 to ‘81, his 267 receptions were No. 1 in the NFL and only two other running backs had over 200. For example, Cleveland’s Mike Pruitt was known as a pass-catching back and he only had 187 receptions in the same span.

How impactful were all these receptions? Luckily we do have some stats that tell us that. His Success Rate of 52.5% between ‘78 and ‘81 on receptions is the sixth best of any running back that had at least 100 receptions during that span. He was 15th in all-purpose yards during those four peak seasons.

When he retired, Young ranked No. 1 in NFL history for receptions by a running back and he added 3,666 yards rushing. Another crazy stat: He never missed a game, playing in all 131 possible games during his career.

Young was a bit overshadowed by first-round pick Ted Brown, who had eight touchdowns in 1980 and then over 1,000 yards in 1981, but together they ended up making up a quality duo.

6 -- Anthony Carter

— by Josh Smith

We understand what you might be thinking, perhaps as long-ago visions float through your head of this man scorching defenses:

How is Anthony Carter on a list of most underrated Vikings?

And that’s fair to wonder, considering a few impactful facts from this dandy’s career in purple. Specifically, those three Pro Bowls, that two-game playoff stretch for the ages in 1987 and, if you’re like me, that one poster of him — outstretched horizontally for a catch — on your bedroom wall in 1990.

But this might be where we should really begin to parse the term “underrated.” Because, in the unmatched annals of Vikings wide receivers, we dare say that AC is almost precisely what this discussion is about.

Ask dyed-in-the-wool Vikings fans for an ordered list of the franchise’s best wideouts and AC might land as far back as sixth or seventh. But recall the timeframe when he was the face of the Vikings offense and imagine how blah it might’ve been without him.

Then, think about the masterstroke of acquiring him. In 1985, Minnesota sent linebacker Robin Sendlein and a 1986 second-round pick to Miami for the rights to Carter, who had burned USFL defenses for 3,000 yards and 27 TDs over three seasons.

Finally, imagine how in the world the Dolphins could’ve seen that and decided: Nah, we need two LBs (the draft pick became one named Kevin Murphy) instead of giving Dan Marino one of the era’s filthiest deep threats.

Alas, Carter spent nine years in Minnesota, where he didn’t have Marino but he had a run of electric playmaking despite a five-headed monster of QB mediocrity.

In 40 games from 1985-87, Carter averaged an NFL-best 20.4 yards on 119 catches. The tour de force, of course, came when he compiled a then-NFL playoff record 227 yards on 10 grabs in an ’87 divisional shocker over the 49ers.

It put him on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Next to the words “MAIN MAN,” the uniquely built AC is mid-gallop — a majority of his 168 pounds seemingly in the thighs and rear that powered an explosive 5-foot-11 frame. (He ran a 4.35 40 at Michigan, where he convinced Bo Schembechler to throw the ball.)

When scrawny boys like me saw him — and saw his jersey in the JC Penney Catalog — he made us believe we, too, could play in the NFL. That is, if we developed Olympic-caliber speed and elite ball-tracking skills that led to absurd deep completions or punt-return dynamism that could result in another single-game playoff record (also in 1987 vs. New Orleans).

AC produced 1,000-yard seasons from 1988-1990 before the Velcro-handed Cris Carter (no relation), acquired in ’90, got his act together and became the primary target.

Still, in team history, AC is fourth in receiving yards and TD grabs, sixth in catches and first in yards per reception (16.0) for anyone with more than 400 receptions. In Pro Football Reference’s Approximate Value, he’s ninth all-time among Vikings, two ahead of Justin Jefferson.

Yet in his day he garnered less respect than more complete peers like Rice, Monk, Ellard and Sterling Sharpe.

And in Vikings lore, even with the profile of a top-tier playmaker, Anthony Carter remains overshadowed by his rich receiving brethren.

By Matthew Coller and Josh Smith

Warning! If you grew up a Minnesota Vikings fan during the Fran Tarkenton era, this factoid is going to hit you pretty hard: The 2026 season will mark 50 years since the Vikings have reached the Super Bowl.

So we are counting down the most underrated players of the last 50 years of Vikings football.

Let’s continue our countdown….

15 -- Amp Lee

— By Josh Smith

Lee is the only non-starting role player on this list. But he’s on it because he filled his role with aplomb from 1994-96 for Dennis Green.

Over a three-year span, only two Vikings running backs in history had more receptions than Lee (170), and they were Rickey Young (224) — more on him later — and Ring of Honor legend Chuck Foreman (181).

Lee did it almost exclusively as a third-down back, moving the chains on 44% of his grabs.

Given the franchise’s rich history of star RBs, it’s easy to forget Lee, a free-agent pickup from San Francisco. But reminding people is what this exercise is all about.

So, when you are assigned to write about Amp Lee — and you are a demented Vikings geek like me — here’s what you end up doing on your wedding anniversary while your wife is sun-bathing out back: You fire up YouTube for a Bucs-Vikings matchup from Lee’s best season, 1995.

It was a memorable game. Not necessarily because of Lee. Rather, because it was the Trent-Dilfer-Gets-Ejected-For-Fighting-John-Randle game. But that came after Lee stole the show in the first half, when Minnesota’s 31-17 win was decided.

With the 6-6 Vikings embroiled in the Wild Card chase, Lee started that day after injuries to Robert Smith and — Vikings Geek Bonus Points if you remember this dude — James Stewart.

And here’s the display you see from our substitute RB in question:

In the first quarter, Lee upended a blitzing Derrick Brooks so Warren Moon could hit Jake Reed on a 17-yard dig. Two plays later, Lee took a handoff 66 yards to the house for a 7-0 lead. Soon, he split out wide and caught a stop route. Then, he motioned out of the backfield and was targeted on a pass that got picked. Next, on a fake-reverse to David Palmer (gosh, Brian Billick was a lucky man), Lee took a screen pass the other way for what would’ve been another TD if not for a downfield hold.

The performance encapsulated Lee’s skills.

Though he was essentially a specialist, Lee had a shifty style and crafty ability to break arm tackles, like a poor man’s Marshall Faulk — who, coincidentally, Lee later backed up in St. Louis, winning a ring in 1999.

Green likely was smitten by him in 1992, in one of those scenarios where a coach falls for a player who is destroying his team in a loss. Filling in for Ricky Watters, Lee went off against Minnesota for 134 yards rushing and a TD catch.

Two years later, he was tormenting defenses for the Vikings on crucial downs.

But the sun always fades. For instance, my wife came inside and I had to turn off the old game to, like, spend time with her. Meanwhile, Lee’s years in purple were pockmarked by a pair of playoff fumbles, including one of those dreaded punch-outs through the end zone as he was about to score against Dallas.

Still, this franchise’s playoff failures are never owned by one man, and Lee’s overall fit in Green’s West Coast-based system was a ham-and-cheese relationship in an era when invaluable third-down backs feasted.

14 -- Brian O’Neill

— By Josh Smith

To open this appreciation for such a steadying influence on Minnesota’s offensive line, let’s think back to a screen grab from the 2015 season opener, three years before Brian O’Neill was drafted.

The image is of Vikings right tackle TJ Clemmings hugging quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. Accidentally. In the middle of a play. Which resulted in a sadly hilarious sack. On Monday Night Football.

It was an unforgettable moment in the worst type of way.

However, since O’Neill trotted into Minnesota’s huddle, it’s become easier to forget how an overmatched tackle can stymie an offense.

And while we don’t want to say O’Neill has been taken for granted … well, he’s probably been taken for granted.

That’s why he is the only current player on this list.

O’Neill doesn’t have the name recognition of the pillars of his NFL position group, but he’s been an ever-present role-model of a Viking at a high-value spot for going on nine seasons.

It’s been one of the most meaningful developments in the team’s recent history, particularly given the perception of him when he was drafted by Minnesota in the second round. Initially, he appeared too slender at 6-foot-7 to become a stud tackle. During his collegiate career at Pittsburgh, for instance, he had spent time at tight end.

(Aside: Dear KOC, we’re all still waiting for O’Neill’s first tackle-eligible target. Make it happen.)

It was valid to question whether O’Neill could transform his body to match the rigors of the NFL game. But he quickly began answering those questions.

His first action, off the bench, came amid a stress storm. A team with enormous expectations, those 2018 Vikings were floundering at 1-2-1 and locked in a 3-3 tie on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions — who had destroyed their dreams nine months prior.

In came O’Neill for Rashod Hill to face Eagles standouts Brandon Graham and Chris Long. On one memorable snap, with the Vikings backed up, O’Neill staved off Graham long enough — in their own end zone — for Kirk Cousins to find Adam Thielen on a 68-yard catch-and-run.

By the end of Minnesota’s 23-21 upset, the Vikings had found their franchise right tackle. The 6-foot-7 O’Neill’s Relative Athletic Score in 2018 was 9.6, grading elite in agility and speed. And, on the field, his athleticism shined.

His arrival ended a rough three-year stretch — after Phil Loadholt’s retirement — that saw the team cycle through Mike Remmers, Jeremiah Sirles, Andre Smith, Clemmings and Hill at right tackle.

O’Neill has missed just nine games since becoming a starter. He is a two-time Pro Bowl pick. He has been a top-20 tackle by PFF every year since 2022, allowing just four sacks over the past two seasons.

He has also carried his side of the line next to a litany of poor-to-average right guards whose names could cause dry heaves among Vikings faithful, doing so for five different coordinators.

Simply, when O’Neill is on the field, there’s seldom a reason to be concerned about left edges blowing up gameplans. That’s the ultimate compliment — and one that could translate soon into another contract extension.

When considering this four-time team captain’s year-in, year-out play, the only Vikings O-linemen who historically trump his current run are either organizational stalwarts or Pro Football Hall of Famers.

In other words, if we ever see Brian O’Neill hugging his QB, rest assured it’s no accident.

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