By Matthew Coller
Friday Mailbag time, folks! Camp is over and real games are around the corner. Let’s dive into your thoughts….
JB… You did a lot of research on Kyler Murray during the offseason. Was there anything you learned or saw during training camp that surprised you?
If there’s anything that surprised me it’s how rare it was that Murray scrambled. He hung in the pocket and tried to make the throw that he was supposed to make on every play. There were definitely plays where I didn’t see anyone open and thought he would take off but I can only remember a couple plays all summer that he pulled it down and took off.
I was talking to a former coach of his for an upcoming story and he said to me, “Kyler wants to play from the pocket” and that’s really showed. When you think about it from a mathematical perspective, Murray scrambled 40 times in 2024 out of 614 total drop backs. That’s 6.5% of the time.
I’m not sure how the deep passing is going to go when the games start but I’ve also felt that the idea he can’t throw deep is totally bogus. They’ve had a ton of deep completions. Then again, I’ve felt like success on passes over 20 yards are driven by scheme and receivers.
Kip N…Matt. When will the Vikings learn patience. ? Trading JJ does nothing for them. He doesn’t cost anything. Sure draft a QB in the draft in 27, but that only resets the rookie contract clock. Talk me off the ledge that JJ will be fine or something will change
I’ve always found it fascinating that people always think that if you just give every quarterback more time that eventually it will all work out. History really doesn’t tell that story. Guys like Geno Smith and Baker Mayfield are outliers. There are many, many more Blaine Gabberts and EJ Manuels and Paxton Lynchs. I remember when KOC arrived that people accused Mike Zimmer of being too mean to Kellen Mond and blaming that for his lack of development. Alas.
My stance on the trade issue has been that there’s no reason to move him as long as things are OK behind the scenes. If he’s working hard, willing to do whatever he can to help Kyler succeed, giving the scout team good looks and participating in meetings, then that’s fine. But if he’s not doing those things, it’s time to move on.
You have to remember that next year is the last year of McCarthy’s rookie contract, so it’s not like you have him forever. If there’s belief from the coaches and front office that the upside is not going to be reached to the point where he can be in the discussion for starting QB in 2027, then there’s a good case for trading him.
Bradley P…Is there a more frustrating player you’ve watched over your career than JJ McCarthy?
Also, there’s no chance the Vikings can even try to hitch their wagon to him as a future backup for how often he’s injured, right?
Frustrating is the right word. If we go back to 2024 and how the team felt about his initial training camp, I would never have believed that we’d be in a spot where we’re talking about him as possibly QB3 at this point. While I was supportive of the idea of Sam Darnold returning, I understood why they were so high on him after he had checked so many boxes early on.
That’s probably been the hardest part for everyone involved. The team saw the arm and how he was picking things up and thought they had their guy (as was said by KOC after he got hurt) and the media saw the progress and took cues from the team. When they moved on from Darnold, I figured that they must have seen so many good signs that they were super confident in such a bold decision. Letting Darnold go after winning 14 games set a super high expectation.
I understand why there’s so much confusion over that expectation not being met. Is it the coaches? Something else that happened behind the scenes? The blocking? The receivers? Big foot? Chem trails? It can’t be the case that he just isn’t ready or he just doesn’t have it, right?
Unfortunately that seems to be the case. Personally, I think it’s the former. A few weeks with a QB coach and a dozen padded practices aren’t a magic wand. There’s so much more work that needs to be done to fix the timing and accuracy issues.
The thing I really didn’t expect was questions about coachability and how erratic he’s been. That’s why I always say that you can never prepare someone for the NFL. It’s so, so, so hard. The great ones make it look easy. You can see from his struggles that it is not at all.
I do think it’s tough to have him as a QB2 because KOC has to be able to believe that he can send him out there and have him run the offense the way it’s called. And, yes, he has to be able to believe that he won’t get demolished by pass rushers and injured and all that. Wentz isn’t perfect but he completed 65% of his passes last year and gave them a chance in four of the five games he played.
IceColdNorth… Which players might be trade candidates as the Vikings approach the roster cut down date?
I was trying to think the other day of a potential surprise cut player and I couldn’t really come up with one. I’m having the same problem with this question. With a new GM, there’s definitely always a possibility of a trade but who would they be moving?
The team has actually become pretty young on a lot of parts of the roster. They aren’t trading a receiver or running back or offensive lineman or D-lineman. The linebackers are older but both looked great this summer. The corners have been good. Nobody in the safety room.
I’ve got nothing. Maybe I’ll end up being very surprised. Last year it was a shock when Harrison Phillips was traded but we sorta understood because the D-line looked really good (whoops!) and it seemed like he wasn’t going to play. I can’t come up with a guy who fits that same type of bill this year.
Eric…Your turn on the ol crystal football. How many current Seahawks end up on our roster and/or practice squad after cuts?
I’ll set the over/under at 1.5. I could certainly see Teasley picking up some old friends who get cut by the Seahawks. I’ll go deep in the weeds and take a swing at a guy. The Seahawks have a deep edge rusher room and they have a guy named Connor O’Toole who is on the roster bubble. He’s a UDFA from last year who has been awesome in preseason in 2025 and this year. He has 83 pass rushes and 15 QB pressures total.
I suppose the Vikings do have one or two spots where they could cut someone and have little chance of losing them to waivers, so if they need to make a move and carve out a spot on the 53 for someone they like who is getting cut, they can.
Dermo Man… Hi Matthew, thanks for all the content. I was hoping JJ would take the step forward this season but am now open to a trade, for say an Interior O Line man or an Edge. Are you aware of any teams that might have a backup QB need and would be able to trade either above positions back. Or what move would you make if you were GM ?
I would be surprising if any team wanted to give up players for McCarthy. Normally we see these types of trades (See: Trey Lance, Zach Wilson) include Day 3 draft picks. If you have good edge or interior O-line depth, you normally don’t trade it away. Maybe there’s a veteran rusher who is going to be a camp casualty somewhere they could try, but I’m not sure that I have names.
We can look at teams that might need backup QBs. I could see the Jets, Jacksonville, Tampa Bay, Los Angeles, Buffalo, Cleveland, Arizona and maybe and handful of other teams thinking that he would be an upgrade from what they have as QB2s.
I’ve been on the side of keeping him all summer but after the latest fiasco with the missed throws and injury, I started to move over to the other camp. But I wouldn’t do it for nothing. I’d probably be thinking that if I could get a fourth or some type of 4/5 pick swap that I’d be interested. Otherwise they might as well have him as the third quarterback unless a potential upgrade comes up.
Stanley H… One easy question, who wears the green dot on defense? An observation from a long-suffering fan: JJ doesn’t have the touch to complete a high percentage of his throws. He cannot put the ball where the receiver can catch it. An analogy is from hockey. A player passes the puck to the “tape” of his team-mate. The puck is to the place where the receiver can make a play, either another pass or a shot on goal. JJ was a bad draft choice. I hope he can be traded for a day three draft pick. It seems that nothing was learned when Ponder was drafted #12 in 2011
Blake Cashman wears the green dot. Not too many dudes better for that job than him.
You’re right about the routine passes. That’s why his Completion Percentage Over Expected was the third worst in the NFL last year. Even when you look at some of the completions, they often made the wide receiver adjust to the ball like Myles Price had to do in the game against the Ravens.
It’s not the great throws he struggles with. He can rip a ball down the seam or fire it to the sideline and make you go “wow” but the consistency with the simpler stuff isn’t there. I would compare it to golf. If you hit 60% of your fairways off the tee, you’re average on the PGA Tour. If you hit 55% you can survive on the tour. If you hit 50%, you can probably plan on being a local golf pro. It’s the same thing with completing passes. The margins are very thin between being a top-20 starter and a backup.
In terms of Ponder, I’m not sure what the connection is exactly. Nobody involved with that decision is still around and he didn’t have the physical tools that JJ has. There were a lot of people who liked McCarthy coming out. I’m not sure that was the case with Ponder.
Matt D… Feels like we have 95% of the answers from Vikings camp, so time to scout the week 1 opponent. Have you heard anything interesting about the Packers training camp up to this point?
One thing is the Josh Jacobs situation. He was formally charged with misdemeanor battery and criminal damage to property, which could possibly result in a suspension, we just don’t know when.
Also they have a situation at corner it seems. They have a battle going on with Nixon, St-Juste, Cisse and Valentine and two of them are dinged up so it’s not really clear where they’re going to go with that.
On the offensive line, Aaron Banks — the most obviously bad signing of last offseason — is hurt and wasn’t good last year, so they are having a guard battle.
Considering they already have Micah Parsons out and they lost talent in the offseason, it doesn’t feel like it’s a very complete team.
Tony T… In retrospect it seems like the Vikes should have offered Darnold $30 mil a year and given him the starting role. And let McCarthy percolate à la Jordan Love. That ship has sailed.
If Murray is a top 15 quarterback this year and gets Jefferson the ball, shouldn’t we just pay Murray and give Jefferson a stable QB situation for the remainder of his most productive years?
I’m not sure that Darnold was going to take $30 million a year to stay. It probably would have taken the franchise tag or a real commitment to him as the starter going forward. I doubt he was interested in having the legend of McCarthy sitting behind him especially when he had other options as a free agent. That is the one complicating factor to that whole equation.
I liked the way that Jim Monos, former NFL scout, put it to me on the podcast when I asked him where the bar was for the Vikings to re-sign Murray and he said a top-10 offense. If he can lead a top-10 offense, then it makes sense to sign him and keep the continuity.
The only issue is that things get tricky because Jefferson will need a new deal and Addison might need a contract and Jennings and Hockenson are free agents and Fries might be tough to keep around. There’s a lot of things around the corner with the salary cap that will make it tough to thread the needle with an expensive QB contract.
The one thing that can solve that problem, of course, is drafting well.
Rob P… I will admit that I was a proponent of letting McCarthy play this year and fairly anti bringing in Kyler Murray. I will now admit that it was a wise thing to do and that for a variety of reasons McCarthy is not ready. I still think he has all the tools and will thrive in 2 - 3 years somewhere else which stinks as a Vikings fan.
My question / statement is this - with the Wilfs always living in compete-now mode it seems like there is zero chance a drafted quarterback can succeed here unless they will develop in no more than 1 year. Given the complexity of the offense, while this coaching staff is in place, I think it is a fools errand for the Vikings to draft anything other than the Top 1, 2 or 3 QB in any given draft and no later than pick 12 at that. There will never be a time when the roster will not have someone’s prime that is being wasted (like Jefferson and Darrisaw) that we can afford to be patient under the current regime. Reactions?
I wouldn’t say it’s zero. Bo Nix went to a team that always wants to win and was drafted 12th and they made the AFC Championship last year. The Chiefs traded up for Mahomes. Jordan Love was 26th. Jalen Hurts was in the second round. Lamar Jackson 32nd. Those franchises always try to win.
If you are saying that they will never take the time to develop at QB, that might be true but they planned to develop JJ for a year behind Darnold and it didn’t work out because of the injury.
But if your point is that it’s always going to be harder because they’ll never tank, yes, you are right about that.
The big-bang seasons of the last decade are 2020 and 2023. Both opportunities for full tear downs and they didn’t do it. It doesn’t seem like there’s going to be another chance soon but if there is another “natural tank” situation, they have to take advantage of it.
QBs are such an odd thing though. You never know when it’s going to shift. The Bears made a trade with the Panthers and ended up with Caleb Williams. Trey Lance busted and that led the 49ers to Brock Purdy. Carson Wentz faded and that took them to Hurts. Jared Goff gets traded for Stafford and plays his best ball.
Life’s weird at QB. Nobody knows where it’s headed but I wouldn’t say that the Vikings can’t ever draft a QB. I’d say that I think development is more of a myth than anything. Usually within the first two years, all the good QBs show signs of it working.
Tony T… Do teams ever assess where there might be other teams that are thin where we’re thick and vice versa and make a trade? For instance, we seem thick at D Line and Linebacker, but skinny on Edge. Is there a team with a third edge player we could trade straight up for, say, Elijah Williams or Ivan Pace, Jr.? We love those players, but it seems like a win win for the teams and the players and it gets talent on the field that would otherwise be wasted for both teams.
Absolutely teams are always keeping an eye on other players that might be excess on teams’ depth charts with hopes of either making a trade or picking them up if they get cut. I’m sure teams are looking at Ivan Pace Jr. as a guy that could potentially be LB depth because the Vikings have Golday now and maybe Jacob Roberts. The only thing is that Pace Jr. plays a ton of special teams and that might be hard to give up.
I wouldn’t trade Elijah Williams. Young DTs with some juice gotta stay in the building, even if they are low on the depth chart. You can always use them.
I definitely think it’s an option for the Vikings to wait until right before cutdown day and make some phone calls about edge depth. That might be a better idea than signing a free agent.
Bill B… We’ve heard that Jennings is a very good blocking WR. Two things, I’ve heard virtually nothing about his skill in training camp is that because it hasn’t stood out or just not covered? Secondly, does that skill translate more to wide zone plays?
He’s done well overall in camp. He has really good hands and tracks the ball in the air very well.
The thing about Jennings is that he’s the type of guy that you can’t really see the impact until he’s in an actual game. The YAC and clutch third down plays along with the physical intimidation factor and run blocking are stuff that’s hard to pick out when they are not tackling.
Last year Christian McCaffrey ran zone 211 times and gap only 86 times so Jennings is very well versed in blocking for that type of run scheme.
Walleyepike… I know we are deep in the weeds, here, but I rewatched the second half of the preseason game vs. Baltimore and--I know, get a life--Max Brosmer looked much better than I expected. Better, I guess, because it felt like you mostly dismissed his performance Coller. I thought he was (unlike McCarthy) playing quick, on time, decisive. The pick was unfortunate, but I thought the kid looked pretty good. What am I missing?
He did have some quick completions, got four first downs and had an average time to throw of 2.4 seconds. That’s good. I think considering Max has gotten very few reps in practice, he always looks prepared and sees the field well. But in terms of me talking about it on the podcast or writing about it, he went 11-for-17 with 98 yards (5.8 YPA), zero touchdowns and one interception. I wouldn’t say that’s going to get a ton of analysis.
My overall take on Max is that his decisiveness and preparation are going to keep him around for a long time in the NFL. I’m interested to see him against the Broncos. I just can’t say that his game against the Ravens stood out in any particular way aside from everyone’s watched McCarthy hang onto the ball for so long that anybody doing it normally looks extra sharp.
Chris C…. Living in Washington I get into a lot of fun discussions about Seahawks players vs Vikings players. Have a couple I want your opinion on-
Russell Wilson or Kyler Murray. Who has the better arm talent? Who would you prefer in their prime?
JSN vs Jefferson. Are there any points you would give to JSN over Jefferson? Most advanced metrics I’ve found skew heavily towards Jefferson. Drops, route win rate and a shocking one I stumbled across was double team rate. Jsn was at 35% last year and Jefferson had lead the league the last two years at 53%. I assume that will increase for JSN this year. Jsn is more of a body catcher than a hands catcher like Jefferson so I would personally say Jefferson has better hands but don’t know how to quantify that. Is there anything that stands out that says JSN is the better receiver?
Russell Wilson in his prime was an elite quarterback. In 2020, The Athletic’s Quarterback Tiers article had Wilson has a unanimous Tier 1 quarterback. It’s easy to forget that from 2017-2020, Wilson threw 140 touchdowns to 36 interceptions with a 104.0 passer rating and rushed between 300-500 yards every year. He was a legit superstar.
Murray has been good before and their teams were wildly different in quality but he hasn’t done anything yet that would indicate he’s going to be up there with the Mahomes, Allen, Burrow, Stafford group like Wilson was with Mahomes/Brady/Rodgers/Brees back in 2020. I do think we find out where Murray’s peak is this year though.
I think JSN is incredible. He reminds me of Cooper Kupp in the way that his route running is so precise that he’s open way more than it seems like he should be. Jefferson’s ability to rise up and get the ball with his crazy hands and ball tracking is probably the one part of his game that’s next level from almost anybody in the league and the speed in which he comes out of his breaks is insane. I’d lean toward Jefferson if you had to make one contested catch to win a game but the overall edge is small. Both amazing players.
Ryan S… With the season around the corner, have you heard any updates on the Vikings being allowed to use flames in their pregame shows again? I was just at Target Field for a concert that used flames, and you could feel the heat from pretty far away.
I asked Mark Wilf in 2025 and there didn’t seem to be any indication that it was coming back any time soon. It makes absolutely ZERO sense to me. I went to a Kendrick Lamar concert at US Bank Stadium and they had flames the entire night. One weird incident in Tennessee with a speaker catching on fire ruined it for everyone. I’ll ask Roger Goodell if I ever get a chance.
Warren P… A few questions here- 1) over your tenure of following Vikings training camp who have been the top 3-5 biggest surprises (good or bad)- essentially you left camp with an opposite evaluation of the player prior to camp starting? Doesn’t have to be just players.
2) How many weeks of above bottom tier QB play will the fandom/media at large need to see from Kyler to drop the JJ story? (Assuming he is still on the roster) or will it always be like this due to where the team drafted him?
3) I may have to dig into the data myself here as it’s probably too nuanced for a mailbag- but does an effective run game or the threat of an effective run game affect the passing game more? (Thinking of the Seahawks last year- you and others mentioned they typically were not terribly successful per carry but because of the volume (I.e the threat) that’s what presented them with quality passing ops)
1 — Sam Darnold and Sam Bradford both top the list of biggest surprises. Two of the best arms I’ve seen up close and they each crushed training camp. I figured Bradford would look good because he was OK in 2016 but he was unbelievable. I also assumed that Darnold would be all over the place and instead he was on the mark over and over once things clicked.
I was totally shocked by Lewis Cine. I expected to see this rangy freak and his play speed was so slow.
There are some guys from years past that we forget about like Chad Beebe and Dan Chisena. Those dudes making the team is absolutely insane.
2 — Do you mean top tier play? There’s always going to be people who never let go but I think if Wentz is the backup then they will have no choice other than to move on. Of course, if Kyler struggles out of the gate, there will be calls for McCarthy to play, I’m sure. That might be a reason to move him if there’s no belief left.
3 — It’s an interesting framing. My argument for the effective run game being better than the treat of it is that there is a massive difference in quarterback performance on third down with less than 5 yards to go and more than 5 yards to go. If you run the ball well and stay ahead of the sticks, you are constantly in favorable second and third-down situations.
For example, there are 21 QBs with at least 100 throws over the last three years on third down with less than 5 yards to go and 15 of them are over 90.0 passer rating (and as high as 121.6 in Brock Purdy’s case). Out of the top 20 in third down attempts with more than 5 yards to go, there are five that have a 90.0+ passer rating.
There’s more detailed ways to do that but it makes common sense. The fewer times the defense can throw the kitchen sink at a QB, the better.
I also think there’s something that is phycological about having a good run game. The QB has a lot of plays where he’s not exerting mental and physical energy. Throwing 50 times is exhausting. Throwing 25 times is not.
Ben… Do you think it’s more accurate to say the Vikings are trying to atone for a mistake at the quarterback position then just call them incompetent?? I feel like the Vikings gave McCarthy probably more chances than he actually deserved.
There’s definitely an argument that it wasn’t necessary to give McCarthy the opportunities he got in the quarterback competition based on his performance in 2025 and Murray’s in 2024, 2021 and 2020
Anglo Vike… Given the offseason focus on the QB position, then am I odd to want to see how our run game is this year? With the coaches brought in with more run experience, I want to see if KOC can embrace it and use it when most needed.
Bonus question - what do you think of the Rivalries uniforms? Personally I’m ok with the overall design but don’t like the dark purple, too similar to the Ravens for my liking
You are not odd at all to want to see the run game this year. I think it’s been one of the most interesting things in camp because it legitimately looks different. The O-line’s approach to it is very different, the idea of having an identity is very clear and the execution has looked pretty strong.
The comparison I made the other day was that KOC has proposed to the run game, he just has to marry it. There’s been more effort then ever, just gotta get to the finish line.
In terms of the rivalry uniform, I’m not always the best judge of the new stuff. I’m more ready to tell you about the awesomeness of old uniforms but I like the details and when I saw them up close I thought they looked really sharp with the shade of gold they used.
I get the Ravens issue but the Vikings were dark purple before Baltimore.
Patrick G… Seems like last year they jumped the gun signing Hargrave and Allen, and not seeing what they had in their young players (Redmond, TID, LVR). Did they do the same thing this year in drafting 2 DT’s, especially seeing the development of LDR, Williams, and TID? How do Orange and Banks’ ceiling compare to those guys?
The ravens held joint practice with the commanders this week, how did that go, for them, and can we glean any information from that?
I wouldn’t conflate the two things. When you draft two defensive tackles, you are making an investment in one of the most important positions on the field — especially in recent years where pass-rushing DTs have taken over playoff games and Super Bowls. No matter the circumstance, it’s a good idea to draft a DT.
The development of those guys is really good. Levi Drake Rodriguez can become a Harrison Phillips type and Ingram-Dawkins can be a guy who defends the run well with some pass-rush upside. But Banks has upside that’s like Chris Jones or Dexter Lawrence and even if he doesn’t reach that he can be a dominating force. The ceiling on Orange is probably higher than just a run stuffer based on the way he moves. He’s also a unique brand of human that you only get in the draft.
Also, the more DTs you have, the better. Keep the big boys fresh.
I only saw from one of my Commanders friends that the Washington offense was completely dominated. Baltimore will very likely have a good defense this year.
Walt K… This first question is for the Great Carnac, er Matt Coller I mean…With the regular season all but upon us, can you look into your crystal ball and tell us what you think will be the prevailing storylines from the 2026 season?
Also, we know JJ is a hot topic amongst Vikings fans and what’s to become of his situation. But unless he’s a cancer in the locker room, there doesn’t seem to be any reason to trade/cut him (not to mention the return would be insignificant at best). With Kyler on a 1 year deal with no option for a franchise tag, doesn’t it seem best to have JJ continue to develop under KOC? As many have said, he’s just so young that sitting and getting scout team reps would do wonders for him. Plus, having a guy like Wentz in the same room would be a boon for him.
Johnny Carson reference. Nice.
I’m going to predict that Kyler Murray’s return to being a winning quarterback is the biggest story. Not a hot take there exactly but I’ve been in favor of the idea since January so I’ll keep rolling with it. Probably the Flores thing with head coaching jobs too if all goes to plan.
I’m completely fine with McCarthy developing as a backup on this team. Is he? That’s the question.
Bradley P…. Matthew, putting yourself into the head of Teasley what do you think he’d prefer: the Vikings situation as of now or with Nix in place of McCarthy. Wondering because soon Nix will get that second contract and he’s a polarizing player.
Nix by 10,000 miles. You’d much rather have a QB who can take a great team into Super Bowl contention and still has two years left on his rookie deal than have someone who got benched by Year 3. Plus, with a rookie QB contract, the structure is always going to give wiggle room for at least two more years beyond the rookie deal.
I’m thinking this is the year that Nix ends up getting some respect instead of being treated like 2000 Ravens Trent Dilfer by all those who were wrong about him in the draft. Maybe I’ll be wrong.
Jason… Do you think the players would agree to an 18 game season in exchange for only one preseason game? Seems like the sample size is big enough for what coaches need and it is terrible product on the field.
They might not have any choice but if I’m on the players’ side then I’d be looking for two bye weeks. The starters don’t play in the preseason anyway.
I’ve always had this idea of splitting up the NFL schedule into two halves. Do the draft right after the college season and play the first eight weeks from May until the end of June and then go from mid-August through December for the rest of the regular season and playoffs. Call me, Roger.
CMBoourns… Are there any veteran safeties on the bubble you’d be interested in kicking the tires on?
I know Thomas has shined in camp but it feels risky to leave that spot so thin with Theo Jackson being banged up.
It’s hard to know every safety around the league that might be on the bubble but it would be pretty hard for somebody to come into this system with all the communication and play right away. Not that it would be shocking, it just might not be easy to find someone who can make an instant impact.
It definitely felt like KOC was signaling to Harrison Smith that he wants him to come back. I agree that Jacob Thomas has shown to be a promising player and they are getting Jakobe Thomas healthy as well but the confidence in Jackson is probably not the same as it was last year.
I like the idea of 18 games and 2 bye and a 54th player on the team. They still need the preseason games, especially for guys 40-90