2026 Minnesota Vikings

[Snow Plow]

The Minnesota Vikings will look very similar to last season except they decided to bring in Kyler Murray at QB.

TJ Hockenson returns for his 8th season after catching 32 passes for 367 yards and 2 touchdowns. He continues a solid career where he’s caught 433 passes for 4,440 yards and 26 touchdowns.

Andrew Van Ginkel missed 5 games last season but still recorded 54 tackles, 7 sacks, 2 recovered fumbles, 10 pass deflections, and an INT.

Blake Cashman continues his meteoric rise after recording 144 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble, and 2 pass deflections.

Harrison Smith recently signed to play his 15th season with the Vikings. He has amassed 1,181 tackles, 21.5 sacks, 13 forced fumbles, 9 fumble recoveries, 39 interceptions, 107 pass deflections, and 4 touchdowns in his long career.

QB: Carson Wentz, JJ McCarthy
LT: Ryan Van Demark
LG: Trevor Keegan
C: Blake Brandel, Nick Samac
LG: Will Fries, Joe Huber
RT: Brian O’Neill, Caleb Tiernan (r)
TE: TJ Hockenson, Gavin Bartholomew
FB: Max Bredeson (r)

WLB: Jake Golday (r)
MLB: Blake Cashman
ROLB: Andrew Van Ginkel, Bo Richter
FS; Harrison Smith

P: Brett Thorson
PK: Will Reichard
LS: Andrew DePaola

Practice Squad: OT Jack Nelson, G Henry Byrd, TE Cam Grandy, QB Max Brosmer,

Injured Reserve: TE Ben Yurosek, C Michael Jurgens, OLB Tyler Batty

Number of White Starters: 8
Number of Whites on the 53: 21

 

[Don Wassall]

I'll be surprised if Jake Golday doesn't become a major star at linebacker. And he has a decent chance to start at some point this season as he's clearly a superior talent to Eric Wilson, who recently turned 32 and is a career journeyman.

 

[Phall]

JJ McCarthy has been demoted to 3rd string for Week 1.

I suspect that Carson Wentz has been a top 30ish quarterback since his first demotion by the Redskins in 2022. Injuries have certainly cost him a lot of opportunity. The same cannot be said for everyone's favorite "underdog" Kyler Murray, who will receive most of his $40 million salary this year from the Cardinals, who agreed to pay him to go away.

The Vikings franchise seems hellbent on ruining McCarthy's pro career. While it's not quite an apples to apples comparison, the Colts have done plenty to preserve Anthony Richardson's status as a viable NFL QB, even though his struggles stem from incompetence rather than injury. Trey Lance is somehow still a QB2 now for the Chargers after five listless seasons. Joe Milton was a 6th round flier pick (still overdrafted) but was down to the wire in his own QB2 competition in Dallas.

McCarthy may not have been destined for superstardom even before his rookie year injury - he was the fifth QB drafted in 2024, albeit at pick #9. The Vikings are generally being picked to finish last in their competitive division. If Kyler Murray hypothetically were to have a terrific season and lead the team to glory, he'd still be a free agent at the end of the year - Minnesota would have no leg up against the open market to re-sign him. Wentz is 33, injury prone, and now five years removed from a full-time starting gig (14 starts since 2021). The Vikings started him 5 times last season; he's a known commodity to them.

I don't think McCarthy will stay QB3 for long simply because of the fragility of these two Glass Joes. I would have used this season to see what I've got for the future. But what do I know? Minnesota spent $15 million to lure Harrison Smith out of retirement. Apparently, the front office thinks it's in "win now" mode.