Vikings Offseason 2026

[Vanimal46]

29 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

It was going to be hard with two 1st ballot locks. 
 

The NFL HOF is just the worst though. There shouldn’t be this many players waiting to get in that everyone knows will someday get in. And the politicking and back scratching reeks of corruption.

Scrap the whole process, and design it closer to MLB. Where voters can pick up to ten players instead of only five they all try to negotiate about. Shouldn’t need explaining how the significant difference in roster sizes doesn’t make sense.

Wow, did I just claim the MLB is doing something better than the NFL?!?

Brees and Fitz are 1st ballot HOFers. I guess I didn’t see if Luke Kuechly was a 1st ballot as well? 

I’m very much in the camp of a big HOF for the NFL. They’re building up a list of players, coaches, and ownership that’s going to be improbable to address in no time. 

[Parfigliano]

1 hour ago, nicksaviking said:

It was going to be hard with two 1st ballot locks. 
 

The NFL HOF is just the worst though. There shouldn’t be this many players waiting to get in that everyone knows will someday get in. And the politicking and back scratching reeks of corruption.

Scrap the whole process, and design it closer to MLB. Where voters can pick up to ten players instead of only five they all try to negotiate about. Shouldn’t need explaining how the significant difference in roster sizes doesn’t make sense.

Wow, did I just claim the MLB is doing something better than the NFL?!?

You did.

[nicksaviking]

8 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

Brees and Fitz are 1st ballot HOFers. I guess I didn’t see if Luke Kuechly was a 1st ballot as well? 

I’m very much in the camp of a big HOF for the NFL. They’re building up a list of players, coaches, and ownership that’s going to be improbable to address in no time. 

Brees and Fitz were the only 1st timers. Kuechly was on the ballot last year. I remember last year thinking he was good but not great, then looked at his stats and realized how utterly dominant he was in his short career.

How can they only put FOUR modern day players in? It's ridiculous when there are so many guys deserving.

[The Great Hambino]

1 hour ago, nicksaviking said:

Brees and Fitz were the only 1st timers. Kuechly was on the ballot last year. I remember last year thinking he was good but not great, then looked at his stats and realized how utterly dominant he was in his short career.

How can they only put FOUR modern day players in? It's ridiculous when there are so many guys deserving.

Every year it seems like 10-12 of the 15 modern day finalists belong in the HOF.  How they ever end up with fewer than the max of 5 going in is a failure of process.

What they ought to do is start with a yes/no vote for every candidate without any constraints.  No having to choose which deserving HOFer gets your vote.  Then take the group with >80% of the vote and have your comparative discussions just within that group.  When voters have to resort to game theory to decide whom to give their votes, you end up with artificially lower vote percentages than you'd get from a straight yes/no, because not all voters apply their game theory the same way.  Kinda like the guy (I forget who) explained not voting for Belichick because he wanted to vote for the three senior players and could only cast three votes.  Apply whatever caps you want to a class after votes are cast, not before.

Oh well.  At least Eli didn't get in (and I WILL die on that hill!)

[nicksaviking]

12 minutes ago, The Great Hambino said:

Every year it seems like 10-12 of the 15 modern day finalists belong in the HOF.  How they ever end up with fewer than the max of 5 going in is a failure of process.

What they ought to do is start with a yes/no vote for every candidate without any constraints.  No having to choose which deserving HOFer gets your vote.  Then take the group with >80% of the vote and have your comparative discussions just within that group.  When voters have to resort to game theory to decide whom to give their votes, you end up with artificially lower vote percentages than you'd get from a straight yes/no, because not all voters apply their game theory the same way.  Kinda like the guy (I forget who) explained not voting for Belichick because he wanted to vote for the three senior players and could only cast three votes.  Apply whatever caps you want to a class after votes are cast, not before.

Oh well.  At least Eli didn't get in (and I WILL die on that hill!)

Yeah, too many of the gatekeepers seem to enjoy the power they wield over these players.

I agree that Eli isn't deserving, or at least he's much less deserving than countless other players, but I'm not dying on a hill to keep him out. But here is the utter hypocrisy of the voters. A QB with two Super Bowls used to be mean automatic entrance. I'm more than fine not letting Eli in despite his two, but then how they hell didn't they vote Ken Anderson in this year? He was a better QB than Ken Stabler, Terry Bradshaw, Bob Griese and Joe Namath, who is ONLY in the HOF because he 'predicted' his Jets would win the Super Bowl.

I remember growing up and people talking about how legendary Joe Namath was for calling that win. What was everybody smoking, when asked if they think they can win a game, what self-respecting pro athlete would say no?!?! The guy had a career 50% completion rate and threw 50 more interceptions than TDs. Yeah, different era back then, but he just threw the ball a lot more than the other QBs, he didn't throw the ball better than the other QBs.

[Vanimal46]

 

[Vanimal46]

If I'm the Wilfs I'm offering an open invitation to any Seattle Seahawks FO people who have played a role in drafting for them over the last 10+ years. 

[Vanimal46]

https://www.sharpfootballanalysis.com/analysis/jj-mccarthy-stats-2025-vikings-passing-analysis/

This article doesn't instill any hope for McCarthy's development. 

[Mike Sixel]

3 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

https://www.sharpfootballanalysis.com/analysis/jj-mccarthy-stats-2025-vikings-passing-analysis/

This article doesn't instill any hope for McCarthy's development. 

Heh. He's got the most upside of any of their options, which says a lot about how few QBs even are alive on the planet. I'm saddened by this. Who could have predicted taking a QB whose college offense was built around running and not using the QB would fail?

[Danchat]

3 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

/Heh. He's got the most upside of any of their options, which says a lot about how few QBs even are alive on the planet. I'm saddened by this. Who could have predicted taking a QB whose college offense was built around running and not using the QB would fail?

A little while back I had taken a look at that Michigan championship team, they had 11 games that they won by 20+ points and only had 3 one score games. JJM only averaged 22.5 attempts per game, but when you factor in that almost every game was over by halftime, it's not bad. The passing game personnel around him wasn't great, 0 NFL WRs and the OL was much better at run blocking than pass pro and none of them are starting anywhere in the NFL. He did have 2 TEs who are both starting in the NFL, alongside Corum the workhorse.

His problems with not being ready for NFL speed leading to footwork/mechanical issues killing his accuracy which was not a problem in college outside of not having an accurate deep ball. Zero durability concerns in college, and the immaturity/mental issues weren't a thing either unless the Vikings missed that in their interviews with him that other teams did. He was also very good at not turning over the ball too.

I still think he's a 1st round caliber player in hindsight, maybe late 1st and certainly not on the tier of Williams-Maye-Daniels. Plenty of 1st round picks just naturally bust when they undergo the transition from college to the NFL, and it looks like JJM is headed that way.

If you don't think he's a 1st round prospect, then you also shouldn't think that a certain other prospect who was in a run-first offense that only threw the ball 23.6 times per game as his juggernaut team won the national title... his name is Fernando Mendoza and he's getting drafted #1 overall in a couple months. Obviously there are other differences between the two, but the point of my argument is if we're going to use passing volume in college to knock down QBs, then other good prospects are going to be downgraded for reasons out of their control.

[nicksaviking]

I think McCarthy just comes off as so immature, which I would guess is the root of most of his issues. Like many pro athletes that would be labeled immature, I wouldn't be surprised if after he's gone from the Vikings, we get reports about him not putting in the expected work and ignoring attention to detail.

But most people grow out of immaturity, particularly if they get publicly humbled. That's why I think there's a really good chance he turns into a good QB. Just with another team years down the road.

[Mike Sixel]

32 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

I think McCarthy just comes off as so immature, which I would guess is the root of most of his issues. Like many pro athletes that would be labeled immature, I wouldn't be surprised if after he's gone from the Vikings, we get reports about him not putting in the expected work and ignoring attention to detail.

But most people grow out of immaturity, particularly if they get publicly humbled. That's why I think there's a really good chance he turns into a good QB. Just with another team years down the road.

I agree it will be years down the line....if it happens.

[Vanimal46]

2 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

But most people grow out of immaturity, particularly if they get publicly humbled. That's why I think there's a really good chance he turns into a good QB. Just with another team years down the road.

If he gets that opportunity, I suppose anything is possible. But there’s always new McCarthy types that enter the league every year. Unless he has some undeniable physical traits like Darnold has. 

[TheLeviathan]

10 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

https://www.sharpfootballanalysis.com/analysis/jj-mccarthy-stats-2025-vikings-passing-analysis/

This article doesn't instill any hope for McCarthy's development. 

Yeah....like....KOC saw something where he doesn't trust him over the middle at all.

No wonder we didn't see as many of Justin Jefferson's famous dig routes.

[TheLeviathan]

To be clear...I'm still in on playing him in 2027.  He's too young to give up on.

[Vanimal46]

21 minutes ago, TheLeviathan said:

To be clear...I'm still in on playing him in 2027.  He's too young to give up on.

As we would say in Texas, bless your heart. Even the best QB gurus in the game can't save everyone. Example A is Trey Lance in San Francisco. 

[Vanimal46]

McCarthy requires a complete transformation of everything we've seen of him so far in his career. Mechanics, demeanor, maturity, basically everything as a human being. What are the odds of that? 

[nicksaviking]

1 hour ago, Vanimal46 said:

If he gets that opportunity, I suppose anything is possible. But there’s always new McCarthy types that enter the league every year. Unless he has some undeniable physical traits like Darnold has. 

I’d guess his arm strength and draft pedigree will give him a nice long shot, even if he bounces around the league as a backup.

[Mike Sixel]

15 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

McCarthy requires a complete transformation of everything we've seen of him so far in his career. Mechanics, demeanor, maturity, basically everything as a human being. What are the odds of that? 

So you're saying there's a chance. 

[TheLeviathan]

19 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

As we would say in Texas, bless your heart. Even the best QB gurus in the game can't save everyone. Example A is Trey Lance in San Francisco. 

I understand the sentiment, but the same thing was said about Baker, Darnold, Goff, Geno, etc. McCarthy is 22, abandoning him to play some schmuck like Murray or Geno or whomever is foolish IMO.

If McCarthy is bad in 2027....then he's bad and we move on.  If he's great....great!  No big time QB is coming available for the 18th overall pick.  Some middling option so we can Wilf our way to 8 wins again is simply not of interest to me.

I'm in this to take big swings.  I'm not going to get shy just because of an injury and a rough first season.  

[Mike Sixel]

19 hours ago, TheLeviathan said:

I understand the sentiment, but the same thing was said about Baker, Darnold, Goff, Geno, etc. McCarthy is 22, abandoning him to play some schmuck like Murray or Geno or whomever is foolish IMO.

If McCarthy is bad in 2027....then he's bad and we move on.  If he's great....great!  No big time QB is coming available for the 18th overall pick.  Some middling option so we can Wilf our way to 8 wins again is simply not of interest to me.

I'm in this to take big swings.  I'm not going to get shy just because of an injury and a rough first season.  

I agree, but the same was said about TJack and Bridgewater..... Some guys just aren't good or mature. I'm fairly sure McCarthy will fail in Minnesota, but I don't like any of the alternatives. So let's see..... But I'm guessing 7-9 wins again, most of them like last year, after other teams have given up. 

[TheLeviathan]

5 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

I agree, but the same was said about TJack and Bridgewater..... Some guys just aren't good or mature. I'm fairly sure McCarthy will fail in Minnesota, but I don't like any of the alternatives. So let's see..... But I'm guessing 7-9 wins again, most of them like last year, after other teams have given up. 

Teddy's ceiling got destroyed by the injury but your pount is valid 

If Burrow is walking through that door....well alright then.  Bye JJ.  Short of that?  Hard pass on the others as anything but clear backups.

[Danchat]

Two current Vikings have died in the last year and a half... just awful.

[Vanimal46]

6 minutes ago, Danchat said:

Two current Vikings have died in the last year and a half... just awful.

Terrible news. 25 is way too young to go. 

[Mike Sixel]

18 hours ago, TheLeviathan said:

Teddy's ceiling got destroyed by the injury but your pount is valid 

If Burrow is walking through that door....well alright then.  Bye JJ.  Short of that?  Hard pass on the others as anything but clear backups.

Agreed. He's the only one I move on for. 

[nicksaviking]

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/report-vikings-anthony-richardson-have-mutual-interest

Um what? Anthony Richardson?

So JJ McCarthy's 'competition' is the league's previous version of JJ McCarthy?

I don't buy it. Either this is a leak from the Richardson side, or the Vikings are sending a message to the team's with QBs they REALLY want.

Also, as much as I'd like a shift in offensive philosophy, KOC's offense isn't any more suited to a scrambling QB then McVey's or Shanahan's is.

[TheLeviathan]

8 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/report-vikings-anthony-richardson-have-mutual-interest

Um what? Anthony Richardson?

So JJ McCarthy's 'competition' is the league's previous version of JJ McCarthy?

I don't buy it. Either this is a leak from the Richardson side, or the Vikings are sending a message to the team's with QBs they REALLY want.

Also, as much as I'd like a shift in offensive philosophy, KOC's offense isn't any more suited to a scrambling QB then McVey's or Shanahan's is.

I officially have no idea what they're doing.

[nicksaviking]

37 minutes ago, TheLeviathan said:

I officially have no idea what they're doing.

Hopefully 5D chess.

[TheLeviathan]

7 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

Hopefully 5D chess.

Oh god....it's that bad?

[Vanimal46]

18 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/report-vikings-anthony-richardson-have-mutual-interest

Um what? Anthony Richardson?

So JJ McCarthy's 'competition' is the league's previous version of JJ McCarthy?

I don't buy it. Either this is a leak from the Richardson side, or the Vikings are sending a message to the team's with QBs they REALLY want.

Also, as much as I'd like a shift in offensive philosophy, KOC's offense isn't any more suited to a scrambling QB then McVey's or Shanahan's is.

Couldn't have said it better myself. Anthony Richardson isn't pushing anyone for a starting role in this league. If he wants to prolong his NFL career after this season, he should learn how to play TE or WR.