2026 Vikings Season

[Mike Sixel]

 

 

[Mike Sixel]

Not one rookie starter out of this draft on a team that missed the playoffs last year.....

[nicksaviking]

17 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

Not one rookie starter out of this draft on a team that missed the playoffs last year.....

I think this draft class is just as bad as the prior recent drafts, but it was mostly defensive players, and I get the impression Flores would eat a bag full of broken glass before he'd start a rookie.

[Mike Sixel]

19 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

I think this draft class is just as bad as the prior recent drafts, but it was mostly defensive players, and I get the impression Flores would eat a bag full of broken glass before he'd start a rookie.

I was wrong! There's a fullback..... Also, your point is true 

[The Great Hambino]

3 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

I was wrong! There's a fullback..... Also, your point is true 

Fullbacks get no respect!  My Bredeson jersey is on the way

One of my hot takes that I actually believe is that Lorenzo Neal should get in the Hall of Fame if someone like Steve Tasker is even getting considered for it

[TheLeviathan]

1 hour ago, The Great Hambino said:

Fullbacks get no respect!  My Bredeson jersey is on the way

One of my hot takes that I actually believe is that Lorenzo Neal should get in the Hall of Fame if someone like Steve Tasker is even getting considered for it

It's hard to call yourself a legit hall of fame and not have Lorenzo Neal and Mike Alstott having a wing dedicated to the scariest backfield in human history.

[nicksaviking]

Jordan Mason to the IR.

This should be interesting. It seems KOC has been aware since last year that Aaron Jones shouldn't be given a full workload, but the #3 back was rookie Demond Claiborne and I don't think this club likes to trust rookies. And based on Claiborne's pass blocking evals I've read, they probably shouldn't trust him in this case. Not to mention he isn't a between the tackles guy, like Mason is.

DeeJay  Dallas got put on the active roster, that's about as unexciting as you get, but I wouldn't be surprised if he gets more touches than anyone wants him to get.

Using a 3rd-5th round pick on a RB last year seems like a good idea right about now. 

[TheLeviathan]

6 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

Jordan Mason to the IR.

This should be interesting. It seems KOC has been aware since last year that Aaron Jones shouldn't be given a full workload, but the #3 back was rookie Demond Claiborne and I don't think this club likes to trust rookies. And based on Claiborne's pass blocking evals I've read, they probably shouldn't trust him in this case. Not to mention he isn't a between the tackles guy, like Mason is.

DeeJay  Dallas got put on the active roster, that's about as unexciting as you get, but I wouldn't be surprised if he gets more touches than anyone wants him to get.

Using a 3rd-5th round pick on a RB last year seems like a good idea right about now. 

I expect to see a whole lot of carries for DeeJay Dallas.  Roughly infinity % more than I'd have expected to say 10 days ago.

[Musk21]

20 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

Jordan Mason to the IR.

This should be interesting. It seems KOC has been aware since last year that Aaron Jones shouldn't be given a full workload, but the #3 back was rookie Demond Claiborne and I don't think this club likes to trust rookies. And based on Claiborne's pass blocking evals I've read, they probably shouldn't trust him in this case. Not to mention he isn't a between the tackles guy, like Mason is.

DeeJay  Dallas got put on the active roster, that's about as unexciting as you get, but I wouldn't be surprised if he gets more touches than anyone wants him to get.

Using a 3rd-5th round pick on a RB last year seems like a good idea right about now. 

Holy Angels alum Emmett Johnson sure would have been nice. Chiefs scooped him up in the 5th round this year and he had 68 total yards on Monday night.

[TheLeviathan]

23 minutes ago, Musk21 said:

Holy Angels alum Emmett Johnson sure would have been nice. Chiefs scooped him up in the 5th round this year and he had 68 total yards on Monday night.

I truly do not understand our aversion to drafting guys with a 5th round pick versus continually spending 5ths to add guys (read: Cam Akers) who are past their prime or on shot knees.

I have advocated for Skattebo, Emmet Johnson, Chase Brown, Roschon Johnson (not as proud of that one), Trey Benson (ditto), Braelon Allen, RJ Harvey, DJ Giddens, Jonah Coleman, Nick Singleton, Mike Washington, and Eli Heidenreich.  We have none of those guys.

We wasted picks those guys could have been had with and now we have DJ freaking Dallas.  It's so frustrating.  A smart front office should be spending a 4th-7th on a running back at least every other year.  Injuries force you to churn through them and the age cliff makes it so you never want to resign them.  Instead you have constant surplus value out of picks you routinely get nothing out of.

[nicksaviking]

48 minutes ago, Musk21 said:

Holy Angels alum Emmett Johnson sure would have been nice. Chiefs scooped him up in the 5th round this year and he had 68 total yards on Monday night.

Johnson, Jonah Coleman, Nick Singleton and Mike Washington would have all been more interesting then DJ Dallas and probably all more exciting than Jakobe Thomas, Caleb Teirnan and Max Bredeson who went in that range and earlier. 

Domonique Orange was the other guy, but so far everyone seems to like that pick. Me included.

[nicksaviking]

Going to merge and rename this thread to clarify this is Vikings news and not 2026 NFL news.

[nicksaviking]

https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-vikings/latest-kyler-murray-status-bears-concussion-protocol/

It sounds like Murray has a legit chance at playing this week. When was the last time a player, or at least a QB, has cleared the concussion protocol in less than a week?

Frankly, I think it would be a terrible idea to give him the start. I'm good going back to Murray the following week, or the week after, but if Wentz is taking all the first team snaps, he HAS to start. They aren't playing the Dolphins, they are playing one of the best offenses in the league that also happens to be a division rival. They need to have their s*** together just to keep up.

Caveat: if Murray is healthy and Wentz starts and struggles, switching to the mobile Murray mid-game could be a slick way to keep the Bears off balance.

 

EDIT: OK, I see what I did there. Obviously game planning for Wentz and Murray are completely different. Murray likely has zero chance at playing this week and saying this is how KOC is trying to keep the Bears off balance.

[Aggies7]

The skor north guys think if wentz plays and plays well in Chicago, he will be the guy going forward. I find that hard to believe the guy would lose his job after 11 snaps. It’s also risky. Wentz can lose it for a few games. Then what? I actually feel more comfortable with him in there, but if Murray was good enough to win the job, he all of a sudden isn’t after a couple series?

[nicksaviking]

22 hours ago, Aggies7 said:

The skor north guys think if wentz plays and plays well in Chicago, he will be the guy going forward. I find that hard to believe the guy would lose his job after 11 snaps. It’s also risky. Wentz can lose it for a few games. Then what? I actually feel more comfortable with him in there, but if Murray was good enough to win the job, he all of a sudden isn’t after a couple series?

That's why this situation is more ideal than it typically is. They're paying two veteran QBs like 5M combined and neither are likely be (starting) here next year. If they pick the wrong vet, they go back to the other guy next game. Or even next half. Obviously you don't want to give away games, but it's not like it's the vet vs a young guy and you have to commit the rest of the season to one path. Just go with the hot hand. Atypical, but if they don't commit, they can use it to their advantage.

To be clear, this situation is ideal only because we don't appear to have any one on the roster that's the long term answer. I absolutely want to find the long term answer before next season starts.

[The Great Hambino]

22 hours ago, Aggies7 said:

The skor north guys think if wentz plays and plays well in Chicago, he will be the guy going forward. I find that hard to believe the guy would lose his job after 11 snaps. It’s also risky. Wentz can lose it for a few games. Then what? I actually feel more comfortable with him in there, but if Murray was good enough to win the job, he all of a sudden isn’t after a couple series?

The odds of Wentz staying healthy and effective for a significant stretch of time are so miniscule that it's probably a moot point.  And concussions are so finnicky that they have plenty of cover to keep Murray on the shelf if by some miracle Wentz outguns Caleb Williams in a shootout, which is probably what will have to happen for them to win.

Murray will get another chance to start one way or another

[TheLeviathan]

2 hours ago, The Great Hambino said:

The odds of Wentz staying healthy and effective for a significant stretch of time are so miniscule that it's probably a moot point.  And concussions are so finnicky that they have plenty of cover to keep Murray on the shelf if by some miracle Wentz outguns Caleb Williams in a shootout, which is probably what will have to happen for them to win.

Murray will get another chance to start one way or another

....and also likely get hurt again.  We might have a revolving door of mediocrity.

[Vanimal46]

On 9/17/2026 at 8:04 PM, Aggies7 said:

The skor north guys think if wentz plays and plays well in Chicago, he will be the guy going forward. I find that hard to believe the guy would lose his job after 11 snaps. It’s also risky. Wentz can lose it for a few games. Then what? I actually feel more comfortable with him in there, but if Murray was good enough to win the job, he all of a sudden isn’t after a couple series?

If Wentz is the best QB on this roster, we are going to lose a lot of football games. I’m fine with him in 2-3 week spurts. No problem at all sitting Murray for another week. Getting concussions in consecutive weeks would take him out several weeks instead of 1 more. 

[The Great Hambino]

15 minutes ago, TheLeviathan said:

....and also likely get hurt again.  We might have a revolving door of mediocrity.

I have a real feeling that a game will be started at QB by someone not currently on the roster at some point this year

[TheLeviathan]

28 minutes ago, The Great Hambino said:

I have a real feeling that a game will be started at QB by someone not currently on the roster at some point this year

If you get Vegas to lay a line on that I'm in too.