3 Flaming-Hot Vikings Takes for the 2026 Season
In the NFL, you expect the unexpected. The league truly is the Wild West, as the Vikings have seen time and time again.
Sure, there are safe things to assume: Kyler Murray will be the Vikings’ starter, Brian Flores’ defense will be a top-10 unit, and Will Reichard will be automatic. But let’s get a little spicy.
One of the most fun things to do every offseason is to make completely off-the-wall predictions of happenings that could come completely out of left-field. For Minnesota, there is a bevy of options to go with, but for now, we’ll keep it to just three. Are all three of these going to happen in the same season? Probably not. It’s most-likely that not a single one of these will happen, but where’s the fun in that?
So, let’s turn the flame up a little bit.
1. Vikings Trade Jordan Addison After 2026 Season
This one feels like cheating because it would come after the conclusion of the season, but it’s my article and I’m going to include it anyway.
The Vikings will have to decide very soon whether or not they want to have a receiver room worth an annual $70 million price tag or not. Jefferson is making $35 million per year on average, and on Addison’s new contract, he could potentially rival that due to the ever-rising cap numbers and market for the position. After all, Packers WR Christian Watson just got a 4-year/$92 million contract worth up to $110.5 million.
There are ways to soften that blow, as Watson’s contract is back-loaded and Green Bay has an out on it after the 2028 season. However, Vikings GM Nolan Teasley may find that the juice isn’t worth that squeeze. He’s been a part of a Seahawks front office that traded away D.K. Metcalf, so he isn’t afraid to go against popular opinion when it comes to handling receivers.
Likelihood: 3.1/10
2. Kyler Murray Wins NFL MVP
This is pretty bananas, but that’s the entire point. If the Vikings have a 12-win season or better with Kyler Murray at the helm, then something went very right. Assuming this lands Minnesota in the batch of contenders coming out of the NFC, depending on Murray’s play down the stretch (yes, a big dependency), then he could be sat at the table of NFL MVP candidates.
It’s a regular season award, so it’s not completely crazy to think that a QB like Murray could set himself up in those conversations at the end of the year. He’s already got the leg up statistically on a lot of guys because of his abilities on the ground, and he’s displayed elite arm talent during his time in the NFL.
Now, the scary part of this is the contract that would be coming down the purple pipeline if this were to happen.
Likelihood: 1.6/10
Kevin O’Connell Leads Vikings to an NFC Championship Appearance
Kevin O’Connell has yet to win a playoff game, and a lot of Vikings fans are not afraid to let you hear about it. It’s a perfectly fine complaint, as Minnesota is heading into Year 5 under KOC and they have never won a game past the opening days of January.
Here, I’m going crazy and saying that O’Connell leads the Vikings to an appearance in the NFC Championship. This could technically mean only one playoff win, as theoretically, the Vikings could get a first-round bye, win a divisional round game, and then be in the NFCCG.
Still, that appearance is probably enough for O’Connell to save his job with the Vikings, as it would breathe a good amount of new life into the KOC Era that seems to be wilting a bit.
Likelihood: 2.1/10
