Do the Vikings Have One of the Most Improved Offenses in the NFL in 2026?
The Minnesota Vikings made a few additions to the offense this offseason, with one of them obviously being very notable.
Kyler Murray signed with Minnesota earlier this offseason on a veteran-minimum deal. It was a clear upgrade at the QB position for now, and the Vikings were able to do so for essentially free. Murray potentially brings a whole new element to Kevin O’Connell’s offense, pairing elite elusiveness both inside and outside of the pocket with elite arm talent.
Sure, Kyler Murray hasn’t been able to put it all together during the later-parts of seasons, but sometimes all it takes for a QB to finally put it all together is landing in the right situation.
On top of Murray, Minnesota also signed a clear upgrade over Jalen Nailor at WR3 in former 49ers WR Jauan Jennings. Jennings excelled in San Francisco, sometimes slotting in as the 49ers’ WR1. He brings reliable hands, decent route-running, and elite-level run-blocking for a wideout.
Vikings Mentioned as One of the Most Improved Offenses in the NFL
Moe Moton of Bleacher Report recently released a list of the five most improved offenses in the NFL in 2026, albeit on paper. Moton’s second mention was Minnesota, and he provided an explanation:
“The Minnesota Vikings upgraded their offense at the most important position. After the Arizona Cardinals released Murray, the Vikings signed him to a modest one-year, $1.3 million deal. He’ll likely start over J.J. McCarthy…
…Murray joined a team with a solid wide receiver duo in two-time All-Pro Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. Minnesota signed Jennings, who caught 55 passes for 643 yards and a career-high nine touchdowns last season with the San Francisco 49ers.
The Vikings will have a new dynamic starting quarterback and one of the league’s best receiver trios this year. Expect this offense to rack up points as one of the top 10 scoring units.”
It’s hard to argue this point, as Minnesota’s offense has the chance to be absolutely electric in 2026, if recent history teaches us anything.
Vikings Have All of the Makings of a Top-5 Offense
Minnesota very well could have one of the best offenses in the NFL in 2026. Many people have forgotten just how good the Vikings’ offense can be under Kevin O’Connell, since 2025 was such a disaster.
In 2022 through 2024, Vikings passing offenses were top-10 in most advanced metrics. In 2025, that plummeted all the way down to a bottom-5 passing offense.
For the first three years in the Kevin O’Connell era, the Vikings had veteran QBs starting almost every game, outside of Jaren Hall’s first two starts. There was no denying the potency of the Vikings game in the air, with big numbers being put up every week, mostly in the games that were started by Sam Darnold and Kirk Cousins.
Now that the Vikings will likely be starting another veteran in Kyler Murray, there is one clear thing that they have to fix that has been an issue even during the years of good passing offenses: the running game.
Minnesota did hire Frank Smith, former OC of the Miami Dolphins, who oversaw a good ground game in Miami. The hope is that he stays in Kevin O’Connell’s ear all season long, making sure the ball is run at the correct times.
An average running game alone, if paired with a typical Vikings passing offense in recent years, could be enough to make them one of the best offenses in the NFL.
