Vikings’ Offense Fetches Some Respect ahead of Training Camp

Don’t look now, but the Minnesota Vikings will have one of the NFL’s most improved offenses heading into 2026, says Bleacher Report, as training camp turns white-hot in about two weeks.

BR’s Moe Moton listed all offenses by their improvement level during the offseason, and Minnesota was not ignored.

Kyler Murray and Jauan Jennings Change the Projection

Vikings’ Offense Gets Kudos from BR

Moton revealed five NFL offenses that will improve this season, and he wrote about Minnesota, “Last season, J.J. McCarthy threw for 1,632 yards, 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions with a 57.6 percent completion rate. The Athletic’s Alec Lewis reported that head coach Kevin O’Connell removed over-the-middle passing concepts to simplify the signal-caller’s progression reads.”

“Yet the Vikings still didn’t get much production out of the aerial attack. Although Kyler Murray underperformed in Arizona over the last few years, he could see a career resurgence under O’Connell, who has called plays for a top-six passing offense in three of his four years with the Vikings.”

McCarthy and Murray will face off in a quarterback battle in Eagan — about two weeks from now.

“The 28-year-old signal-caller needs to stay healthy, though. 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,” Moton continued.

“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.”

The Murray Upgrade

Vikings fans — and sites like Bleacher Report — can dream big about the team’s offense because of two words: Kyler Murray.

Murray averages 4,500 combined passing and rushing yards over 17 starts, along with 30 total touchdowns. The world isn’t thinking too highly of him in 2026 after the Arizona Cardinals dumped him — rather unceremoniously — which enabled Minnesota to snag him for the veteran minimum.

In Arizona, Murray didn’t suffer from a lack of weapons, but the Vikings’ arsenal is an upgrade, and Minnesota’s defense over the last few years has ranked second in the NFL per EPA/Play. The Cardinals rank 30th in defense per the same metric since 2023.

More weapons and better defense will make Murray look a whole lot better.

The Jennings Addition

For years, the Vikings have deprioritized the WR3 spot, often content with decent-but-not-great playmakers like K.J. Osborn and Jalen Nailor. Before those two, Minnesota would find WR5 types and shove them into the WR3 job, like Bisi Johnson and Chad Beebe.

Jennings is different.

In San Francisco, Jennings posted legitimate WR3 numbers, frequently crossing over as the WR2. The Vikings haven’t showcased a fancy WR trio quite like this (Jefferson, Addison, and Jennings) since Randy Moss, Cris Carter, and Jake Reed. And that was 25 years ago.

Jennings can take Kevin O’Connell’s passing offense to a new dimension. Now, if O’Connell can figure out how to run the football at a balanced clip, the enterprise will be cooking with gas.

The Viking Age‘s Anthony Miller noted this week, “As for Jennings, while his addition wasn’t 100 percent necessary for the Vikings to be successful, he certainly helps the room out. He was one of the top receivers on the San Francisco 49ers over the years, giving the Vikings what could be one of the best receiver trios in the NFL.”

“Justin Jefferson is the star of the group, of course, and Jordan Addison can do a bit of everything needed. Jennings is a good insurance policy if anything goes wrong with Addison, but he is also a reliable receiver to turn to when defenses focus heavily on Jefferson and Addison.”

Don’t Forget about Clean Slate of OL Health

But wait, there’s more.

Last year, the Vikings envisioned an offensive line, from left to right, with Christian Darrisaw, Donovan Jackson, Ryan Kelly, Will Fries, and Brian O’Neill. The fivesome hardly played together. Injuries ruined everything.

While injuries — yet again — are always possible, Minnesota is due for a season with limited offensive line injuries. Kelly is gone — he retired because of concussions — and Blake Brandel is in, but the outlook remains the same: the Vikings should have a Top 10 or Top 15 offensive line.

Plop that on top of Murray and Jennings in the house, and it’s no wonder BR is dreaming big about the purple team’s 2026 offense.

Dustin Baker is a novelist and political scientist. His second novel, The Invaders , is out now. So is … More about Dustin Baker