The Vikings are 3-0, but not every part of this team is humming along the same way. Minnesota keeps finding answers, sometimes in messy fashion, and Week 3 gave us a clear split between players trending up and others whose roles are starting to look shaky.
With the De'Von Achane-less Dolphins up next in Week 4, the chance to keep the run going is there. But so is the need to sort out who’s actually carrying weight.
Jordan Addison made the strongest case for rising stock against Tampa Bay. Once Justin Jefferson left the game, Addison stepped in and produced five catches for 90 yards and a touchdown.
After a quiet opening to the year, that kind of outing mattered. It showed he can handle a bigger load if Jefferson misses time, and it also put some pressure on him to keep stacking performances like this if he wants that huge extension at the end of the season.
On the other side of that coin, Jauan Jennings was barely involved. He finished with one catch for one yard against the Bucs, which is a brutal return for a player expected to be a major piece alongside Jefferson and Addison.
The quarterback play has been shaky, and Jennings did miss Week 2 for personal reasons, but one yard through this point is far from what anyone expected. For now, he’s doing a lot of running and not much else, and it’s tough to argue he’s been worth anything close to his contract.
Kyle Van Noy, meanwhile, keeps making the most of his chances. Elevated from the practice squad for the third straight game, he got better again and turned in 1.5 sacks and three tackles for loss in just 17 snaps against Tampa Bay.
At 35, he’s already making a strong case as Minnesota’s best free-agent signing so far. According to Pro Football Focus, he’s the seventh-highest-graded EDGE in the NFL after three weeks.
Eric Wilson also pushed his way into the positive column with a big day against the Bucs. After being mostly quiet through the first two games and landing on the Week 2 stock-down list, he answered with 1.5 sacks and the kind of backfield activity Minnesota was missing early. It looked a lot like the Wilson the Vikings had in 2025, when he was constantly around the ball.
He wasn’t alone in the linebacker room. Wilson, Blake Cashman and Ivan Pace Jr. are all playing some of their best football right now.
T.J. Hockenson is headed the other direction.
He took a pay cut in the offseason, but his start to 2026 has been underwhelming enough to raise real questions about where this is going. Through three games, he has nine catches and a career-low 8.4 yards per reception.
Tampa Bay’s weak pass defense looked like the ideal setup for a bounce-back game, but he managed only two catches for 11 yards. With Josh Oliver hurt, the next step could either be more chances for Hockenson or a chance for Gavin Bartholomew to make a push of his own.
And then there’s Harrison Smith, whose situation is starting to look bleak. He has played fewer than 30 snaps in each of the last three weeks, and the Vikings appear content to keep him in a supporting role.
That’s hard to square given that Joshua Metellus and Theo Jackson have not exactly seized the moment. Smith may still be building back up, but after a month with the team, his game shape should be where it needs to be.
He has only five tackles this season, and it does not look likely that he’ll get his full-time workload back.
In Other News...
Kevin OConnell Faces Real Heat After Vikings QB Bust
The Vikings have already moved on from a costly quarterback swing, sending former 2024 No. 10 pick J.J. McCarthy to the Giants for a 2027 fifth-round pick and putting an abrupt end to a pairing that never took hold in Minnesota. Head coach Kevin OConnell and general manager Nolan Teasley both acknowledged the disappointment of the decision, calling it a necessary fresh start as the team looks to steady an offense that has stumbled early this season.
What makes the move more than a simple roster reset is the pressure it puts on OConnell and the organizations quarterback plans going forward. The Vikings still have to answer whether the development process behind McCarthy went wrong, and how much of the responsibility lands on the coaching staff as the offense searches for traction. For a team built around offensive identity, the aftermath of this trade could linger well beyond the transaction itself. [Read more 🡒]
Caleb Williams Injury Against Vikings Was Not What It Seemed
Caleb Williams exit against the Vikings looked like the kind of sudden, ugly injury that can change a game in an instant. He left in visible pain, and for Minnesota it was one more reminder of how quickly a matchup can tilt when a quarterback is forced to the sideline. The medical update, though, painted a more specific picture: a Grade 2 right hamstring strain tied to scar tissue breaking up from an earlier hamstring issue.
For the Vikings, the result was less about a catastrophic setback and more about a quarterback trying to work his way through a tricky recovery. Williams is expected to be week-to-week, which leaves his status unsettled but offers some relief that the injury is not expected to cause long-term damage. Still, the way it happened showed just how sharp the pain can be when a player is dealing with something that never fully went away. [Read more 🡒]
Vikings Suddenly Face A Huge 2027 Quarterback Decision
The Vikings quarterback picture has changed quickly enough to create a new kind of offseason concern for the future. After trading J.J. McCarthy to the Giants, Minnesota now finds itself without a quarterback under contract beyond the 2026 season, a reminder that the teams long-term plan at the games most important position is suddenly wide open.
That reality pushes the conversation toward 2027 and the veteran market, where names like Justin Herbert, Mac Jones and Drew Lock can at least be discussed as possibilities depending on how their contract situations and team needs evolve. For now, it is only speculation, but it is the sort of quarterback uncertainty that can shape roster-building long before the calendar turns to the season itself. [Read more 🡒]