The Vikings are staring at a short runway before their bye, and Week 5 in New Orleans gives Kevin O’Connell a chance to make a few choices that could shape how this thing looks moving forward. After a busy stretch of injuries and roster shuffling, the cleanest path for Minnesota may not be the flashy one.
Start up front, where Joe Huber appears to be the answer at left guard for now. The undrafted free agent from 2025 filled in for the injured Donovan Jackson last week against Miami, and after a solid showing, he should be in line to start again against the Saints. O’Connell liked what he saw after Huber logged 71 snaps in the win.
“Joe’s a good young player that we’ve been really excited about since we first brought him on as an undrafted free agent last year,” said O’Connell. “He’s been able to be versatile to have a game-day role at three spots when called upon.
It happened to be left guard yesterday. I thought he had some really good snaps.”
That matters because the Vikings are unlikely to find an easy fix elsewhere. A midseason trade for an offensive lineman is a tough sell, and the pool of available free-agent guards has already been stripped bare.
Minnesota does get a bye after the Saints game, which should give the team a better chance to sort through the position. But if Huber plays well again on Sunday, pulling him out for an outside addition would be a difficult move to justify.
The other major adjustment comes with the offense itself. Kyler Murray’s fit with Minnesota was questioned before he even took a snap, and the numbers behind that skepticism were obvious. Before arriving in Minnesota, Murray played 85% of his snaps in shotgun with the Cardinals, while O’Connell has used shotgun on only 53% of his snaps since becoming head coach, according to NFL Next Gen Stats and ESPN.
That tension showed up in the most productive version of the offense so far. Murray’s best game came in the win over Miami, when O’Connell called for shotgun 54 times - the most he has done since taking over in 2022. The Vikings had hoped to find a middle ground between O’Connell’s preference for under-center football and Murray’s comfort out of the gun, but that balance may already be the wrong answer.
If the offense is going to get moving, O’Connell may need to lean into what Murray does best instead of what he prefers. The season is in a spot where experimentation has to be practical, and the Vikings can’t afford to keep forcing a system that doesn’t fit their quarterback.
Then there’s the newest wrinkle: Odell Beckham Jr. on the practice squad. The move got attention, and it also makes sense on a basic football level.
Beckham was released by the Giants without recording a catch, and Minnesota quickly moved to reunite him with O’Connell, his former offensive coordinator from their Rams days. O’Connell has already hinted Beckham could be elevated for Sunday, pointing to his familiarity with the scheme.
The expectations should be modest, but the bar at the bottom of the receiver room is low enough that Beckham doesn’t need to do much to matter. Jauan Jennings, Tai Felton and Myles Price have combined for only three catches through four games. If Beckham can give Minnesota something useful as a WR4, the move starts to look a lot better.
If he can’t, at least it gave the Vikings a little extra attention for a few days.
In Other News...
Vikings Injury Report Puts Several Key Starters In Doubt For Sunday
The first injury reports of the week gave the Vikings an early look at just how much juggling may be required before Sundays game at Caesars Superdome. Minnesota and New Orleans both released their initial availability lists, and the Vikings side includes some familiar names near the top, with Justin Jefferson and Christian Darrisaw among the players worth monitoring as the week unfolds.
For Kevin OConnells staff, the bigger issue is less about one isolated absence than the overall practice picture this early in the preparation cycle. The Saints report brings its own concerns, with Alvin Kamara and Chris Olave also on it, which only adds to the uncertainty on both sides heading into the weekend. The next few practices will tell the real story, but for now Minnesota is dealing with a report that already has several starters in doubt. [Read more 🡒]
Vikings Still Have One Clear Path Even After Murray's Shaky Start
The early NFC quarterback picture already has a few familiar names under a microscope, and Kyler Murray is right there among them after a shaky start to the 2026 season. He is still viewed as a quarterback with enough talent to settle in as the year unfolds, but the opening stretch has left plenty of room for skepticism as the league starts sorting out which passers can carry their teams through the long middle of the schedule.
For Minnesota, that matters because the Vikings are watching the conference landscape with the same practical lens they use on everything else: which path still looks open, and which one is already closing. Jalon Daniels, meanwhile, is dealing with a far different early assignment as a rookie pressed into action because of injury, adding another layer of uncertainty to a quarterback group that is already hard to read. The upside for the Vikings is that the NFC still feels fluid, but the challenge is finding a route that remains clear once the season starts separating hopeful starts from real momentum. [Read more 🡒]
Odell Beckham Jr. Gives Undefeated Vikings Needed Help Fast
A quick phone call from Kevin OConnell helped push Odell Beckham Jr. toward Minnesota, and the move gives the undefeated Vikings a jolt they clearly needed. Beckham arrives with a rsum that still carries weight around the league, including Pro Bowl recognition and a Super Bowl title, and his familiarity with OConnell from the Rams' championship run made the fit easier to see from the start.
The timing matters even more because Minnesota has struggled badly through the air, sitting last in passing yards. Beckham also lands in a receiver room with a familiar face in Justin Jefferson, giving the Vikings another established target as they try to stabilize an offense that has not yet found its rhythm. Whether the addition can lift the passing game quickly is the question now hanging over a team that has kept winning anyway. [Read more 🡒]