Now that the Vikings have their 53-man roster in place, the spotlight shifts to the quarterback who spent training camp quietly building his case.
Kyler Murray has spent most of his career as a constant topic of debate, from being drafted No. 1 overall by Arizona after the Cardinals took Josh Rosen the year before, to the ups and downs with Kliff Kingsbury, to contract disputes with the front office, to a 2024 resurgence, and then the team benching him in 2025. Through all of it, the question has always hung in the air: how good is he, really, and can he truly lead a franchise?
From everything that showed up in Vikings camp, he’s getting a strong chance to answer that this season.
While a lot of the attention centered on J.J. McCarthy, his chances to win the job, and the fallout after he didn’t, Murray put together a solid summer as Minnesota’s quarterback.
He wasn’t prime Fran Tarkenton, but he handled the offense well and built real chemistry with Justin Jefferson, including a “final drive” situational drill against the Ravens in joint practices. He finished camp with a strong intersquad scrimmage, highlighted by a deep ball to Jefferson and a touchdown pass to Jordan Addison in the back of the end zone.
What makes this setup interesting is that the Vikings do not seem to want Murray carrying everything on his own. The offense is built to let him play quarterback, not Superman.
In 2024, he had 614 drop-backs, the 10th most in the NFL, and he was asked to pass more often than Jared Goff, Justin Herbert, Matthew Stafford, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson. That kind of workload is hardly ideal.
Minnesota’s hope is pretty clear: improve the run game, lean on the defense, and let Murray distribute the ball to the playmakers around him instead of forcing him into constant improvisation. On paper, that’s a cleaner formula. In camp, it looked workable.
And the supporting cast is loaded enough to make the idea real. Jefferson, Addison, Jauan Jennings, T.J.
Hockenson and pass-catching back Aaron Jones give Murray a receiving group that could stack up with anyone. Up front, the Vikings have invested heavily, with two top-notch tackles, a first-round guard and an $18 million guard.
Center is still an issue because of snapping problems, and interior depth is also a concern, but the group has enough talent to be good.
There were also encouraging notes deeper on the roster. Swing tackle Ryan Van Demark had a strong camp, and the depth receivers Tai Felton and Myles Price also stood out. Running back depth looks thinner, though, with sixth-rounder Demond Claiborne backing up Jordan Mason and Aaron Jones.
All of that makes a top-10 offensive finish a realistic target. The Vikings have the kind of talent around Murray that can lift him, and his own track record suggests there’s upside if the structure holds.
The numbers underline just how much room there is for improvement. Last year, the 49ers were the NFL’s 10th-best scoring team with 437 points, nearly 100 more than Minnesota put up.
And in passing Expected Points Added, the Vikings’ 2025 passing game was worth minus-40.3 points, according to Pro-Football Reference. Even the Marcus Mariota-led Commanders and the struggling Eagles were both more than 100 points better through the air.
Strangely enough, quarterback may not even be the most volatile part of the roster. That case can be made on defense, where Brian Flores faces a serious challenge to keep the unit in top-10 territory in 2026.
The preseason didn’t suggest rookie Caleb Banks will be a major factor on the defensive line right away, since foot injuries have left him needing more development time. The line overall is unproven, and Dallas Turner is stepping into full-time duty for the first time.
The corners and linebackers feature veteran presence, but safety is a thinner spot, with Theo Jackson and Jay Ward carrying less than a full season of career work between them. Depth across the defense leans heavily on draft picks such as Domonique Orange, Jake Golday and Chuck Demmings.
Flores has earned the benefit of the doubt, but defenses can turn fragile quickly. If the Vikings stay healthy, there’s no reason to rank them below the top 10. If injuries pile up, that picture changes fast.
There is some support for the idea that the defense can still hold its ground. Last season, Minnesota allowed the second-fewest passing yards per game, though part of that came from teams not needing to throw much because the offense struggled. If the Vikings get forced into more shootouts this time, the challenge becomes different.
The margin is thin, too. The gap between the Vikings’ fifth-ranked pass defense EPA in 2025 and the 11th-ranked was only about 30 points. Strong seasons from Turner, Andrew Van Ginkel, Blake Cashman, Byron Murphy Jr. and Josh Metellus could help keep the unit afloat.
Put it all together, and the Vikings have the look of a serious NFC North team in a division full of good-but-imperfect contenders. The roster suggests they need the best version of Murray to get there, but it also suggests they may have built the kind of environment that can bring that version out.
And that wouldn’t be a first for Minnesota in recent memory.
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Vikings Already Reworking Their Roster As More Moves Loom
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Brosmer and Bell could still circle back to the organization if they clear waivers and land on the practice squad, but for now their status reflects just how unsettled things remain in Minnesota. With the opener approaching, the Vikings still appear to have more sorting to do, and this latest shuffle suggests the roster picture may not settle for a while yet. [Read more 🡒]
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For players in that group, surviving the initial cuts is only part of the battle, because the roster remains fluid before the regular season begins. But the fact that Minnesota kept them around says plenty about how the staff viewed their camp work and how each might fit if the Vikings need depth, special teams help or a surprise contributor once the games start to count. [Read more 🡒]