The Vikings have spent too long leaving points on the table once they get inside the 20, and that’s the one offensive problem that still hangs over Kevin O’Connell’s team. Minnesota can move the ball.
It can scheme. It can look sharp between the hashes.
But when the field shrinks, the finishing touch has been missing.
The numbers tell the story pretty plainly. Minnesota finished 2025 with a 56.8% red-zone touchdown rate, good for 17th in the league.
The year before, it was 54.8% and 19th. In 2023, it dipped all the way to 47.1%, which ranked 29th.
That means the Vikings haven’t been a top-half red-zone team in more than three years, even though the offense has had enough talent to do better.
That’s especially frustrating because the Vikings were actually better at turning red-zone trips into touchdowns in the messy 2025 season than they were during the 14-3, Sam Darnold-led 2024 campaign. Still, the ceiling feels obvious.
Minnesota has been good enough to get there; it just hasn’t been ruthless enough to cash in. And without Will Reichard, the scoring picture would look a lot uglier.
Part of the issue is how often O’Connell has leaned into the pass once the field compresses. In 2025, Jordan Mason led the team with 29 red-zone rushing attempts, which ranked 30th in the NFL and even trailed a few quarterbacks.
Aaron Jones had only 14 carries in that area, while Vikings quarterbacks threw 77 times inside the 20. In a league that’s tilted toward the pass, Minnesota may have leaned a little too hard in that direction.
The other problem was size. Minnesota’s pass-catching group had talent, but not much of a true red-zone bully.
Justin Jefferson, at 195 pounds, was the “big” receiver in 2025. T.J.
Hockenson should be the obvious answer as a red-zone weapon, but his drop-off after knee surgery and the team’s need to patch together blocking after the offensive line was ravaged by injury kept that from happening.
There’s still a path for Hockenson to get back to form if Christian Darrisaw is healthy. In 2023, Hockenson put together a huge season with 95 catches and five scores, and that version of him would change the way Minnesota looks near the goal line.
The front office has already made moves to address the issue. Jauan Jennings gives the Vikings a different kind of target - one they’ve been missing.
At 6-foot-3 and 212 pounds, he was the fifth-most targeted wide receiver in the red zone last season with the San Francisco 49ers, and he turned those looks into seven touchdowns from inside the 20. That kind of frame matters when the windows get tight and the defense starts crowding everything.
Jennings also fills a different role than Jalen Nailor, whose speed helped stretch the field but didn’t add much size. If O’Connell keeps throwing inside the red zone, at least Minnesota now has a receiver built to win those snaps.
Kyler Murray is the other major addition who could change the equation immediately if he wins the starting job. Even in an injury-shortened 2025, Murray completed 65% of his red-zone passes, which ranked fifth in the NFL and was a massive jump over Minnesota’s collective 50% mark. He also scored a rushing touchdown in just five games.
That kind of quarterback creates problems for defenses. If they spy him, one of the Vikings’ top pass-catchers could end up in single coverage.
If they don’t, Murray can make them pay with his legs. Either way, the defense is forced to choose, and that’s the kind of pressure Minnesota hasn’t consistently put on opponents in the red zone.
The key, of course, is keeping the penalties and turnovers down.
Mason also gives the Vikings something useful near the goal line. He scored on four of his seven carries from inside the five last season, and his 230-pound frame makes him a legitimate option in tight spaces. He doesn’t need to be a classic bruiser to be effective, but he has shown he can handle more work when the field gets tiny.
The Vikings have been burned by penalties, turnovers, and shaky red-zone play-calling, but 2026 does at least look different on paper. With Murray, Jennings, and Mason in the mix, plus the possibility that O’Connell leans a little more on the run, Minnesota has a real chance to be much better inside the 20.
The last time the Vikings had a top-10 red-zone offense was O’Connell’s first season, when they went 13-4 and won the division. After three seasons of frustration, that’s the standard they need to get back to. With a dynamic receiving group, a dual-threat quarterback, and a proven power back, there shouldn’t be any excuses left in 2026.
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