The Vikings have nearly a dozen rookies on the 53-man roster, and with the season opener against the rival Packers less than two weeks away, their roles are starting to come into focus. Some of these first-year players already look ready for real snaps. Others, not so much.
Here’s how confident I am in each rookie’s readiness if Minnesota needs them in Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season.
Caleb Tiernan’s early run in camp and the first preseason game didn’t go well. The third-round pick from Northwestern put up a rough 28.2 Pro Football Focus grade, and an ankle injury has kept him sidelined for the last few weeks. He should be healthy by Week 1, but if he’s seeing the field against Green Bay, that probably means something has gone badly wrong.
That’s especially true with Brian O’Neill and Christian Darrisaw already locked in as the starting tackles. Tiernan’s offensive reps figure to come only if injury forces the issue.
Demond Claiborne also had a preseason he’d probably like to erase. He averaged just 2.6 yards per carry, and he opens the season as the No. 3 running back behind Jordan Mason and Aaron Jones Sr. Unless there’s an injury ahead of him, his path to meaningful offense looks steep.
The speed is obvious - Claiborne ran a 4.3-second 40-yard dash - but if he’s called on early, the ball-security concerns and lack of production in the preseason could outweigh that burst.
At fullback, Max Bredeson has made the strongest case of the bunch. He’s the clear starter, and he’s handled a strong camp and preseason while stepping into the role left behind by the retirement of C.J.
Ham. He looks ready to be a real piece of the run game, and head coach Kevin O’Connell has said he plans to lean into that more in 2026.
The first-round pick, Caleb Banks, is still working back from the foot injury he suffered at the NFL Scouting Combine in February. Right now, his game shape sounds more average Minnesotan than polished NFL lineman, and the conditioning should keep improving as the season goes on.
Even beyond that, pad level has remained an issue for the 6-foot-7 lineman since college. Banks may not crack the starting lineup this season, and while his rookie year may not be flashy, he’s still very much a work in progress.
Domonique Orange, on the other hand, appears to be ahead of Banks at this stage. He worked with the first-team defense this summer and should factor heavily on the interior, especially with Minnesota needing more against the run after giving up 124 yards per game on the ground in 2025. Levi Drake-Rodriguez and Orange could split the nose tackle work 50-50.
Jakobe Thomas has had a tougher summer. A back injury has kept him off the field for most of the past month, though he did get some action in the final preseason game. He still has a lot of catching up to do.
The safety room is crowded, and with Jacob Thomas emerging too, the path for Jakobe to get early playing time is hard to see. Still, this is the kind of player Brian Flores tends to love, so it may only be a matter of time before he earns his place.
Chuck Demmings has already made a strong impression with his play and his quotes, but a starting job in Year 1 doesn’t look likely. He sits behind Isaiah Rodgers and Byron Murphy Jr., and he’ll fight James Pierre for the CB3 role.
Flores doesn’t often use three corners at once, so even with a promising breakout, Demmings may not see much of the field this season.
One of the two undrafted rookies to make the 53-man roster, Thomas closed the preseason as Minnesota’s highest-graded defender, according to PFF, at 92.7. Even so, Joshua Metellus, Jay Ward and Theo Jackson are positioned to handle most of the safety snaps in 2026.
Thomas has shown he can handle whatever comes his way, though, and he could absolutely move into a starting role if needed.
Jake Golday has the kind of flexibility Flores tends to value. He’s been used both at off-ball linebacker and on the edge, but he’s still behind established starters at both spots. Right now, he looks like a utility piece more than a finished product, though the hope is that he can grow into something like the Vikings’ next Andrew Van Ginkel.
Brett Thorson won the punting job over veteran Johnny Hecker, and he also earned the holding duties for 2026. The Australian was the Ray Guy Award winner in college, and he’ll now be part of what should be one of the league’s strongest special teams units.
In Other News...
Vikings QB Drama Just Put Their Season-Opening Plan Under Pressure
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Kyler Murray, meanwhile, has emerged as a beneficiary of the situation, which only adds another layer to the quarterback picture the Vikings are trying to sort through. For a team built around stability and clear direction under center, the timing of McCarthys injury makes the decision-making process more delicate, and the next move from the coaching staff will say plenty about how confident it feels in its plans. [Read more 🡒]
Kyler Murray Could Force Kevin OConnell Into A Vikings Offense Dilemma
Kevin OConnell has built his reputation on adapting to quarterbacks, and that flexibility is about to be tested again from the Minnesota side. His background blends the precision of New England-influenced discipline with a more California-style willingness to tailor the offense to the player in front of him, which has helped him navigate different skill sets and keep the Vikings moving. He has coached quarterbacks with varying strengths before, and his system has generally leaned toward timing, structure and clean decision-making.
Kyler Murray brings a different kind of challenge, though, because his mobility and instinctive playmaking can pull an offense away from the scripted, precise rhythm OConnell prefers. With Minnesotas quarterback situation creating the opening for Murray to matter here, the question becomes whether OConnell sticks to his usual framework or bends it further for a quarterback who can turn a broken play into something dangerous. The tension is obvious: the Vikings need an answer, but the answer may require the coach to loosen the very control that has helped define him. [Read more 🡒]
Vikings Fans Will Hate What JJ Watts Week 1 Prep Seemed To Show
The NFL broadcasting carousel has landed on a familiar name for one of the Vikings biggest games of 2026. JJ Watt has been promoted to lead analyst at CBS Sports for the season, taking over the top chair and joining Jim Nantz and Tracy Wolfson in the booth for a Week 1 assignment that already has plenty of attention around it.
His first game in the role will be Packers at Vikings on Sept. 13, a matchup that will test both the networks new lead voice and Minnesotas patience with an opener that rarely comes with any shortage of tension. The change comes after Tony Romo was placed on an indefinite leave of absence following an arrest, and it immediately puts Watt in the middle of one of the leagues most watched early-season games. [Read more 🡒]