Impact of Brian Flores’ return and J.J. McCarthy future as the starting quarterback highlight Minnesota Vikings mailbag

The biggest factors of the Minnesota Vikings’ 2026 season are Brian Flores and J.J. McCarthy.

Tyler Forness — NFL & College Football News Writer

Jan 22, 2026 4:56 PM EST

Jan 4, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) throws a pass against the Green Bay Packers during the second quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium. — Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Vikings have a crucial offseason ahead of them.

Head coach Kevin O’Connell‘s team finished 9-8 on the season, but had a five-game winning streak to finish the season. They did find a way to extend the contract of defensive coordinator Brian Flores. With that essentially figured out, the front office has the ability to focus on fixing the roster.

What are the biggest questions from the fanbase? I answer the fans’ questions in my latest mailbag.

Does J.J. McCarthy deserve to start?

Does JJ McCarthy deserve to be the ‘26 week 1 starter?
— Cole Middleton (@ColeMiddleton__) January 20, 2026

This is a fascinating question to parse out. When the Vikings selected McCarthy at 1oth overall in the 2024 NFL Draft, nobody thought he was going to be an instant success. There was an expected learning curve as he entered the NFL at just 21 years old. Even so, nobody expected the start of his career.

In his first 35 games, McCarthy has missed 25 of them due to injury:

Torn meniscus: 18 games
High ankle sprain: 5 games
Concussion: 1 game
Broken hand: 1 game

Even when McCarthy did end up playing, he wasn’t very good. Out of 36 qualifying quarterbacks with over 275 passing snaps this year, McCarthy ranks:

35th in EPA/play
34th in success rate
36th in completion percentage
33rd in expected completion percentage
36th in completion percentage over expected

If McCarthy were a fourth-round pick, there wouldn’t be any question about whether or not he would be starting next season. As things sit right now, he will likely be the starter in 2026, but the word deserve is an important one, and his play says that answer is no.

Brian Flores’ impact on NFL Draft strategy

With Flores back and our defense's results being highly due to system/coach, who are the top offensive weapons we could take in the first two rounds to position us to be win now in 2026 to take advantage of at least one more year with Flores?
— cgmivperras (@cgmivperras) January 22, 2026

I love the idea of this question, because the four top needs for the Vikings are all on the defensive side of the football: cornerback, inside linebacker, safety, and defensive tackle. With Flores for sure returning outside of getting a head coaching job, there might be more of a focus on the offensive side of the football when it comes to prospects.

The other aspect here is wide receiver Jordan Addison’s future, who could be a trade candidate. Trading him could mean a significant change in the Vikings’ future outlook. Who could be some interesting offensive weapons in each round?

Round one:

Round two:

Washington RB Jonah Coleman
Vanderbilt TE Eli Stovers
Louisville WR Chris Bell
Alabama WR Germie Bernard

A potential running back trade

If the Vikings do move on from Aaron Jones and don’t want to pay top dollar for a free agent RB. Could we see a trade of a mid round pick for a guy from a team with a new coach who might not fit them I.E. Tony Pollard ,Tyrone Tracy ,Jerome Ford ?
— MichiganSKOLdier (@SKOLinMichigan) January 20, 2026

The Vikings seem to prefer veterans at running back versus having a young player behind center. They selected Ty Chandler in the fifth round of 2022 and DeWayne McBride in the seventh round of 2023, but nobody in the loaded running back class last year, which was a pretty big shocker. The trade for Jordan Mason was a signal of that.

This idea is a very interesting one, as the other team could end up trying to move on from players who could end up being moved on from at a potential discount. I do think it’s possible they make a move like that, but it would be a player similarly to Jones, and I think Tracy could be that player. He’s a dual-threat who was a college wide receiver.

Safety is a big need for the Vikings

How would you approach the safety room? With Harrison smith maybe retiring and Flo possibly leaving , do you think the safety room is fixed in the draft, FA, or we go with who we’ve got?
— MinnesotaSportsAppreciater (@minnesotaspts) January 20, 2026

In fairness to Minnesota Sports Appreciator, this question was asked before the Flores extension was announced. Even with Flores returning, it needs to be a serious focus for the Vikings. Metellus is a good to very good player, but his role needs to be a versatile one. This past season, he didn’t get to do that nearly enough, and his performance suffered a bit because of that.

Ideally, the Vikings would be able to land Ohio State safety Caleb Downs, but he’s likely to be taken in the top 10. However, there are a bevy of safety options in the second round that could fit the bill for the Vikings.