When you look at the Minnesota Vikings going into 2026, there are a lot of different opinions out there.

A lot of how the Vikings will be viewed will be determined by who plays quarterback. Kyler Murray is still likely to be named the starting quarterback, while J.J. McCarthy is going to be competing for the job. With their track records, it makes sense why Murray is the favorite.

The interesting element of the NFC North is breaking down all four teams from the perspective of each. With that in mind, all the beat writers got together to explain why they think the Vikings won’t win the NFC North.

Tyler Forness, Minnesota Vikings beat writer

When you look at why the 2025 Vikings struggled, it was simple. The quarterback position couldn’t do much of anything. Head coach Kevin O’Connell has proven to be the quarterback whisperer, but only with veteran players.

J.J. McCarthy was supposed to be the guy for the Vikings, and all he needed to do was be average for the Vikings to make a run. Ultimately, he wasn’t average; he was a cumulative disaster in his 10 starts, putting up bottom-five stats in key metrics like EPA/play, success rate, and CPOE.

McCarthy likely won’t be the starting quarterback this year, and Kyler Murray will likely be that guy. Even though he has the talent, there is a reason the Arizona Cardinals let him go. We can’t be certain that he will be the savior for the Vikings.

Plus, the Vikings will have to replace four starters on defense, and Brian Flores can’t fix everything.

Wendell Ferreira, Green Bay Packers beat writer

The Vikings have a solid offensive infrastructure, but defense was mostly what kept the team afloat over the past couple of seasons. And while Brian Flores is still there, it’s impossible to ignore some of the pieces the roster lost. Jonathan Greenard’s departure is massive, and the compensation wasn’t nearly strong enough to justify the decision. But the team also lost Harrison Smith and overhauled the interior of the defensive line.

All of those decision may pan out, especially in the long run. But defensive performance is so volatile by nature that is hard to project great results after so many changes. Unless Kyler Murray plays at such a high level that the offense is able to overcome those issues, the Vikings will probably have a hard time in the most competitive division in football.

Kole Noble, Chicago Bears beat writer

The trademark of Minnesota’s roster is easily the team’s stout defense led by Brian Flores. It’s a dominant scheme that puts players in the best possible position to succeed. This offseason, however, the Vikings had to cut a lot of bodies on the defensive side of the ball. Jonathan Greenard, Javon Hargrave, and Jonathan Allen are all out of the building and the same might go for cerebral safety Harrison Smith. Those are tough losses to overcome.

To replace them, the Vikings will be relying on multiple young defenders stepping into big roles with Dallas Turner starting off the edge, Caleb Banks and Dominique Orange on the interior, and Theo Jackson potentially stepping into a starting role. If those players aren’t ready for the big roles, this unit could regress and that would be detrimental to this entire team.

Mike Payton, Detroit Lions beat writer

I don’t trust their offense at all. Not one bit. I think we’ve seen by now what Kyler Murray can do, and none of it was very impressive outside of a decent 2021 season. That was a long time ago. It says a lot when the worst team in football has no problem just letting the former first overall pick walk out the door. On top of that, they have essentially no run game and are about to be quite one-dimensional