Minnesota Vikings’ path to a Super Bowl will have to include 5 specific factors, featuring Kyler Murray
If the Minnesota Vikings want to win the Super Bowl in 2026, there are some things they have to accomplish, including
When you look at the Minnesota Vikings, the one thing that continues to shine through is the lack of a Lombardi Trophy in their case. They are one of two teams in the NFL to make four Super Bowls and not having won a title. Now, the Vikings have officially won an NFL title in 1969, which was the last year before the merger with the AFL.
Even with that, it’s not acknowledged that they have won an NFL title, because they don’t have that Lombardi. Each year presents a unique opportunity to compete for a world title, and this rendition of the Vikings has an interesting case. Like the Seattle Seahawks last year, how can they get it done? If they end up getting it done, these five things will need to happen.
Name Kyler Murray the starter sooner rather than later
Kyler Murray gives the Vikings the best chance to win right now, and I think that’s a consensus opinion at this point. The longer the quarterback competition drags on, the less time Murray has to build chemistry with wide receivers Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and Jauan Jennings while getting comfortable in Kevin O’Connell‘s system.
You can do the classroom work and study the playbook at home, but applying it on the field helps ingrain a certain level of comfort. That’s why you often hear about quarterbacks taking a major step in year three of a system, especially a West Coast offense as O’Connell runs. At that point, it often becomes second nature. Murray needs every possible rep to reach that point. Remember, this is about winning a Super Bowl in 2026, not worrying about the future.
The ideal scenario for everybody would be J.J. McCarthy developing into the franchise quarterback, but that’s not happening at the rate Minnesota needs for a 2026 title run. If you want to talk 10 years into the future, that’s a different conversation. For 2026 specifically, Murray is the answer. You don’t have that ceiling in 2026 with McCarthy, Carson Wentz, or Max Brosmer.
My best guess is the starter gets named around Aug. 21, after those joint practices with the Baltimore Ravens. I also believe O’Connell will move the loser to QB3 rather than QB2 to give the starter a clean runway without someone breathing down his neck. Sam Darnold thrived in 2024 partly because McCarthy’s torn meniscus removed that dynamic entirely. However, making that decision earlier on would behoove the Vikings.
Make Jordan Mason the workhorse running back
The addition of assistant head coach Frank Smith highlights the second element that needs to happen. Aaron Jones is a good player, but he can’t stay healthy with just three seasons where he played every game, and even in 2024 when he appeared in all 17, he missed multiple quarters with various ailments.
Last season, Jordan Mason wasn’t the No. 1 option, but he had 159 carries to Jones’ 132. That’s just 10 carries per game for Mason, and that’s not enough to get a player like him going. He’s the kind of runner who builds momentum throughout games, similar to a Derrick Henry-type snowball effect. You can stop him in the first and second quarters, but good luck as you get deeper into the game.
The Vikings finished with 410 rushing attempts for 1,841 yards and 15 touchdowns at 4.5 yards per carry. The aggregate numbers were solid, but the problem was consistency. Too many games where the run game disappeared due to either the game script or a lack of trust in the scheme.
O’Connell gets unfairly criticized for not running the ball, but there are layers to the conversation. Plays get checked out of runs at the line of scrimmage constantly by a process called “canning”. When you see a quarterback put both hands up to the helmet, they are changing the play. Game script matters. The Vikings were down a significant portion of the 2025 season, and you simply throw more when trailing. Frank Smith’s creativity in run game design, particularly his outside and wide zone concepts, should help O’Connell trust what’s happening in front of him. Give Mason 220 carries and let him eat.
Get Jauan Jennings 10 touchdowns in the red zone
The Vikings finished tied for 18th in red zone scoring percentage at 56.9%, converting 21 touchdowns on 59 attempts. That’s not good enough. For context, the Philadelphia Eagles led the league at 70.5%, followed by the Cincinnati Bengals at 66.7% and the Buffalo Bills at 66.2%.
Jennings can change that. He’s a power forward who will bully defensive backs, box them out, and get the football. Slants and stick routes are concepts where he uses his body as a human shield and makes it an easy throw for the quarterback. They called him “Third and Jauan” in San Francisco for a reason. Jefferson and Addison are route-running savants, but they’re finesse players. Sometimes you need to punch the other guy in the throat and go get it.
The layered effect matters too. If defenses have to account for Jennings boxing out underneath, Jefferson gets cleaner releases to work the back of the end zone. That’s how you improve from 18th to a top-10 red zone offense.
Dallas Turner needs to take the expected leap
Dallas Turner’s baseline of success improved drastically from year one to year two, and that matters more than the splash plays. His core strength improved, body filled out, and he played well in games where Jonathan Greenard missed time. Now that he has a baseline level of play, he has to take the big step.
There’s a difference between speed-to-power and speed-to-leverage as a pass rusher. Turner currently profiles as a speed-to-leverage guy who wins with angles and physics rather than raw strength. If he can add a true speed-to-power to his repertoire, improve his long arm, refine his rip move, and maybe add a spin, he becomes a significantly more dangerous player. He enters his third season at just 23 years old with untapped potential. Jared Verse, whom the Vikings passed on at 17th overall, was already a finished product at 24. Turner could surpass that level with continued development.
He doesn’t need 15 sacks, but seeing double digits would be a massive coup for the Vikings.
The interior defensive line needs at least 15 sacks
The Vikings had 49 sacks in both 2024 and 2025, staying consistent even as the production spread more evenly across the roster. In 2025, the defensive line accounted for 16 of those 49 sacks, whereas they had just four in 2024. With Greenard gone and young players like Caleb Banks, Jalen Redmond, and Levi Drake Rodriguez stepping into larger roles, that interior production needs to hold.
Flores utilizes pressure packages and blitz looks to manufacture pressure, but the defensive linemen still need to win their one-on-ones and finish when quarterbacks get pushed into their laps. If Redmond repeats his six sacks, Banks contributes four, and Rodriguez adds three, that’s 13 from three players. Get two more from the likes of Domonique Orange or Elijah Williams, and you’re at 15.
This defensive line is a calculated risk that started in 2024 when the Vikings rostered three rookie backups behind their starters to develop contributors for the future. The investment in youth is about to pay off or fall short, and if these five things break right, Minnesota has a real shot.
