Questions still remain for Vikings HC Kevin O'Connell's offense, while answering them could vault them to the Super Bowl

Quarterback: Is J.J. McCarthy the real deal?

This is going to be the biggest question mark across the entire franchise this year. How good is McCarthy, and what does he look like this season in his first year as the starter?

The narratives about his arm strength are way overblown, something that McCarthy talked about on Thursday afternoon after the final minicamp practice.

"I would say, a lot of it just comes with the stigma of playing at Michigan, and not throwing the ball a lot. But at the same time, it could be my frame. And you know, they don't see a 6'5, 240 guy. So how can you throw at 61 miles an hour at the combine and all that, but at the end of the day, you know it's going to show up. And you know, the people that know know, and yeah, I think it's just the situations I've been in and maybe not passing the eye test."

Arm strength is only one piece of the puzzle. Can McCarthy process NFL defenses quickly? Will he make smart decisions as he gets comfortable? It wouldn't be surprising to see the Vikings rip off five in a row to start the year with McCarthy tearing it up. 

Running back: Can they succeed in short yardage situations? 

Last season, the Vikings' offense was excellent in multiple facets, especially attacking downfield. Sam Darnold was the best quarterback last season on throws of over 20 yards in nearly every category. The one thing they couldn't do much at all was the short-yardage run game.

The interior of the offensive line couldn't hold up or get any movement at the point of attack, not to mention the running backs struggled to evade defenders and push forward. The trade for Jordan Mason, along with fixing the interior of the offensive line is a major signal that they want to fix that part of their game quickly.

"But I do think Jordan's going to bring something to the table in those short yardage situations, those goal line situations, goal to go, where we've really left a lot to be desired as a football team," said head coach Kevin O'Connell about the issues with short yardage. "And that starts with me to make sure we improve in that area, because we certainly have improved personnel-wise. I think Kwesi (Adofo-Mensah) would have a better feel for the totality of it, but I do remember it was not a quick process. It was something that we were trying to figure out what made most sense for both sides."

Wide receiver: Will Jalen Nailor be a consistent WR3?

This was a big question for me going into the offseason. Can Nailor take a step forward and be a constant as the WR3 in this offense? He showed flashes in 2024, but there wasn't enough consistency.

He came into the offseason program ready to make waves with a much more muscular frame to pair with his speed on the outside and in the slot. With that added muscle, Nailor looks like Deebo Samuel out there. Can he take the next step to give the Vikings four reliable pass catchers? That could be a huge factor for the Vikings this year, especially with a first-year starter at quarterback.

Tight end: Can they rely on a rookie at TE3?

We know that T.J. Hockenson and Josh Oliver are the unquestioned top guys, but the third tight end has played a decent role for the Vikings. Will they end up trusting a rookie late-round pick to be the third tight end?

Last year, they had Johnny Mundt, who O'Connell called the best TE3 in the National Football League. He was a vested veteran who played upward of 20 snaps per game. Will they trust a rookie to play that amount of snaps? It's a really good question, as the top candidate is sixth-round pick Gavin Bartholomew. The Vikings also signed veteran tight end Giovanni Ricci to fortify the unit. 

Offensive line: Can they stay healthy?

This could be one of the best offensive lines in the National Football League. It's been a long time since we've seen a Vikings unit be viewed that highly. There is a big question with the entire group.

Can they stay healthy?

It's one that doesn't have a good answer right now. Christian Darrisaw misses some time seemingly every year, and is healing from a torn ACL and MCL suffered in the first game against the Los Angeles Rams. Meanwhile, Ryan Kelly is often hurt, and Will Fries still isn't fully cleared from the broken leg he suffered in week five last season. If they stay healthy, this group could elevate the Vikings to a Super Bowl berth.