Vikings player under most pressure entering 2026 NFL season

The Minnesota Vikings face significant pressure this season, and it seems that head coach Kevin O’Connell and new quarterback Kyhler Murray will be under the most pressure to turn the Vikings back into a playoff team in 2026.

The head coach has had two excellent regular seasons and two disappointing years during his four-year run with the Vikings. When his starting quarterbacks have been healthy — Kirk Cousins in 2022 and Sam Darnold in 2024 — the Vikings have been a dominant team. However, when the team struggled with QB injuries in 2023 and ’25, the Vikings were among the most disappointing teams in the NFL.

The Vikings are playing in perhaps the toughest division in the NFL. The Chicago Bears have a winning head coach-QB situation with Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams. They became NFC North champions last season. The Detroit Lions were favorites to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl at the start of the 2025 season and they have the talent to bounce back after an injury-plagued finish. The Green Bay Packers have been to the playoff in six of the last seven seasons and QB Jordan Love is capable of elite play under center.

In addition to the external competition, the pressure from within may be overwhelming. That applies to O’Connell, who saw general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah fired at the start of the offseason. If the Vikings are not a playoff team this season — and a team that wins in the postseason — his time with the Vikings could be coming to an end.

Murray has to come through with one of his best seasons

The Vikings learned they could not depend on J.J. McCarthy to give them consistent play under center. His rookie season was wiped out by a torn meniscus and he struggled with accuracy and additional injuries last season. While the Vikings had attempted to promote McCarthy as elite after making him the No. 10 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the team realized that he is far from a finished product.

The Vikings are counting on Murray returning to his best form as he gets set to play for a team with brilliant receiving weapons like Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, Jajuan Jennings and T.J. Hockenson. Murray has completed 68.8 percent of his passes throughout his seven years with the Cardinals and he also has a 121-60 touchdown-to-interception ratio over that time.

In addition to those numbers, Murray is one of the most elusive quarterbacks when he is on the move. That should be a boon to the Vikings, because receivers often break open after the 2.7-second mark and Murray will be able to deliver the ball on the move.

Murray’s lack of size is an issue

Murray is not a sure thing by any stretch. He is 5-10 and 209 pounds, and that makes him tiny compared to quarterbacks like Justin Herbert of the Chargers, Trevor Lawrence of the Jaguars and Joe Flacco of the Bengals, all of whom check in at 6-6. Josh Allen of the Bills and Daniel Jones of the Colts are both 6-5, while Joe Burrow, Jordan Love, Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels are 6-4.

Murray has also had injury issues in two of the last three seasons. The Vikings are counting on an offensive line that has had injury issues of its own keeping Murray upright and healthy.

There is nothing surprising about the focus being on the QB position with the Vikings. This is the case for the majority of the teams in the NFL and it is even more intense in Minnesota this season.

Jefferson feeling the heat as well