It hasn't even been two weeks since the Minnesota Vikings played their final snap of the 2025 season, and despite this, some are already counting them out for the 2026 campaign.
FanSided's Nick Villano recently ranked how close each of the 18 non-playoff teams from the 2025 season is to returning to the playoffs in 2026. Villano gave the Vikings the No. 10 spot and explained why he's not too high on them finding their way back to the playoffs next season.
"The Minnesota Vikings went from playing for the number-one seed to missing the playoffs entirely and having their entire future in doubt. J.J. McCarthy does not look like an NFL quarterback. He had a few moments here and there, but he was way more bad than good.
The Vikings let Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones go so they could commit to McCarthy. Because of that, they ended up starting Carson Wentz and Max Brosmer during the season. McCarthy is why a team with Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison is far away from contention.
On top of that, the Vikings have allowed their defense to push them to the postseason. However, the most important piece of that defense is reportedly heading for different pastures.
Defensive coordinator Brian Flores is reportedly at the end of his contract. He is looking for his next adventure, and many think he’s about to be the highest-paid coordinator in the league. Losing him could hurt them even more.
This is a team that appears to be moving in the wrong direction, but they have a great head coach in Kevin O’Connell. There are only a few like that in the league. If he keeps the Vikings afloat during this time of turmoil, they could turn this around quickly, but we have a lot of questions."
Minnesota Vikings labeled "a team that appears to be moving in the wrong direction"
At least for Minnesota, it seems that this ranking is mostly based on what happened with the team in the 2025 campaign, which is an interesting approach.
In the NFL, the offseason is incredibly vital to how a team performs in the following regular season. Just look at teams like the New England Patriots, Chicago Bears, and Jacksonville Jaguars in 2025. All three made huge changes in the offseason and it resulted in all of them making major improvements in the 2025 campaign.
We really have no idea what the next few months are going to look like for the Vikings.
What if Brian Flores doesn't get a head-coaching job, and he decides to return to Minnesota for another season? What if the Vikings continue to move forward with the offensive adjustments that helped J.J. McCarthy perform much better in the final few weeks of the 2025 campaign?
What if Minnesota gets crazy and makes a big-time blockbuster trade to acquire Joe Burrow from the Cincinnati Bengals at some point this year?
The bottom line is that it's still way too early to really have a good gauge on how the 2026 season will turn out for the Vikings, so let's not count them out just yet.