The Minnesota Vikings have reached their Week 6 bye at 5-0, and some of the players who helped them get there weren’t the safest preseason bets to become major storytellers. Minnesota owns the NFL’s stingiest scoring defense at 12.8 points allowed per game, while special teams and timely quarterback depth have helped cover for an offense still finding its stride.
Justin Jefferson producing, Brian Flores confusing quarterbacks, and Aaron Jones keeping the offense moving aren't revelations. Better surprises are players who’ve either jumped a level, seized an unexpected opportunity, or turned a supporting role into something substantially more valuable.
Five games remain a small sample, particularly for projecting an entire season. They’re enough, however, to identify three Vikings whose starts have already gone beyond reasonable expectations.
Dallas Turner
Year 3 came with considerably more responsibility after Minnesota traded Jonathan Greenard, and there was at least some reason to wonder whether the 2024 first-round pick was ready. Dallas Turner had improved to eight sacks in 2025, but becoming the guy offenses actually have to account for is another step entirely. That concern faded quickly as Turner grew into a bigger 2026 role.
He’s taken it quickly. Turner has 5.5 sacks and two forced fumbles through five games, including two-sack performances against Chicago and Miami. He also got seven quarterback hits in his season opener against Green Bay, followed by four more against the Bears.
The sack total will fluctuate, but the encouraging part is how regularly Turner has affected protections. Flores can do a lot more when one edge rusher wins without requiring the pressure package to manufacture everything. Minnesota needed Turner to eventually replace Greenard’s role. Nobody could’ve reasonably expected him to look this dangerous by mid-October.
Carson Wentz
Week 1 wasn’t supposed to become a referendum on Minnesota’s backup quarterback plan. Kyler Murray’s concussion changed that after just 11 snaps against Green Bay, and Carson Wentz responded by completing 12 of 19 passes for 133 yards and three touchdowns while helping Minnesota erase an early deficit in a 39-22 win. His performance against the Packers immediately justified the Vikings’ decision to prioritize veteran insurance behind Murray.
He then started at Chicago and helped the Vikings survive a 9-3 grinder while Murray remained out. Nobody should confuse that afternoon with vintage 2017 Wentz, but that’s almost beside the point. Backup quarterbacks are supposed to keep a bad Sunday from becoming a lost week. Wentz helped Minnesota bank two division wins while its starter recovered.
Kevin O’Connell's decision to make Wentz Murray’s primary backup was one of the first consequential roster decisions. Minnesota’s 5-0 record looks different if Wentz isn’t prepared when the original plan disappears before Week 1 reaches halftime.
Myles Price
An encouraging undrafted rookie season already established that Minnesota had something useful on special teams. The surprise has been how dramatically Myles Price has raised the ceiling in Year 2, turning a roster niche into a weekly field-position advantage.
He has averaged 29.8 yards on 17 kickoff returns and 21.6 yards on 11 punt returns through five games. His 86-yard punt-return touchdown at Tampa Bay ended Minnesota’s decade-long punt-return drought, and his 43-yard return against New Orleans helped special teams influence another victory.
The Vikings entered the bye with Price having already earned NFC Special Teams Player of the Month honors for September. That unit has become far more than a place to avoid mistakes, with Price supplying field position that an inconsistent offense has badly needed. He’s even contributed five receptions as injuries have reshuffled O’Connell’s receiver rotation. For a player who entered the league undrafted, Price is quickly becoming one of Minnesota’s most useful game-day pieces.
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