As hard as it may be to admit that the Minnesota Vikings won’t be making the playoffs, the truth is that they’d need a second or maybe even third Minneapolis Miracle to make that a reality. They are 4-6, and with only a 2% chance of making the postseason, it’s time for fans to change the way they watch Vikings games.
If wins bubble up every now and again, that’s great, but the primary focus now should really be on the evaluation and development of young talent. The Vikings have the seventh-oldest roster in the NFL, and as veterans regress or, in some cases, retire, younger players will need to pick up the slack. Minnesota has some unproven youth at important positions like quarterback and edge, and the last seven games of 2025 will be crucial to determine how the 2026 roster could look.
J.J. McCarthy
In case you hadn’t heard, Minnesota’s young quarterback is struggling. McCarthy ranks last in fairly important stats like completion percentage and interception rate, and hasn’t found a way to get the football to the best receiver in the league. His erratic play is worrisome, and it’s fair to suggest that if it doesn’t improve, the Vikings may look to bring in actual competition at quarterback in 2026. Still, there’s plenty of time to work out the issues over the last seven games of the season, and McCarthy seems to think he’s close.
“I kind of make an analogy of a cork about to come off a bottle,” McCarthy said. “Just understanding that it’s one to three little things that I need to change about my game that is gonna make a huge difference in the outcome of every single drive in the game. So, yeah, I feel like it’s really close, but it all comes down to the consistency of the fundamentals and the little details.”
Still, his best game was arguably his first, in which he completed 65% of his passes while throwing two touchdowns and running for one. His confidence in turning a corner may be met with some skepticism, but he obviously has the mentality to be the best. How McCarthy develops over the next two months could have huge ramifications not only for 2025 but also for 2026 and beyond.
Dallas Turner
Turner had a breakout game last week against the Bears while he filled in for the injured Jonathan Greenard, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Still just a part-time player and with just 4.5 career sacks to his name before the game, patience was wearing thin for the former first-round pick.
The Vikings traded four picks to come up and draft Turner, and the return after a season-and-a-half has been underwhelming. But against Chicago, Turner racked up seven tackles, two for loss, and a sack, showing the type of game fans had been waiting to see from the young edge.
Turner hasn’t been bad and has occasionally been very good. His problem is that the Vikings traded up to pick 17 for him, and fair or not, the clock ticks faster for high draft picks. He’s had to sit behind two star players in Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel, and after 26 games, it’s still tough to gauge how good a player Turner is, or can be. Despite his limited action through his first two seasons, Kevin O’Connell is happy with how the young 22-year-old has progressed.
“As things ramp up and the best in the world take the field to do what they do in the NFL, there is constant chase of improvement, and Dallas Turner keeps doing that,” said O’Connell. “He’s doing a great job and growing every opportunity he gets out there.”
Unless injuries at edge continue to stack up, Turner will likely be relegated back to his role as a rotational player behind the dynamic duo. However, Van Ginkel will be 31 next season, and Turner may very well be auditioning this season to take over that spot in 2026.
Donovan Jackson
Jackson is another player coming off his best game as a pro and already looks like he’ll be Minnesota’s starting left guard for the next decade. On Sunday, he didn’t allow a single pressure on 33 pass-block snaps and had an 82.9 PFF pass-blocking grade. His biggest challenge of the year will be in just a few short days, though, as the Vikings travel to Green Bay to face the Packers and Rashan Gary and Micah Parsons.
While the Vikings look to have hit a rare first-round home run with Jackson, who has the highest pass-blocking PFF grade of any rookie guard, the offensive line is far from settled. Fellow guard Will Fries hasn’t played up to his hefty contract, and center Ryan Kelly, who has missed significant time this year due to concussions, will be 33 next season.