5 Vikings Who Must Bounce Back in 2026

The 2025 season didn’t go according to plan for the Minnesota Vikings. They might have finished with a winning record, but the playoffs stopped looking like a realistic ambition early in the season. If the Vikings are to return to the playoffs in 2026, then there are five Vikings who need bounce-back seasons in 2026.

The five players in question had down years in 2025 for a variety of reasons, from injury to loss of form to wider team issues holding them back.

The 5 Vikings Facing the Most Pressure to Rebound in 2026

Whether it’s down to themselves or a wider improvement from the whole team, these five Vikings need to have a bigger impact in the Vikings’ 2026 season.

Justin Jefferson

For most wide receivers, a 1000-yard season would be something to celebrate. For a man of Justin Jefferson’s abilities, it amounts to a disappointment. Jefferson caught 84 of 141 targets for 1048 yards and two touchdowns.

That was a career low in both yards and TDs, including the season when he appeared in only 10 games because of injury. It left Jefferson without All-Pro or Pro Bowl recognition for the first time in his career, outside of his injury-hit 2023 season.

Jefferson’s career started at a record pace as he broke record after record, but the Vikings’ 2025 offense was blighted by inconsistencies at the quarterback position that affected everyone, and even Jefferson wasn’t immune to the consequences. Minnesota has turned to Kyler Murray in the hope of getting their offense back on track this season. If Murray can prove to be accurate, something he has been during his career, then Jefferson should be back in reach of the really big seasons that Vikings fans have become used to. 

Christian Darrisaw

The season never seemed to get going for Christian Darrisaw. Not recovered in time for the start of the season because of a knee injury that happened during the 2024 season.

Darrisaw first appeared in the Vikings’ Week 3 game against Cincinnati, but he still didn’t look right, and his knee continued to be an issue as he was named on the injury report week after week. His final appearance came in Week 14, after which Darrisaw was placed back on Injured/Reserve and shut down for the season.

The hope will have been to get ready for the 2026 season so he can get back to his best. Darrisaw was cementing himself as one of the best tackles in the game over his first four seasons in the league. However, he looked a shadow of that player last year and the Vikings offensive line suffered because of it. A fully healthy and firing Darrisaw in 2026 will be a major boost for Minnesota.

Byron Murphy Jr.

Byron Murphy got a payday on the back of a Pro Bowl season that saw him lead cornerbacks in interceptions in 2024. The same production wasn’t there for Murphy in 2025, as interceptions dropped from 6 to 2 and passes defended from 14 to 7. 

James Pierre has been signed to add depth at the position, and CB is a position that may or may not be addressed in the draft. Murphy is still the Vikings’ best CB, and the team will lean on him heavily again this season. They will hope he can get back to his 2024 form.

T.J. Hockenson

After coming to Minnesota via a trade with Detroit, T.J. Hockenson looked to be just what the Vikings needed at tight end. Then an injury towards the end of the 2023 season derailed everything, preventing Hockenson from reaching the first 1000-yard season of his career in the process.

Hockenson eventually returned in the 2024 season but hasn’t looked quite the same, failing to reach 500 receiving yards in the last two seasons. He was heavily touted as a cut candidate this offseason, but Hockenson took a pay cut to stay in Minnesota. Much like Jefferson, the hope will be that better play at QB will help Hockenson return to his best and most productive football.

Blake Cashman

Injured in the opening game of the season, Blake Cashman didn’t return to the Vikings’ line-up until Week 7. Cashman certainly wasn’t bad last season, but after an injury disrupted the start of his season, he never quite hit the heights he did in his first season with his home-state club.

It’s another case of hoping a fully healthy version of a player can play for 17 games and be at their very best. Cashman is an integral part of Brian Flores’ defense, making everything else tick. The 30-year-old is set to hit free agency next year and will want a strong season behind him when he sits down at the negotiating table.

Proud UK Viking. Family Man. Enjoy writing about my team. Away from football an advocate for autism acceptance.