The Vikings Are Apparently the 19th Best Team in the NFL

With the NFL officially kicking off the 2026 season on Thursday night, the power rankings are out and the consensus heading into Week 1 is that the Minnesota Vikings are the 19th-best team in football.

The Vikings Are Apparently the 19th Best Team in the NFL

Across a selection of notable power rankings released this week, the Vikings average about 19th place. That puts them on the outside of the playoffs in the top end of the bottom half of the league – basically where they finished last season.

All of CBS Sports, USA Today, and Yahoo! Sports rank the Vikings 18th. Meanwhile, at NFL.com, The Athletic, Sports Illustrated, and Sporting News the Vikings come in at 19th. Bleacher Report has Minnesota a bit lower at 21st.

The consensus is this can be a good team if Kyler Murray can find form and stay healthy, but until he proves that the expectation is more of the same. Every write-up about the team is mostly about Murray, and it makes sense. A nine-win team last season amidst disastrous QB play, just some stability and league-average play from Murray should be enough to make Minnesota competitive in 2026. However, an injury puts them right back to Carson Wentz and/or JJ McCarthy.

The Vikings have plenty of weapons in their offense to help Murray become a success in Minnesota. Most notably Justin Jefferson, who still managed a 1000-receiving yards season last season but will hope to get back to his dominant best with the aid of Murray. The supporting cast of Jordan Addison, Jauan Jennings, and TJ Hockenson isn’t too shabby, either. If the offensive line can stay healthy this year, Murray should also have solid protection to work behind.

The Non-QB Factors

Other factors that I have seen alluded to are the Vikings’ rushing attack, which was efficient last season by averaging 4.5 yards per attempt, but as is the way with Kevin O’Connell, often an afterthought in the offensive game plan. The run game was leaned on a bit more during the back end of last season as the Vikings finished with five straight wins. It was out of necessity due to the poor QB play but should have given a lesson on the virtues of a balanced offense.

The expectation is that Brian Flores will give the Vikings a good defense, because that’s just what he does. There is some valid concern over the lack of star power and experience in Minnesota’s defensive ranks but that has been somewhat remedied with the late signing of Harrison Smith and Kyle Van Noy. On paper the Vikings defense doesn’t look great, but under the guidance of Flores it has every chance to be just that. It will require some development from players this season.

Overall, I believe around 18th-19th place is a fair ranking for where we stand right now with this Vikings team. If Murray is a roaring success it could see a quick rise up the rankings. Similarly, if he’s not or gets injured the Vikings could quickly sink towards the bottom.

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