The Vikings Still Have Some Unsolved Mysteries

The Minnesota Vikings cleared up their quarterback question this week, signing Kyler Murray to a one-year contract and putting him on track for summer competition against J.J. McCarthy, though most expect Murray to prevail. But that isn’t the only Vikings unsolved mystery.

Free agency answered the quarterback question, but several bigger questions still hover over the roster.

After the first few days of NFL free agency, Minnesota still has some big-ticket items to clear up.

Minnesota’s Next Clues Involve the Secondary, the Draft Board, and the Interior Offensive Line

Pretend Robert Stack is narrating this to you.

Unsolved Mystery No. 1: Harrison Smith

Close your eyes for this: Smith is technically a free agent — for the first time ever.

The Vikings released Smith on Wednesday, a procedural move while the future Hall of Famer decides to retire or return. And that’s the unsolved mystery. Smith played great in December and January, but he turned 37 in February. That’s incredibly old for a safety.

It’s a coin flip on Smith’s return, but conventional logic suggests that he probably would’ve retired by now. We shall see if he pressed the green button for Year No. 15.

Unsolved Mystery No. 2: The First Couple of Draft Picks

Minnesota did not do much in free agency besides signing Murray for “free” and onboarding CB3 James Pierre. They did little to clear up their early-round draft intentions.

For example, the Vikings could’ve signed a cornerback like Jaylen Watson or a safety like Nick Cross, and for the most part, fans may have put those roster spots on the back burner. That didn’t happen.

Instead, the Vikings could quite reasonably draft a player from any of these positions on April 23rd and in Round 2 on April 24:

• Center
• Cornerback
• Defensive Tackle
• Linebacker
• Safety
• Wide Receiver

Mock drafts will be all over the board for Minnesota in the remaining 5.5 weeks until showtime.

Unsolved Mystery No. 3: Big Trades

Interim general manager Rob Brzezinski has three major and theoretical trade pieces as free agency winds down:

• Jordan Addison (WR)
• Jonathan Greenard (OLB
• J.J. McCarthy (QB)

Greenard is all the rage at the moment per the trade rumor mill, with the Philadelphia Eagles allegedly interested. Minnesota is said to want a 2nd-Round pick for the premium EDGE defender.

Addison and McCarthy probably won’t be traded, but they cannot be ruled out as possibilities.

Unsolved Mystery No. 4: The WR3

Jalen Nailor is gone — and he’s not coming back, at least not for two or three years. The Las Vegas Raiders enticed him with 35 million bucks and WR1-WR2 duty.

So, Minnesota has a WR3 void, if one assumes that last year’s rookie, Tai Felton, isn’t fully trustworthy for the assignment. Felton barely played on offense in 2025, and one would think the lights could be too bright to hand him the WR3 job with so little action last year.

Still, perhaps Minnesota prepared for Felton’s redshirt rookie season. If so, he’s the new WR3 by default. Otherwise, the Vikings must sign someone like Christian Kirk, Hollywood Brown, or draft another rookie in Round 2 or 3, possibly a player like Malachi Fields from Notre Dame.

SI.com‘s Will Ragatz noted on Felton this week after Nailor skedaddled, “The Vikings were clearly high on him after his huge senior season at Maryland. He’s been developing behind the scenes with wide receivers coach Keenan McCardell. And the opportunity might be there for him to take a big step forward in 2026.”

“It was a different coaching staff, but former Vikings WR3 K.J. Osborn went from not playing a snap as a rookie in 2020 to posting a 50-655-7 receiving line in year two. Depending on what else the Vikings do at receiver, Felton might just have a chance to emerge as a key contributor this fall.”

Unsolved Mystery No. 5: Ryan Kelly’s Replacement

Kelly formally retired earlier this week, meaning the Vikings need a new center. Minnesota has about a dozen options.

In-house, the Vikings could promote one of these men:

• Blake Brandel
• Michael Jurgens

From free agency, these candidates remain and could start in 2026:

• Lloyd Cushenberry III
• Graham Glasgow
• Ethan Pocic

And in the draft, Minnesota could explore one of these rookies:

• Parker Brailsford (Alabama)
• Pat Coogan (Indiana)
• Sam Hecht (Kansas)
• Logan Jones (Iowa)
• Connor Lew (Auburn)
• Brian Parker (Duke)
• Jake Slaughter (Florida)

Coogan is intriguing and could be gettable in Round 5 or so. NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein on his scouting report: “Coogan is a veteran center with good size, intelligence, communication skills and leadership that will appeal to offensive line coaches. He’s technically sound and is consistent in centering opponents while latching in with grip strength to increase stickiness.”

“He’s best in a gap scheme and inside zone, but his effectiveness can fade when the job stretches beyond the A-gaps. In protection, he lands well-timed punches and utilizes instinctive hand resets to regain positioning. However, forward lean and shorter arms will invite counters. Coogan has the potential to become a starter, but there are limitations in his game that make scheme fit and protection help important.”

Or — the Vikings could combine these plans. For example, promoting Jurgens might make sense out of the gate in 2026 while the coaching staff determines when a rookie such as Logan Jones might be ready.