The Vikings’ Top 5 Players on Offense Entering 2026

Brad Rempel The month of May has become when I put forward my top 5 Vikings players as we enter a new season. Split into two lists, one for the offense and one for the defense, I am going to start with the offense. Minnesota’s Offensive Core Still Has Plenty to Prove One of the hopes with these lists is that someone new will be entering, either a big new signing or a player who was here last season whose performance forced their way in.

That’s not the case this year, as it’s the same five guys from my 2025 list . Any hopes of the emergence of JJ McCarthy quickly disappeared. The Vikings’ big free agency signing, Will Fries, didn’t play at the level hoped for, given such a big investment in his first year in Minnesota, and I’m not ready to put Kyler Murray in here on the back of a season that saw him only play five games.

5. T. J.

Hockenson (TE) Hockenson is down one place from last year. The tight end hasn’t been able to recapture his 2023 form since returning from a bad knee injury at the backend of that season. However, he did look better in 2025 despite the Vikings QB woes from last season, which led to just 438 receiving yards — his lowest tally since his rookie season in 2019 – but he did have three touchdown catches — up from zero in 2024.