The Minnesota Vikings’ regular season won’t start for 3.5 months, but in the meantime, it’s a fair juncture to size up the club’s best players. Kevin O’Connell’s team will hope to visit the postseason in 2026 after missing out on the fun in 2025 by one win.

Minnesota’s best players are ranked from No. 8 to No. 1 entering the heart of the offseason.

From a May 2026 perspective, here’s the pecking order of the team’s top players.

Star Power Still Defines the Top of the Roster

The players are ranked from good to best (No. 1 = best player).

8. Byron Murphy Jr. | CB

Murphy Jr.’s 2024 campaign was much more promising than his 2025 efforts. But that doesn’t mean he’d play poorly in 2025; he was just fantastic two seasons ago.

Because of his consistency, Murphy Jr. checks in at No. 8 on this list, narrowly edging Jordan Addison, T.J. Hockenson, Jordan Mason, and Eric Wilson. Opposing quarterbacks encountered a 78.2 passer rating allowed when targeting Murphy in 2025. That’s pretty excellent.

He’s connected to the budget through the end of 2027.

7. Blake Cashman | ILB

Cashman’s importance for 2026 remains crystal clear, despite the arrival of Jake Golday. While the Vikings drafted Golday in Round 2 as a potential long-term off-ball linebacker option should Cashman depart in 2027, Cashman’s 2025 performance was nothing short of fantastic.

Last season, Cashman averaged an incredible 11.07 tackles per game. Projecting that pace over a full 17-game schedule would yield 188 tackles — a mark among the highest in NFL history. Though he missed four games, which dulled his final tally, his weekly impact was undeniable.

Moreover, he’s a near-perfect fit for Flores’s defense. The Eden Prairie native plays fast, finds the football, and injects the kind of disruptive bedlam Flores demands from his middle linebackers.

6. Jalen Redmond | DT

Minnesota’s top revelation over the last two seasons, Redmond is here to stay. He logged a 72.7 Pro Football Focus grade in 2025 after a 75.6 in 2024. Because he came from the UFL, many have expected Redmond to hit a wall eventually, and that just never happens.

He accrued 6 sacks last year, which is fantastic for a defensive tackle, and he just gets better and better. In fact, he had a case for the Pro Bowl last year, though voters did not listen.

You can call Redmond the Vikings’ best or second-best defensive player with Jonathan Greenard no longer on the roster.

5. Kyler Murray | QB

Murray is the fifth-most accurate quarterback in NFL history, he’s faster than Justin Jefferson, and he can throw the ball 60-70 yards. His stock is low right now because the Arizona Cardinals — of all franchises — kicked him to the curb. That will leave him ultra-motivated to succeed in 2026.

He has a lot of “proving it” to do this season as the new quarterback of the Vikings, but based on his seven seasons in the league, he’s not a little-engine-that-could situation. The man has a better career EPA+CPOE than Baker Mayfield, Daniel Jones, C.J. Stroud, and Trevor Lawrence.

4. Andrew Van Ginkel | OLB

Van Ginkel is the Vikings’ top outside linebacker. How? Why? Minnesota traded Jonathan Greenard to the Eagles last month. While Dallas Turner offers high upside, Van Ginkel is the proven commodity: versatile, productive, and a trusted asset in Brian Flores’ defense.

Crucially, he’s the linchpin holding the pass rush together. His ability to rush, drop, disguise, and execute the unique assignments vital to Flores’ system makes him invaluable. This versatility is even more critical now with Greenard’s departure and Turner’s promotion to a full-time starting role.

With Van Ginkel turning 31 this summer, the Vikings might consider an extension to retain one of their most reliable defenders beyond 2026. In two seasons, Van Ginkel has tabulated 18.2 sacks, 32 QB hits, 133 tackles, 2 interceptions, and 2 touchdowns in Minnesota.

3. Brian O’Neill | RT

O’Neill embodies the quietly excellent player every team dreams of having at right tackle. His sturdy performance is evident in his PFF grades since 2018:

Through multiple roster eras, coaching staffs, quarterback changes, and offensive line rebuilds, O’Neill has almost never been part of the problem. Even when the Vikings struggled with offensive line issues during the Mike Zimmer years, he remained the sole steady presence.

Delivering strong seasons with remarkably few rough games, O’Neill can be expected to perform exceptionally well again in 2026 — because that’s simply his modus operandi.

2. Christian Darrisaw | LT

Darrisaw experienced his worst season as a pro in 2025, mainly because his ACL didn’t heal right. Minnesota put him back on the shelf in December and now hopes that he’ll be ready for Week 1.

When healthy, Darrisaw is a Top 3 NFL left tackle. Some might argue that O’Neill deserves this spot, but at the peak of his powers, Darrisaw is a slightly better tackle than O’Neill. Not by much, but by a little.

Darrisaw is overdue for a monster year, and one of these seasons, he’ll pull down his first Pro Bowl honor. It’s overdue.

1. Justin Jefferson | WR

We publish this list of best Vikings annually around this time on the calendar, and Jefferson has taken home the top prize five years running.

It’s a “no caption” needed situation.

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