4 Vikings Players on the Verge of a Breakout
It’s the pre-summer breakout list for the Minnesota Vikings, and we’ll just get this disclaimer out of the way: rookies are not included in this article because: of course rookies have a chance to break out. It’s the essence of being a rookie.
Minnesota’s depth chart has a few pressure points where new contributors can force their way up.
Aside from first-year players, these men have the strongest chances to bust out into stardom for the 2026 Vikings.
Young Defenders Lead Minnesota’s Next Step Forward
The men are listed in ascending order (No. 1 = top breakout candidate).
4. Bo Richter | OLB
The Vikings might already have their third outside linebacker on the roster, and Richter is the bet. Before the Jonathan Greenard trade, Minnesota boasted one of the NFL’s deepest outside linebacker rooms. However, sending Greenard to the Philadelphia Eagles thinned the depth chart behind Andrew Van Ginkel and Dallas Turner.
This void explains why names like Jadeveon Clowney and Leonard Floyd continue to circulate in the rumor mill. The Vikings could quickly sign a veteran to address the need, or they could place their trust in Richter.
If the Vikings believe Richter is an undervalued talent poised for increased snaps, this is his opportunity. The Greenard trade created an opening, and Richter stands as the in-house candidate with the clearest path to claim it.
Our Kyle Joudry on Richter: “Think of Richter as being akin to tough, gritty 4th-line forward in hockey. Looking for someone who can score 30 goals means being disappointed. Looking for someone who can play with physicality while chipping in in ways that don’t always show up in the normal stats is where Richter can shine.”
“As a rookie, Bo Richter played 29 snaps on defense and 267 on specials. His sophomore season involved 52 snaps on defense and 372 snaps on specials. Look for those trends to continue — modest playing time for Coach Flores but being a key piece of the effort for Coach Daniels.”
3. J.J. McCarthy | QB
You’ll probably be upset about this one or chuckle at it — and we get it. Hear us out.
The Vikings should overlook McCarthy’s late-season surge. For the first 13 weeks of 2025, he ranked 35th of 35 quarterbacks in EPA per play — rock bottom in the sport. Then, he dramatically turned things around.
J.J. McCarthy.
EPA+CPOE Ranking in 2025:
Week 1-13: 35th of 35
Week 14-18: 5th of 34
While this is a wild swing, the caveat is important: McCarthy faced weaker defenses in December and January, so his late-season performance shouldn’t be considered a finished product.
Still, he clearly improved. The Vikings witnessed it, the numbers confirmed it, and the coaching staff must factor this progress into the 2026 plan — even with Kyler Murray’s arrival changing the dynamic in the quarterback room.
There’s a chance that Murray gets hurt this season — that happens to him — and McCarthy takes over, picking up where he left off in December 2025, which was quite marvelous.
2. Jay Ward | S
Ward’s path to increased playing time is wide open.
With Harrison Smith no longer on the roster, those safety snaps must be reallocated. The Vikings also passed on Dillon Thieneman and Emmanuel McNeil-Warren in the draft, despite many mock drafts projecting Thieneman to Minnesota for months.
That leaves Ward, Theo Jackson, and newcomer Jakobe Thomas — the 3rd-Rounder from Miami — squarely in the safety conversation. Ward already made a strong case late in 2025, quietly taking snaps from Jackson and providing the Vikings with a grittier, more aggressive presence in the secondary.
Now for the bigger question: Ward has only one year left on his contract. If he aspires to be more than just a rotational defensive back, this is his moment to prove it.
1. Dallas Turner | OLB
Turner finally has a clear starting job ahead of him. The Greenard trade changed everything. The Vikings shipped Greenard to Philadelphia for two 3rd-Round picks, effectively clearing a starting spot for Turner in 2026.
Turner had seen meaningful playing time before, particularly in 2025 when Greenard was sidelined. However, this setup is now different. He is no longer waiting for an injury, a rotation tweak, or a specific Brian Flores special package to get on the field.
For two seasons, Flores struggled to find a consistent full-time role for the Vikings’ 2024 1st-Rounder, but Greenard’s exit has forced the issue.
By September, the Vikings should finally get a definitive answer on Turner’s potential — and whether Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s aggressive trade-up was truly worth the investment.
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