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Vikings Unveil Updated QB Plan; How Practice Reps Will be Split
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- Vikings Unveil Updated QB Plan; How Practice Reps Will be Split
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Three and a half weeks from today (April 23), the Minnesota Vikings are slotted to make the first ( and possibly last ) amateur draft selection of the Rob Brzezinski era , at No. 18 overall.
Just a few days before that, on April 20 , the Vikings — and any other team with a returning head coach from 2025 — will be allowed to hold their first ( Phase 1 ) team-organized offseason workouts.
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Given how hyper-focused MN Vikings fans are on the upcoming training camp "QB battle" between JJ McCarthy and Kyler Murray , it's fair to wonder if we'll be more anxious for the initial reports and rumors coming out of Minnesota's Vikings' first few offseason workouts than we are the draft picks they select a few days later…
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And that brings us to Tuesday's reporting by Alec Lewis (The Athletic) the last couple days down in Arizona, at the NFL owners meetings, where Monday, reporters sat down with Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell.
Per Lewis, KOC spent much of his media session explaining the ins and outs of Minnesota's current QB room, as we approach the team's first practice on or around 4/20.
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Minnesota Vikings reveal plan for QB reps this offseason
In somewhat surprising fashion, O'Connell even spilled details on how the Vikings plan to spread out QB reps later in the month AND throughout workouts this summer, as the team eventually moves into OTAs and minicamp ( phase 3 ).
That way — at least according to KOC — Murray, McCarthy, Carson Wentz and even Max Brosmer can all push each other, while coaches and scouts evaluate where the four of them slot into the 2026 QB hierarchy.
O'Connell was asked how he plans to divvy up the offseason reps among the quarterbacks. He said the Vikings will slow-play the process in the spring.
Essentially, all of the quarterbacks will be throwing to all of the receivers in the routes-on-air portions of practice. O'Connell tends to prefer a slow buildup. Mostly, the early months of the calendar are more about mastering the footwork and timing required for his system.
Related: Brzezinski Reveals Vikings' Offseason Plan for Jordan Addison
JJ McCarthy is back in Minnesota now, but he spent the first half of the Minnesota Vikings' 2026 offseason in California with former BYU star and NFL QB turned private coaching guru, John Beck, on footwork, timing and other fundamentals he lacked in 2025.
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Unless Beck legitimately works offseason QB miracles, however, Kyler Murray will be the MN Vikings starter next season, despite what Kevin O'Connell says publicly (or why he says it at all).
Vikings receivers expected to be at offseason workouts
Nonetheless, KOC told reporters that the Vikings' entire allotment of receivers is expected to be present at team-organized workouts throughout the offseason — and not just to get Murray, McCarthy or themselves ready for 2026.
Just as importantly, MN Vikings brass believes that the presence of Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and TJ Hockenson in Eagan, to catch passes from QBs at TCO Performance Center, will help coaches better evaluate the quarterback position as a whole.
"We're expecting our full group of wide receivers to be there every day," he said. "That part of the offseason program is more so the teaching and learning phase. … There will be a time and place (for counting throws)."
Each quarterback, O'Connell said, will have an individual plan. Quarterbacks coach Josh McCown will monitor the day-to-day progress. Then O'Connell will use joint practices and preseason games for a more detailed review of each player's baseline.
In the end, the Vikings believe that the intensity in the quarterback room will carry over to the rest of the roster for the team's betterment.
The theme down in Phoenix early this week, surrounding the Minnesota Vikings quarterback room, has been that of competition and how it might help drive everyone involved to get better.
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You can't help but appreciate that approach, especially after last season, when doing to opposite of that cost the Vikings any legitimate chance they had at the playoffs.
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