Week one of the 2026 NFL season is rapidly approaching, with the Minnesota Vikings' first game coming against the division rival Green Bay Packers on Sunday at 4:25 pm EST. While all eyes will be on how Kyler Murray performs in his first game for Minnesota, ESPN staff did a deep dive into every NFL season and gave an in-depth preview.
Kevin Seifert of ESPN has been reporting on Minnesota this preseason, and this is what he has down as their biggest strength entering 2026:
Biggest strength: Linebackers. The veteran group of Andrew Van Ginkel, Dallas Turner, Eric Wilson and Blake Cashman will be counted on to power a defense that will shoulder perhaps more than its share of responsibility for getting the Vikings to the playoffs. Turner, a first-round
draft pick in 2024, will replace Jonathan Greenard as the team's primary edge rusher. But all four are versatile, solid tacklers and well-versed in the blitz games that defensive coordinator Brian Flores uses. -- Kevin Seifert
It will be imperative that this linebacker group performs at the level they did last season if Minnesota wants to finish with a top-ten defense rank again in 2026. While they might take a small step back from their third-place finish in 2025, this could easily be a top-ten unit once again this season.
This article originally appeared on Vikings Wire: What is the Vikings' biggest strength in 2026?
