Getty
Running back Aaron Jones of the Minnesota Vikings.
The Minnesota Vikings‘ dire situation at quarterback is overshadowing every other current and coming need on the roster, but the franchise isn’t likely to look at a QB in the first round of the coming NFL draft.
Minnesota’s reasons for not doing so are many, including the big bet they made on the relatively cheap JJ McCarthy (four years, $22 million as the No. 10 pick in 2024), who is in just his second professional season and has started only six games. While it almost feels like malpractice to head into 2026 with McCarthy as the likely No. 1 signal-caller, it would be arguably worse for the Vikings to bail on him now after letting Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones leave for successful stints elsewhere last offseason.
So while a new QB or two on the roster is likely come 2026, Minnesota is more liable to spend its first-round pick next April either adding a top-flight cornerback or potentially an offensive playmaker at the running back position to help whoever starts under center next year.
Dane Brugler of The Athletic predicted on Wednesday, December 3 that the Vikings will take the latter option and select Jeremiyah Love out of Notre Dame with the No. 11 overall pick.
“Love is one of the best players in the draft but positional value will limit his landing spots in the top half of Round 1,” Brugler wrote. “Here, that just means the Vikings get value by adding the draft’s most explosive offensive weapon — a versatile back who’d help both the run and pass games.”
Jeremiyah Love Having Breakout Season at Notre Dame
GettyRunning back Jeremiyah Love of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Love is having another monster season in his junior campaign. He has racked up 1,372 rushing yards on 6.9 yards per carry and scored 18 rushing touchdowns. Love has also caught 27 passes for 280 yards and three scores across 12 games played.
His numbers have already eclipsed what he accomplished in 16 contests last year for a Fighting Irish squad that got all the way to the College Football Playoff championship game before falling to Ohio State.
Notre Dame (10-2) has won 10 games in a row and will be part of the CFP field again this postseason, as the team is currently the No. 10 seed in the most recent bracket and has no more games remaining on its regular season schedule.
RB Aaron Jones Unlikely to Return to Vikings Next Year
GettyRunning back Aaron Jones of the Minnesota Vikings.
Love would likely come in as a replacement for running back Aaron Jones, who is probably on the way out this offseason.
Jones, 31, was a great addition for the Minnesota team that went to the playoffs following the 2024 campaign, but his health and production have both dipped severely this season. Jones has played in just eight games and put up 450 yards from scrimmage along with two TDs.
The Vikings can save $7.2 million against the salary cap by releasing Jones next offseason and $9.2 million by trading him, per Over The Cap. It is far less likely, however, that a team will want to trade for the aging and injury prone star when it could sign him as an RB2 for far less money by waiting for his almost inevitable release.
Minnesota is currently staring at a $36 million cap deficit in 2026, and cutting Jones wipes away 20 percent of that. The team also has Jordan Mason under contract next year, and Mason was already on his way to taking over the primary rushing duties before Jones began battling injuries early in the season.
Max Dible covers the NFL, NBA and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns. He covered local and statewide news as a reporter for West Hawaii Today and served as news director for BigIslandNow.com and Pacific Media Group’s family of Big Island radio stations before joining Heavy. More about Max Dible
More Heavy on Vikings
Loading more stories
