The Minnesota Vikings have lacked consistency under head coach Kevin O’Connell. He had a brilliant first season in 2022 as he led the team to the NFC North title. After QB Kirk Cousins was injured in 2023, the Vikings endured a losing season.
The team bounced back and had one of the best regular seasons in team history in 2024, winning 14 of their first 16 games with a retread in Sam Darnold at quarterback. However, the season came to an abrupt conclusion when the Vikings lost the regular-season finale to the Detroit Lions and were hammered the following week in the Wild Card game by the Los Angeles Rams.
The Vikings did not bring Darnold back last year and he went on to lead the Seattle Seahawks to the Super Bowl title. O’Connell saw his team lose 8 of their first 12 games and fall to the bottom of the NFC North before they went on a rather meaningless 5-game season-ending winning streak. They avoided the cellar as a result, but they won’t get the benefit of a fourth-place schedule.
Shortly after the season ended, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was fired from his responsibilities. While Rob Brzezinski has the title of interim general manager, this is O’Connell’s team and the pressure is on as he goes into the fifth year of his head coaching stint.
Murray will likely end up at quarterback, but he needs help
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He is clearly one of the best quarterback coaches in the league — and that is not a dig. He relates as well to his quarterbacks as any of the coaches in the league, and that includes Rams head coach Sean Payton. The Vikings have brought in ex-Cardinal signal caller Kyler Murray to compete with former first-round draft choice J.J. McCarthy for the starting QB position.
While it is a competition, the belief is that Murray will have the best chance to win the job. McCarthy has suffered injuries in his first two seasons — both season-ending and nagging — and his performance has been inconsistent when he has been able to take his spot in the lineup.
Murray’s tenure in Arizona has largely been labeled as a failure, but that’s not a fair assessment. Arizona’s management and coaching has regularly dragged that team down. He will get to start over with a relatively clean sheet in Minnesota.
Murray will find that he has the opportunity to work with one of the best receivers in the NFL in Justin Jefferson and it will give the quarterback a boost. No. 2 receiver Jordan Addison has game-changing speed and he can put the Vikings over the top if he can stay focused on his job and leave his off-the-field issues in the past.
However, if the Vikings want to help Murray out and give him a chance to become a dominant QB1, they need to give him an elite running game.
Vikings need to draft Notre Dame stud RB Jeremiyah Love
The Vikings have been ordinary at the running back slot for 3-plus seasons. When O’Connell was hired in 2022, they had one of the game’s elite running backs in Dalvin Cook. He was a combination of speed, excellent instincts and make-you-miss moves.
That season represented the last of a four-year run of gaining 1,135 yards or more. However, O’Connell was not enamored with Cook because he did not offer much in short-yardage situations. Cook checked in at 5-10 and 210 pounds, and he could not provide the impetus when the Vikings needed 2 yards or less for a touchdown or a first down. The Vikings need a go-to running back who is capable of being a superstar.
There is one running back in this draft that can fill that description. Jeremiyah Love of Notre Dame has the speed, moves and know-how to break long runs that can change the game in an instant.
He is two inches taller and five pounds heavier than Cook was at the time, and is significantly more powerful. He has the leg drive and strength to handle short-yardage assignments as well as all the other skills needed to be a dominant NFL running back.
Love is coming off a brilliant season with the Fighting Irish. He rushed for 1,372 yards on 199 carries for an impressive average of 6.9 yards per carry. Love found the end zone 18 times last year while carrying the ball. He also demonstrated that he can catch the ball and run with it after making the reception. He caught 27-280-3 last season.
Love is much more than a one-year wonder. He ran for 1,125 yards and 17 touchdowns during the 2024 season, and he also ran for 6.9 yards per carry in that season.
The Vikings need to draft him.
Vikings must make bold move for Love
This will require creativity and courage from Brzezinski and O’Connell to make this happen. The Vikings have the No. 18 selection in the upcoming NFL Draft. The first round will be conducted April 23, and Love is likely to go well before the No. 18 pick.
Running backs have been devalued in the last decade-plus, but Love is a special player who could be drafted as early as 7th by the Washington Commanders. The Vikings have to move into the top 6 if they are going to select him.
In addition to trading their own pick, the Vikings may have to part with two others, including a third-round pick this year and a second-round selection in 2027. They are clearly going to have to give up some major value in order to move ahead of the RB-needy Commanders.
A running back who can take over at multiple points in the game would be a remarkable acquisition for the Vikings. NFL teams need a running back who can handle short-yardage and red zone opportunities. However, great running backs can make explosive gains at any time in the game. This takes pressure off the quarterback.
Love may not be as great as Saquon Barkley of the Philadelphia Eagles, but he is cut from the same cloth. He could develop into one of the finest running backs in the game, and the Vikings will become a much stronger team if they can find a way to add him to their depth chart.
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