The KOC effect? Vikings passing game the NFL's 2nd-most explosive since Kevin O’Connell hired

The Minnesota Vikings may be without rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy for the upcoming season but there’s still reason to believe in the offense.

As noted by Pro Football Focus on Thursday, the Vikings have had the second-most explosive passing game in the entire NFL since head coach Kevin O’Connell was hired two years ago.

According to PFF, the Vikings have had 217 passing plays of at least 15 yards over the previous two seasons, trailing only Miami’s 244.

Sure, the team will be relying on Sam Darnold in 2024 due to McCarthy’s injury and Kirk Cousins’ departure, but the Vikings also were forced to rely on Joshua Dobbs, Jaren Hall and Nick Mullens for 9.5 games in 2023 — and only had Justin Jefferson for half the season — and still finished with the fifth-best passing offense in the league.

With the addition of running back Aaron Jones, healthy seasons from wide receivers Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and Jalen Nailor, and a timely return for tight end T.J. Hockenson, there is still plenty of firepower for O’Connell and Darnold to utilize. They’ve just got to stay healthy, which has already been a big challenge this summer.

Fans will get to see how explosive the new offense can be when the regular-season kicks off on Sept. 8 with the Vikings playing at the New York Giants.