Three important decisions the Vikings must make before the regular season

NFL training camps are heating up and teams have plenty to figure out over the next month.

Here are three decisions the Minnesota Vikings must make before they kick off their regular season against the New York Giants on Sept 8.

What is the plan with J.J. McCarthy?

Head coach Kevin O’Connell has been adamant on the team taking its time in developing McCarthy behind Sam Darnold, but what if the rookie passer is ahead of schedule, then what? Do the Vikings play him even if Darnold isn’t making a ton of mistakes? And if Darnold struggles out of the gate, would it be best to try McCarthy in, say, Week 4 or 5 even if he’s not completely ready?

The Vikings need to know after the preseason ends what they want to do with McCarthy and stick to it full-stop, even if that means playing him before he’s ready or committing to him permanently once a QB switch is made. With a young player, especially a QB, there needs to be as little guesswork and as much preparedness as possible.

Who replaces Danielle Hunter as the primary pass-rush specialist?

An argument can be made that if the Vikings didn’t have Hunter last season, the team would have had next to no pass-rush. The 29-year-old accounted for 80 of the team’s 294 pressures, 55 of its 196 hurries and 16.5 of its 43 sacks and he will be sorely missed in 2024.

The good news is Minnesota added some players who could help offset Hunter’s loss in Jonathan Greenard (52 pressures, 28 hurries, 11 QB hits and 12.5 sacks) and Andrew Van Ginkel (53 pressures, 32 hurries, 15 QB hits and six sacks), plus first-round rookie Dallas Turner (55 pressures, 33 hurries, 11 QB hits and 10 sacks at Alabama). Having three capable pass-rushers is great, but the Vikings need to know what they’re getting when each is on the field.

Who is the team’s WR3?

Minnesota has one of the best 1-2 WR punches in the NFL in Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, but who steps up and fills K.J. Osborn’s spot? Osborn, now in New England, totaled 75 targets, 48 receptions, 540 yards and three touchdowns last year, which is not an insignificant chunk of production to replace.

It’s expected that N’Keal Harry, Malik Knowles, Jalen Nailor, Brandon Powell and Trent Sherfield will battle it out for the No. 3 receiver spot in camp and all five have their strengths. Harry is a former first-round pick who has yet to live up to his potential. He’s only 26, so there’s hope he can still figure it out.

Knowles is someone the coaching staff is really high on and O’Connell has even hinted he has big plans for him with getting more reps as camp goes on. Those two seem like the likeliest bets to at least get the first look at the WR3 job, but don’t rule out Sherfield or Powell making compelling cases for themselves.