The Minnesota Vikings‘ offense will need a major makeover in 2026 after struggling mightily under current quarterback JJ McCarthy in his second year in the pros.
The Vikings went from the 12th to the 28th ranked total offense from 2024 to 2025 after the departure of Sam Darnold – whom former GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah expressed some vaguely regretful thoughts about less than a day before getting fired on Friday.
And speaking in the wake of Darnold’s success this season relative to the Vikings’ decline is number one wideout, Justin Jefferson.
Jefferson had easily his worst year as a pro in 2025 – although he still managed to surpass 1,000 receiving yards for the sixth straight season – managing fewer yards in 17 games than he did in just 10 games back in 2023.
Jefferson went on the Sports Seriously podcast and gave some surprisingly honest thoughts about how he believes 2025 would have been a better year for the Vikings if Darnold had remained on the team.
Vikings ‘Definitely Would Have Been Better’ With Darnold – JJ
“Everyone knows the difficulty of the QB position this year of how we was dealt it.” Jefferson said. “But of course having the QB that’s already had the season under his belt with us, knew the plays, knew the playbook, knew the players, of course throwing to me, Jordan Addison, TJ Hockenson all of these guys. I definitely felt like we would’ve done better. But you know, it is what it is. It’s on to new and better things.”
When asked prior to the statement about whether he thought the Vikings could have made the Super Bowl had Darnold remained with the team, after leading Minnesota to a 14-win season in 2024 Jefferson replied, “Yeah for sure, I mean definitely.”
Despite on the field frustrations with his current QB, Jefferson has expressed support for McCarthy in recent weeks. But it seems apparent that the Vikings wideout believes full well that things could have been very different had the team chosen an alternative path at the most important position last offseason.
Justin Jefferson Delivers Blunt Take On Vikings’ Sam Darnold Decision