{"id":935790,"date":"2026-07-03T19:15:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T19:15:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/935790\/"},"modified":"2026-07-03T19:15:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T19:15:17","slug":"minnesota-vikings-have-a-secret-weapon-to-unleash-on-the-nfl-this-season-and-kevin-oconnell-can-use-it-in-multiple-ways","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/935790\/","title":{"rendered":"Minnesota Vikings have a secret weapon to unleash on the NFL this season, and Kevin O’Connell can use it in multiple ways"},"content":{"rendered":"

Each season under Kevin O\u2019Connell, the Minnesota Vikings have evolved. This season, they have a potential trick up their sleeve.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"Nov
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNov 2, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O\u2019Connell looks on during the first quarter against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLon Horwedel-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Year over year, Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O\u2019Connell<\/a> has done a good job molding the team in its own image. <\/p>\n

There has been growth and development in all phases, especially on defense with Brian Flores running the show. On offense, O\u2019Connell has introduced new wrinkles each season, including making adjustments for each quarterback<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What could O\u2019Connell have in store for the 2026 season? There is one interesting element that could separate the Vikings from other teams in the NFL.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Trick plays could be in the Vikings\u2019 future<\/p>\n

One thing that O\u2019Connell hasn\u2019t done a ton of is run trick plays. There have been some really interesting ones throughout his tenure, but the creativity hasn\u2019t been what you would expect from an offensive guru.<\/p>\n

Last year, they ran a fun trick play with running back Cam Akers, throwing a pass downfield to Josh Oliver for a touchdown against the Cleveland Browns in Week 5.<\/p>\n

Now, read the above tweet. Akers was a high school quarterback. Why does that matter here? The Vikings added two players who were former quarterbacks this offseason: wide receiver Jauan Jennings<\/a> and punter Johnny Hekker.<\/p>\n

Over the last few seasons, the Vikings have had seven passes come from players who weren\u2019t quarterbacks. Two of those players in Akers and punter Ryan Wright were high school quarterbacks.<\/p>\n

2022: Justin Jefferson: 2-2 for 34 yards, Ryan Wright: 1-2 for 13 yards<\/p>\n

2023: Justin Jefferson: 0-1<\/p>\n

2024: Justin Jefferson: 1-1 for 22 yards<\/p>\n

2025: Cam Akers: 1-1 for 32 yards and one touchdown<\/p>\n

With the additions of Jennings and Hekker, that could add an interesting element to the Vikings\u2019 offense and special teams. They have interesting stat lines during their careers.<\/p>\n

Jennings: 2-2 for 50 yards and two touchdowns<\/p>\n

Hekker: 15-26 for 193 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception, and 12 first downs<\/p>\n

It hasn\u2019t been something that O\u2019Connell has leaned into during his tenure, but something he should have considered using more, especially with Wright being a former high school quarterback. Not attempting a pass in the last three years is interesting, which is a potential red flag for this not being a priority for O\u2019Connell. However, creativity seems to be a priority this season, especially with the addition of Frank Smith as the assistant head coach.<\/p>\n

This is something to keep an eye on this season, as it could be the turning point in multiple games.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Dec\t\t<\/p>\n

Minnesota Vikings News<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tKevin O\u2019Connell and the Minnesota Vikings are dragged into Dianna Russini saga in a way they don\u2019t want to be\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

The saga of Dianna Russini has taken another interesting turn, this time involving the Minnesota Vikings and Kevin O\u2019Connell.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Dec\t\t<\/p>\n

Minnesota Vikings News<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tDianna Russini\u2019s comments on J.J. McCarthy open up a can of worms for the Minnesota Vikings and Kevin O\u2019Connell\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

The latest update in the Dianna Russini saga involves the Minnesota Vikings, and it brings up an interesting storyline.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Each season under Kevin O\u2019Connell, the Minnesota Vikings have evolved. This season, they have a potential trick up…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":935791,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2073],"tags":[7,10117,6192,233,259,2529,6,234],"class_list":["post-935790","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-minnesota-vikings","tag-football","tag-jauan-jennings","tag-kevin-oconnell","tag-minnesota","tag-minnesota-vikings","tag-minnesotavikings","tag-nfl","tag-vikings"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116857649778965786","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/935790","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=935790"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/935790\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/935791"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=935790"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=935790"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=935790"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}