The season begins tomorrow with a Super Bowl LX rematch. It continues Thursday in Australia between the Rams and the 49ers. And on Sunday, Minnesota hosts Green Bay in the 132^nd Border Battle.

It seems like an opportune time to assess where each team stands heading into the 2026 slate.

That's exactly what Albert Breer did for Sports Illustrated this week.

Here's what Breer wrote about the Purple in his check-in on the 32 clubs:

The Vikings have had a reputation for being a great home for veteran quarterbacks that fell out of favor elsewhere, for one reason or another. It goes back to my childhood: Rich Gannon, Jim McMahon, Warren Moon, Randall Cunningham, Jeff George, Brett Favre and Kirk Cousins have all led Minnesota to the playoffs. Now they have Kyler Murray in to lead an offense with a ton of talent in the prime of their careers, with a veteran defense capable of maximizing Brian Flores's scheme.

Note: Gannon was drafted by New England in 1987 but joined Minnesota that season.

Breer noted that it's common for prognosticators to oversimplify things, insinuating that adding Murray to the mix is a solve-all for the franchise — "as if the quarterback is playing one-on-one hoops against the other team's quarterback," Breer wrote — but in this case there's some truth to it.

Breer sees Murray being "that pivotal of a piece" and he highlighted Minnesota's confidence in the 29-year-old quarterback to bring dynamism to the offense on bootlegs, keepers and scramble drills.

What else grabbed our attention in Breer's notebook? Well, thoughts on early season challengers.

On the Packers, Breer conjectured that "this is already a good team. If its young guys can take the step from good to great, a la Seattle last year, then the Packers will be a true Super Bowl contender."

As for Minnesota's opponents in Weeks 2 and 3 (Chicago and Tampa Bay) Breer focused on the respective quarterbacks: He cited his recent QB poll as proof that many people are expecting Caleb Williams to make a leap in his second season under Head Coach Ben Johnson; and Breer wondered whether there's still a deal to be done between the Buccaneers and Baker Mayfield, who is 27-24 in three seasons as Tampa Bay's starter and is second in the league with 95 passing TDs since 2023.

Click here to read all of Breer's notes regarding the imminent campaign.

Unusual path to the NFL

Long before Vikings assistant defensive backs coach Chenzo Funari worked on Brian Flores' defense, he worked in a World War II-era garage in the Mojave Desert … on small rocket engines.

Funari is the 32-year-old "secret weapon" who was profiled recently by The Athletic's Alec Lewis.

The story of Funari's transition from science to the sidelines started in Southern California, in the middle of nowhere, before progressing into a volunteer coaching position at Youngstown State and landing him, eventually, in "a meaningful role on one of the most respected defensive staffs in the NFL."

Here is an excerpt from Lewis' story:

As a child, Funari fixated on two things: space and sports.

He studied constellations. At the dinner table, he quizzed his parents on the solar system. (His sister) Taylor still doesn't know the answer to a question he'd constantly pose when he entered the living room: What is the average temperature on Mars?

"It was like he was a walking encyclopedia," she said.

The Cleveland native also adored the playing style of Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre. Maybe it was the fearlessness, possibly the flair. Funari practiced youth football with the gunslinger on his mind. His parents quickly recognized the sport was one of the few activities that gave his brain a break.

Funari is entering his third season with the Vikings in 2026 and his second as a member of the coaching staff after joining the organization as a football quantitative methods associate. Although his background is unique, it serves him well. Players, including Harrison Smith, have gravitated toward his expertise. Safety Joshua Metellus told Lewis that Funari is "not just this statistics dude."

You can find Lewis' entire feature here.

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