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We are less than two weeks from the first wave of players reporting for 2026 Vikings Training Camp (and two weeks and a day from veterans arriving on July 28).

That means today is a fine time for us to start rolling out our training camp preview series, beginning with quarterbacks. Below is the schedule for positional previews:

July 13: Quarterbacks

July 14: Receivers & tight ends

July 15: Running backs

July 16: Offensive line

July 20: Defensive line

July 21: Outside & inside linebackers

July 22: Defensive backs

July 23: Specialists

In the meantime, we're trying to wrap up some projects (notably the 2026 Yearbook and the Training Camp Playbook are nearing completion) and enjoy a little more "summer break" before full-throttle football.

On that note, we'll take a break from Mailbag on July 20 and look forward to returning July 27.

Let's get to some questions.

A lot has been written about Domonique Orange and his amazing chance to be a force on our defensive line for a long time. He has a great nickname — BIG Citrus. We had another draft choice, Demond Claiborne, with explosive talent. He has the ability to take it to the house on any play. A 4.37 in the 40 is fast. One of the things I read about him is he really loves his country upbringing and the values it has instilled in him. If he starts making big plays for us, can we call him BIG COUNTRY?

— Gerald Goblirsch

Just in case anyone missed the Vikings.com film study on Orange, check it out here. That nickname wasn't initially embraced by Orange, but it's grown on him, and he had a nice spring. It will be fun to see him in action once the pads are donned in camp.

We also posted this feature on Claiborne last month. He hails from Aylett, Virginia, an unincorporated community about 40 miles northeast of Richmond.

I get the rural ties/country upbringing being a potential nickname source, but I also remember Bryant "Big Country" Reeves, the former Oklahoma State and NBA's Grizzlies center who was listed at 7-foot and 290 pounds.

Claiborne's stature (5-10 and 188) is a considerable departure from Reeves.

Perhaps Claiborne's speed is fast enough to put a "Country Mile" between him and the last defender. If so, that would provide quite an explosive element to Minnesota's run game that already figures to feature Aaron Jones, Sr., and Jordan Mason.

Generally, players are doing well for themselves if they garner a nickname, so we will see how things shake out for Claiborne and if a nickname lands.

Don't want to say this, but I feel we won't have the year everyone thinks. I feel QB play will be average, and because of that, we shouldn't sign Jordan Addison. Trade him in offseason and draft a new WR — hint out of Ohio State. Him and Justin Jefferson will be awesome, and with the second-round selection, a new QB such since the class is loaded and just in case J.J. McCarthy is still not ready after an extra year on roster. What do you think?

— William W.

Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell used part of his break to participate last week in the American Century Championship Golf Tournament (with former Vikings Adam Thielen and Patrick Peterson, as well as retired tennis pro and Minnesotan Mardy Fish).

Fish claimed the crown for the third time, defeating Joe Pavelski by six points. Steph Curry finished third. Thielen tied for 16^th, Peterson finished 20^th, and O'Connell could have benefited from a few mulligans.

While in the Lake Tahoe region, O'Connell joined The Dan Patrick Show.

Dan Patrick said to O'Connell: "Help me understand an open competition at quarterback, like it's open between J.J. McCarthy and Kyler Murray."

"I'm not really familiar with a closed competition. I've heard everyone is fascinated with that aspect of it," O'Connell began. "Here's what I would say, two players with, really the goal going into this offseason was to elevate the quarterback position, because when we have a certain standard of play, like we feel we have multiple guys in that room that are capable of achieving that standard, the Minnesota Vikings win football games, so the best way to achieve that is having a daily attempt to have guys push each other and not always need the outside noise or not always need what the narratives may be. Let's roll the ball out there and help the Minnesota Vikings get better.

"Kyler has come in and done a great job. J.J. has benefited from it. He had a really good spring," O'Connell continued. "Carson Wentz is this veteran quarterback in the room that, as a guy who has played seven or eight quarterbacks in four years, the two years we had our starter play the whole season, we won 13 and 14 games, so we want to try to get back to the standard of having the quarterback position be a driving force behind us winning by doing their job, by hopefully activating the great players they get to play with.

"We've got a great defense. Brian Flores has done an unbelievable job. If we can eliminate giving the football away and generate some explosives and get the run game going — although no one is really talking about that — that has been a major emphasis of this offseason, both from a coaching standpoint and a player-development standpoint," O'Connell added. "I'm excited about where we're at, but we won't really know until we start calcifying, forging our team together. We're going to compete in the NFC North. It's a very competitive division."

Later on, O'Connell reiterated the team's desire to continue the competitive framework within a plan devised by coaches that also leaves space for prepping the starter. All of that continues to be consistent with what he has said in media sessions during the team's offseason workout program.

The Vikings have the benefit of time with Addison by virtue of exercising the club's fifth-year option on the 2023 first-round pick. He was already on his rookie contract for 2026, and the team now has his services through 2027, in which his salary is scheduled to jump to $18 million that season. The team and Addison will be able to have discussions regarding longer-term opportunities along the way.

I'm assuming William is referencing Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith, who is ranked as the No. 1 overall prospect in the class of 2027 by NFLDraftBuzz.com. Smith is listed at 6-3 and 223. In addition to a 4.32 time in the 40, the site wrote Smith enters the draft class as the "cleanest wide receiver evaluation in years, and the tape never argues." Size, speed and success will make him an enticing prospect for multiple teams.

Circling back to the quarterback conversation, the team will benefit the most from the players in the room continuing to stack productive days, rep by rep.

This will be short & sweet, and hopefully (selfishly) a very common theme lately due to the World Cup and success of the Norwegian squad.

We need to incorporate the "Viking Row" into games. It's such a cool visual of their fans doing that. Either after the offense gets a first down, or doing it before a defensive 3^rd down.

Picture the entire crowd at the back doing the row after second down and standing up and yelling on third down. Good luck converting!!

— Roman B.

Rowing the Vikings (not Gophers) boat in Grand Forks, North Dakota

Norway put together an impressive run, advancing all the way to the quarterfinals before being eliminated by England 2-1. Along the way, their fans took others on a festive, spirit-filled journey. Several countries' fanbases "brought it," but the Viking Row provided quite a visual.

When the Vikings sought to introduce the SKOL Chant, the organization reached out for a blessing from the Icelandic soccer team, which had created a viral moment with its Viking Thunder Clap during the UEFA Euro 2016, just before U.S. Bank Stadium opened.

The SKOL Chant caught on like wildfire, instantly adding to the mystique of the venue. I think part of its resonance is that it occurs en masse usually at the start of the game and maybe at a key moment in the second half. Fans have taken it on the road, as well, breaking it out in waning moments of games that have been secured by Minnesota with help from the fans who made the trip.

I loved Rob Kleifield's article about underrated players. I always like reading about players of the past. Totally agree about Brian Robison. He was a decent DL that I knew would turn up during every game. E.J. Henderson? Same there, too. Just reading their names again brings back memories and a smile to my face.

Carl Lee played at Marshall University, about 40 miles from home, was part of a great secondary with S Joey Browner. Lee came back to West Virginia to coach football at West Virginia State University and later coached basketball there, too.

I have a question about Martin. I think he led the league is sacks in the strike-shortened season. Did he?

The last game of the strike-shortened season was the game Tony Dorsett had his 99-yard TD run. A lot of friends remind me. Then I remind them Tommy Kramer threw a short pass for the game-winning score that RB Rickey Young had to go to the turf to catch the ball before the ball could hit the ground. Check it out. That win put Minnesota in the playoffs that season. I'm old but I believe memory serves me well.

Bleed Purple,

— Jason G.

The article mentioned by Jason was part of our Lunchbreak series, which provides roundups of Vikings-centric content from external media, so I first need to credit the work done by Matthew Coller and Josh Smith for Purple Insider that ranked underrated Vikings.

There were definitely some great players and people mentioned among those. I sincerely enjoyed B-Rob's time with the Vikings and the opportunity to take a unique approach in covering his retirement (it's one of my favorite stories I've written). I didn't get to cover Henderson but know how much he was respected. He worked in the community relations department when I first got to Minnesota, so I did get to overlap with him for a bit.

Lee is understandably a fan favorite, with an incredible run at cornerback and a key player on that 1987 team that advanced to the NFC Championship Game before experiencing heartbreak at Washington.

I didn't get the chance to meet Martin, but I write about him when he passed away in April. He did lead the NFL in 1982, with 11.5 sacks in the first season in which the league treated the category as an official stat. Edge rushers who sign gargantuan contracts now should hold a special appreciation for Martin's showing in 1982 and that stat category's adoption by the NFL.

Yep, memory serves correctly. Dorsett ripped off the 99-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter of that Monday Night Football game featuring Hall of Fame Head Coaches Bud Grant and Tom Landry. The "99er" made it 24-20 Vikings and reversed Minnesota's momentum from a 33-yard interception return TD by John Turner to open the fourth quarter.

Dallas took the lead on a 2-yard run by Ron Springs with six-plus minutes remaining, but that left more than enough time for "2-Minute Tommy" (another great nickname, by the way) to lead the game-winning drive that ended with a 14-yard pass to Young.

Anyone interested in another stroll down memory lane could revisit the attempts in April 2025 by Rob, Lindsey Young and myself at drafting the best Vikings roster. My defense included Browner, Lee and Robison.

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