The Vikings will hold their first official OTA (Organized Team Activity) practice session on Tuesday at TCO Performance Center, with others to follow on Wednesday and Friday of this week. The Wednesday practice will be open to the media, which means we'll be getting our first look at Minnesota's 90-man roster in 2026.This is Phase 3 of the offseason program and is technically voluntary, but the Vikings are expected to have potentially their entire roster in attendance, as there are no contract holdouts to note. While there's no contact in these sessions, there will be individual work and both 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 team drills. And while this is still the "teaching and learning" phase of the spring, it's also the time where competition begins, setting the stage for training camp later this summer.In that vein, let's take a look at three intriguing position battles that may start to unfold this week as we inch closer to football season.QB1All eyes are going to be on the quarterback position in Minnesota this summer. Kyler Murray, with his 87 starts of NFL experience and spurts of greatness, comes in as the presumed heavy favorite to be the guy in Week 1 against the Packers. But the Vikings, via insiders like Tom Pelissero, have been consistent in their messaging that this will be a real competition between Murray and J.J. McCarthy. Whether you truly buy that idea is up to you. Carson Wentz is also around, meaning McCarthy's ceiling is QB1 and his floor is QB3.Kyler Murray during Vikings offseason workouts. | Image courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings (Ali Rusco)It's hard to know how much information, if any, we'll be able to glean on the QB situation from OTAs. But there's no doubt that everything will be analyzed, from rep order to throws in team drills to anything Kevin O'Connell says about the most important position in the sport. The post-Smith safety roomSafety is a crucial position in Brian Flores' defense, and until Harrison Smith announces he's coming back for one final season, we're operating under the assumption that one of the franchise's all-time greats is moving on. That leaves a void in the secondary, with the only newcomer of note being third-round rookie Jakobe Thomas.Josh Metellus might be the Vikings' only safety who is locked into an every-down role heading into this season. Theo Jackson is second on the depth chart after playing 500 snaps last season, but he doesn't exactly have the resume or veteran cache to be immune to competition. Jay Ward, a possible breakout candidate this year, played only 250 snaps in 2025. There's an opening for Thomas to come in and compete for an immediate role, which makes him one of several rookies to watch closely this spring.Jakobe Thomas | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn ImagesThe revamped defensive lineAnother fascinating position on the defensive side of the ball is the entirety of the defensive line. It'll be somewhat tricky to evaluate the DL in these spring non-contact practices, but that doesn't mean we can't learn something about the pecking order from seeing who gets first- and second-team reps in 11s.Caleb Banks, the Vikings' first-round pick, isn't expected to participate until training camp as he recovers from foot surgery. That makes fellow rookie Domonique Orange and perhaps second-year player Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins the most likely candidates to slot in next to Jalen Redmond with the starters. But there's some fun competitive depth here with veterans Isaiahh Loudermilk and Eric Johnson II joining guys like Levi Drake Rodriguez, Elijah Williams, and Taki Taimani. If a strong defensive line emerges in 2026, the Vikings are going to be a load to play against.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow