The Minnesota Vikings decided to improve their quarterback room and added veteran Kyler Murray to compete with incumbent J.J. McCarthy. In the NFC North, their competitors all possess franchise quarterbacks with recent playoff experience, which is why Minnesota is desperate to fix the quarterback position.
ESPN Writer Believes QB Kyler Murray is Favorite to Become Vikings Starter
McCarthy struggled massively last season, and the Vikings missed the playoffs. He is currently competing with Murray for the starting quarterback position, and Vikings insider Kevin Seifert believes that the latter is currently ahead in the competition.
“You can only have a genuine competition if there is actual uncertainty about who the best quarterback on the roster is,” Seifert wrote. “With the caveat that this was one day in May, with no pads and some drills performed at half speed, it is only fair to point out that the gap between the two quarterbacks was not close.”
“Overall, the afternoon was a reminder that McCarthy could continue along the upward trajectory he established at the end of last season — and still fall well short of matching Murray’s experience, arm talent and potential to make big plays in the passing game,” Seifert continued.
While McCarthy does possess mobility (181 yards, four rushing touchdowns), he does not run like Murray or possess the arm strength to make every throw, according to Seifert. While training camp is still weeks away, Murray could already be the odds-on favorite to take the reins of the Vikings offense.
“There is a very realistic world where McCarthy takes clear steps this offseason and still doesn’t mount a serious challenge to Murray, and this week we saw a clear glimpse of what it would look like,” concluded Seifert.
The Vikings’ offense averaged 20.2 points per game last season and ranked No. 28 in the PFSN NFL Offense Impact Rankings.
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The offense starts with the signal-caller, and when the starting quarterback completes just 57.6% of his passes while averaging 6.7 yards per attempt, the offense is bound to struggle. According to PFSN’s QB Impact Metric, McCarthy posted an impact score of 64.3 last season, ranking 37th in the league.
Murray doesn’t turn 30 until next year. Yet that may not be the best reason he could be the Vikings’ starting quarterback. During his seven seasons in Arizona, he earned a 38-48-1 record and completed 67.1% of his passes. Now with weapons like Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, T.J. Hockenson, and Jauan Jennings, the expectation is that Murray will have the best season of his career in Minnesota.