Vikings put on notice as J.J. McCarthy, Kyler Murray QB competition heats up

The Minnesota Vikings want to believe they have two capable, MVP-worthy quarterbacks this season in veteran Kyler Murray and third-year player J.J. McCarthy, but not everybody agrees.

On one hand, you have Murray, who showed promise during his time with the Arizona Cardinals. There's excitement about him coming to Minnesota. He could be the veteran presence this team needs.

Or, he could fall flat. He could be just so-so amid a sea of quarterbacks that are great.

McCarthy also has issues. He's entering his third season with the NFL with not much to show for it. He missed his rookie season and didn't play the full season his second year, either. The Vikings wouldn't have signed Murray if they had complete confidence in McCarthy, for certain.

A dismal projection for Vikings quarterbacks Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy

In a piece for Yahoo Sports, Frank Schwab lays out what his "crystal ball" says about Murray and McCarthy with the Vikings. Spoiler alert: It's not great.

In the piece, he writes that the "optimism about Kyler Murray is rooted more in blind faith and trust in Kevin O'Connell's coaching than anything tangible on Murray's NFL résumé." So, it's risky.

"There is a chance that a team that won nine games with awful quarterback play last season gets to double-digit wins with below-average quarterback play," he adds in the piece. "Perhaps Murray finally does have his breakout with a better franchise and a good coach, and then the Vikings really bounce back to their 2024 level. But the roster around the quarterback isn't better than last season, and the Vikings are the most reasonable pick to finish last in the NFC North."

So, Schwab picks the Vikings to finish in last place in the NFC North, although he thinks they'll be the "best of all the NFL's last-place teams," so at least there's that.