Pressure is on Kyler Murray to 'save a lot of jobs' after being named QB1 over J.J. McCarthy

"You guys have seen [Murray] be explosive when there are opportunities there, but you've also seen him check the ball down and put the ball in play and get us from first-and-10 to a second-and-3," O'Connell said. "And then, as you continued to look at the body of work through those ten days, what jumped out is what could be." 

The potential is what the Vikings are banking on to rebound from a 9-8 season and return to the playoffs. That's also why Murray can't take it easy after winning the job. 

Why Kyler Murray faces increased pressure after winning starting job 

On X, ESPN analyst/former NFL QB Dan Orlovsky wrote there is immense pressure on Murray "to save a lot of jobs" after Minnesota let QBs Sam Darnold (Seattle Seahawks) and Daniel Jones (Indianapolis Colts) walk in free agency before the 2025 season, one of the franchise's biggest mistakes in recent memory. 

Last season, Darnold joined future Hall of Famer Tom Brady as the only QBs to win 14-plus regular-season games in consecutive seasons and led the Seahawks to their second Super Bowl title. Jones, meanwhile, went 8-5 in 13 starts for the Colts before tearing his right Achilles tendon and ranked eighth among 33 eligible QBs in QBR (63). 

Jones wasn't as successful as Darnold, but he still would've been a step above McCarthy. The 10th pick of the 2024 NFL Draft ranked 30th in QBR (35.6 in 10 games) and threw more interceptions (12) than touchdown passes (11).

The Vikings signed Murray, a former Arizona Cardinals star, to a one-year, $1.3M deal this offseason in the hope that he may be the next QB who salvages his career under offensive wizard O'Connell. The 2019 No. 1 overall pick won Offensive Rookie of the Year and made two Pro Bowls with Arizona but never won more than nine games in seven seasons with the team and battled knee and foot injuries throughout his tenure. 

But, hey, Minnesota made it work with Darnold, who was once viewed as a bust. 2018 No. 3 overall pick Darnold never won more than seven games in stops with the New York Jets, Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers. 

Murray is in a slightly better place than Darnold was at this point in his career. This should give the Vikings more hope about their ceiling with him. Now, it's on him to turn it into a reality, which would prevent many in Minnesota from needing to update their LinkedIn accounts at season's end.