If there was one thing J.J. McCarthy had an advantage in over Kyler Murray in the Minnesota Vikings’ quarterback competition, it was his experience in head coach Kevin O’Connell’s offense.
While McCarthy has spent two full years in O’Connell’s system, including one year as a starter, Murray is just getting to know the Vikings’ offense in his first offseason with the team.
With Murray having the advantage in experience, skill set and overall talent, McCarthy, who is clearly trailing Murray in the Vikings’ quarterback competition, could at least cling to having a better grasp of the offense.
However, it appears the gap in McCarthy’s lone advantage over Murray is closing ahead of training camp, with The Athletic’s Alec Lewis reporting Murray has been progressing in his quest to learn the offense.
“Everything here revolves around the quarterback, and the most notable aspect of workouts was Kyler Murray’s progression in head coach Kevin O’Connell’s system,” Lewis wrote. “The Vikings didn’t dumb down the complexity for Murray. If anything, the team installed the full breadth of concepts and play calls to challenge Murray. He looked uncomfortable at times, working his way through the lengthy verbiage and downfield route distributions, but the Vikings believed this would be best in the long run.”
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Why Kyler Murray is ahead of J.J. McCarthy
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Kyler Murray looks on from the field before the game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Arizona Cardinals at AT&T Stadium. Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
ESPN’s Kevin Seifert recently laid out multiple reasons why Murray is the front-runner to win the starting job, and neither of them are surprising.
One of those reasons has to do with arm talent, where Murray is simply capable of making more types of throws than his younger counterpart.
Another reason is Murray’s athleticism, which allows him to better escape pressure and make plays with his legs.
The former is especially important after a season in which the Vikings finished tied for the second-most sacks allowed in the NFL with 60.
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None of this should be shocking to anyone who has watched these two quarterbacks in recent years.
Granted, Murray has had his fair share of issues during his career, but he has never been as bad as McCarthy looked in 2025, when the Michigan product was literally one of the worst quarterbacks in the entire league and the biggest reason Minnesota missed the playoffs.
If Murray can elevate the offense around him and the Vikings play at the same level they did on defense in 2025, Minnesota should get back to the postseason in 2026.