Vikings name Kyler Murray starter: Why it was the right move and why Minnesota might need a new QB in 2027

The NFL’s most anticlimactic quarterback competition is over. Kyler Murray won the Minnesota Vikings’ starting quarterback job over the incumbent J.J. McCarthy on Tuesday.

Head coach Kevin O’Connell didn’t even need to see either quarterback suit up in the team’s preseason opener against the New York Giants on Saturday to make the call. Murray, a two-time Pro Bowler with selections in the 2020 and 2021 seasons with the Arizona Cardinals, entered as the heavy favorite over McCarthy, the 10th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. That’s because McCarthy ranked dead last in the NFL in 2025 in completion percentage (57.6%), touchdown-to-interception ratio (11-12) and passer rating (72.6). His lack of production last season made him the only first-round pick quarterback since the 1970 AFL/NFL merger to finish last in the league in both completion percentage and touchdown-to-interception ratio in his debut season, per CBS Sports Research.

Murray will be O’Connell’s fourth different Week 1 starting quarterback since 2023 going from Kirk Cousins (2023) to Sam Darnold (2024) to McCarthy and now Murray. So will the promotion of Murray to the Vikings’ QB1 spot break the never-ending wheel of Minnesota’s starting quarterbacks across the last few years? Or will Minnesota once again be searching for another long-term answer at football’s most important position in 2027? Here’s a look at three reasons for each side of the argument. 

Three reasons why Kyler Murray will succeed in 2026

1. All-Pro WR Justin Jefferson and the other Vikings pass-catchers

A clear driver in Murray’s Pro Bowl-level success as the Arizona Cardinals’ starting quarterback in 2020 and 2021 was the presence of a No. 1 option wide receiver in All-Pro DeAndre Hopkins. When he was able to launch the ball deep downfield to Hopkins with regularity in the early 2020s,  Arizona’s offense took flight, and the Cardinals made a playoff appearance in 2021, something the franchise had failed to do since 2015 when Carson Palmer was the starting quarterback. Without Hopkins, Murray’s production was rather pedestrian. 

In Minnesota, wide receiver talent isn’t an issue. He has 2022 NFL Offensive Player of the Year Justin Jefferson at his disposal in addition to former first-round pick Jordan Addison and the reliable Jauan Jennings. Jefferson is the obvious headliner here as one of three players in NFL history to total 1,000 yards receiving in each of his first six seasons — Mike Evans and Randy Moss being the other two — but Addison isn’t a slouch either. His 22 career receiving touchdowns since 2023 are tied for the seventh-most in the league with Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews. Murray will be well-supported with one of the top receiver trios in football, plus former Pro Bowl tight end T.J. Hockenson. 

* Vikings WR core: Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, Jauan Jennings

2. Head coach Kevin O’Connell 

Murray is now playing in the most en vogue offensive scheme in football in O’Connell’s Shanahan-tree offense, which features staples like under-center formations, zone blocking and heavy doses of play-action passing and motion. This offensive scheme is designed to make a quarterback’s life more simple by allowing them to diagnose a defense more easily through utilizing many similar formations, making the run and the pass look the same. That way a quarterback can rely on the pre-snap motion and play-action plays to find receivers to throw to without having to think as much.

Having a playbook that will take some of the heavy lifting pre-snap off Murray’s plate could be exactly what he needs to shine once again while executing the 2024 Coach of the Year’s playbook.

3. Murray is one of the statistically dynamic QBs in NFL history through seven seasons

Murray’s first seven NFL seasons have been statistically historic. He is one of just four players ever with 20,000-plus passing yards (20,460) and 30-plus rushing touchdowns (32) in their first seven seasons. The other three have all been NFL MVPs: Cam Newton, Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen. Murray’s talent in Minnesota’s offensive ecosystem could soar in 2026. 

Three reasons why Kyler Murray will fail in 2026

1. Durability or lack thereof

From 2022 to 2025, Murray missed 30 of his possible 68 games, and in the five games Murray played for the Cardinals in 2025, he struggled, averaging a career low 227.0 total yards per game. His 5-foot-10-inch, 207-pound frame may not be built to last as the 29-year-old enters his eighth NFL season in 2026. Murray’s body could continue to betray him once again in the coming season, and Minnesota could be back to starting McCarthy once again.

2. Murray’s talent hasn’t translated on the field in years

Murray’s talent has never been a question. In high school in Allen, Texas, he went 42-0 as a starting quarterback and won three consecutive 5A state championships in the state that takes high school football more seriously than the other 49. In college at Oklahoma, he won the Heisman Trophy, which led to him being selected first overall in the 2019 NFL Draft. Since 2022 across the last four NFL seasons, his athleticism hasn’t yielded much in the production department or the victory department. Murray has ranked as a bottom-10 quarterback among the 33 with 25-plus starts the last four years in multiple metrics. 

3. Murray’s game is too reliant on athleticism that might not be there anymore 

When one closes their eyes and pictures Murray at his best, what do they see? Likely the image of Murray scrambling around behind the line of scrimmage before uncorking a deep ball down either sideline. An ankle injury caused him to miss three games in 2021, and a torn ACL he suffered in the 2022 season caused him to miss a combined 15 games across the 2022 and 2023 seasons. In 2025, a foot injury caused Murray to miss the final 12 games of the year. 

Those are all lower-body injuries that could hamper Murray’s top trait even if he does play all 17 games in 2026. A diminished Murray may not be enough for Minnesota to climb back to the postseason through a rough and tumble NFC North division in the coming season.