The Minnesota Vikings haven’t necessarily been as active as other teams across the NFL this year, but they have managed to shore up several areas of need ahead of the upcoming season. The biggest position of need entering the offseason was the quarterback position, and the Vikings addressed that spot by signing Kyler Murray in free agency.
After getting released by the Arizona Cardinals, Murray will compete with J.J. McCarthy for the starting job in Minnesota. While head coach Kevin O’Connell has made it clear that this will be an open competition during training camp, the overarching presumption is that Murray has the inside track to be the team’s Week 1 starter. And assuming he earns that gig, one NFL analyst believes he could wind up becoming a long-shot MVP candidate.
Kyler Murray Draws Bold MVP Prediction
The Cardinals selected Murray with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft after he won the Heisman Trophy the year before with the Oklahoma Sooners. While he’s undersized for the quarterback position, at his best, Murray is one of the most dynamic dual-threat quarterbacks in the pros.
After winning the Rookie of the Year Award in 2019, Murray earned back-to-back Pro Bowl selections in 2020 and 2021. Since then, though, he struggled to stay healthy, and even when he’s been on the field, he hasn’t posed the same sort of threat as a rusher that he showcased earlier in his career. Murray is still a talented passer of the ball, but his ability to make plays with his legs adds another element to his game.
Still, O’Connell has a reputation for being a quarterback whisperer of sorts, and the expectation across the league is that he could do some good work with Murray. While he still has to actually beat out McCarthy for the starting job, Bucky Brooks of NFL.com could see Murray emerging as an MVP candidate in his first season with the Vikings.
“The combination of Murray’s spectacular playmaking ability and Kevin O’Connell’s creative scheming could quickly remind the football world why this quarterback won the Heisman Trophy at Oklahoma and then went first overall in the 2019 NFL Draft,” Brooks wrote. “If Murray makes Minnesota a true contender in a loaded NFC North, the eighth-year pro could add another major piece of football hardware to his mantel.”
Vikings Have High Hopes for Kyler Murray in 2026
GettyVeteran quarterback Kyler Murray signed with the Minnesota Vikings this offseason.
At his best in 2020, Murray showed off his MVP potential with the Cardinals. In the air, he completed 375 of his 558 pass attempts for 3,971 yards and 26 touchdowns, while also rushing for 819 yards and 11 more scores. Again, consistency has been hard to come by for Murray, but he’s in the perfect offensive infrastructure with Minnesota now.
If Murray can put all the pieces together, it’s not hard to see him emerging as an MVP candidate. The offense is loaded with weapons, and O’Connell is one of the best offensive minds in the league. Winning the starting job is the first thing Murray needs to do, but assuming he can do that, it feels like the sky’s the limit for him.
NFL Analyst Delivers Bold Prediction for Vikings QB Kyler Murray