In the 2024 NFL Draft, the Minnesota Vikings selected J. J. McCarthy with the 10th overall pick. He was the quarterback of the future, emphasis on future, as he was named the backup to Sam Darnold. McCarthy then tore the meniscus in his right knee, shutting him down for the entirety of his rookie season.
Prior to the start of last season, Darnold left for Seattle and the future was now for McCarthy. There were highs. There were lows. There were injuries. Ultimately, McCarthy played 10 games, completed 57.6 percent of his passes with 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
Now the future is murky for McCarthy, as the Vikings signed Kyler Murray to a one-year deal on Thursday.
Now, Murray didn’t have the best of years last season, playing in only five games due to injury and getting benched for Jacoby Brissett. The one-year contract doesn’t instill much confidence. That said, Murray has a career 67.1% completion percentage and was selected to the Pro Bowl twice. A knee injury in 2022 sapped some of his juice, but he’s now three years removed from surgery and looked relatively spry last season, rushing 29 times for 173 yards and a touchdown. The EPA per carry was 0.11.
Much has been made about the lack of height and work ethic, but Murray still posted an EPA per dropback of 0.04 last season, the same mark as Joe Burrow and Trevor Lawrence. Now he joins an offense with Justin Jefferson at wide receiver and the famed quarterback whisperer, Kevin O’Connell.
Murray wasn’t brought in to be a backup. Is he the QB1? No, he still has to earn it but it would seem that Murray has the upper hand at the moment. And if he does lock down the job, then Murray will be a fantasy force.
In five of seven seasons, Murray rushed for at least 400 yards in all, with a high of 819 yards in 2020. The two years he failed to hit the mark were injury-shortened seasons. He has scored 32 rushing touchdowns in his career. O’Connell utilized Kirk Cousins on bootlegs off play-action! He is likely salivating at the ways he can utilize Murray outside the pocket with his speed and quickness.
We know O’Connell knows how to scheme an offense and will accentuate the strengths of Murray instead of forcing him to do things outside of his comfort zone. The Vikings have playmakers in the passing game so the potential is sky-high.
The acquisition cost in fantasy for Murray will likely be depressed for a bit, since there is uncertainty to the situation. If/when Murray locks down the job, his ADP will skyrocket.