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Kyler Murray-J.J. McCarthy QB Battle Already Over?
Wednesday, July 22nd
Sometimes, it’s legitimately hard to tell whether there is signal to a report or if it’s just noise.
Other times, like in the case of this Minnesota QB “battle,” it couldn’t be easier to identify the farce.
According to Ian Rapoport, the competition between Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy will go “right up to the start of the season.”
Kyler Murray-J.J. McCarthy Battle Over Before It Started?
In case we need a refresher, McCarthy was arguably the worst QB in the league last year. He had the lowest completion percentage (57.6%) and the worst passer rating (72.6) among qualified quarterbacks.
In response, the team signed Murray to a one-year deal so they could quietly move on from the McCarthy era.
The Vikings, embarrassingly, selected McCarthy as the 10th overall pick in the 2024 draft class. Whether it’s just trying to save face after a swing-and-a-miss, or trying to drum up some kind of trade market, the motivations for trying to sell a camp battle are painfully obvious.
Kyler, who is our consensus QB15 for 2026 fantasy, will be the Week 1 starter—and if you disagree, there are plenty of places you can bet McCarthy at extremely long odds.
But in case you needed any extra evidence that this Vikings front office—and their mouthpieces—might not be the most reliable of narrators, let me point you in the direction of another report from yesterday that claims “optimism for Max Brosmer” still persists within the organization.
In case you need a refresher on Brosmer (I’m guessing you do), he had 0 passing TDs, 4 INTs and a 53.0 passer rating across seven games.
So, ya, maybe we just go ahead and ignore the Vikings when it comes to QB forecasting?
At this rate we should be getting a Carson Wentz puff piece here any sec …
Draft Strategy
Forget about the holidays. We know that fantasy football draft season is “the most wonderful time of the year.” Ssssh, don’t tell the family.
You get to put your stamp on your roster with the players you select. Your draft strategy will tell the story. So many people are talking about going RB-heavy in the early rounds to lock in their studs. Well, that’s going to leave some sweet options at wide receiver like Justin Jefferson, CeeDee Lamb and Amon-Ra St. Brown who are too hard to pass up. If you’re into tight ends, but don’t want to pay the Round 2 price tag on Brock Bowers and Trey McBride, can we talk you into George Kittle almost 90 picks later? And don’t get us started on elite quarterback strategy when we can wait to get Matthew Stafford and Jared Goff well after pick 100. They’re both projected for well over 4,000 passing yards and 30 TDs. Not bad consolations late in drafts.
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