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Latest Vikings prediction is bad news for J.J. McCarthy in 2026

Latest Vikings prediction is bad news for J.J. McCarthy in 2026 originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Minnesota Vikings are one of the most interesting teams to keep up with this offseason.

In a lot of ways, the team is in good shape. They have a solid defense and probably the best wide receiver trio in the entire league. However, none of that matters if you don't have a quarterback, and it's fair to say the Vikings didn't get good enough quarterback play a year ago.

As a result, the team brought in veteran Kyler Murray to compete with former top pick J.J. McCarthy. Murray is a two-time Pro Bowler who, at one time, looked like one of the best passers in the league.

However, some people still have hope that former top pick McCarthy can put it all together. If you're one of the people in that camp, though, a recent prediction will disappoint you.

Vikings predicted to roll with Murray over McCarthy

Brent Sobleski of Bleacher Report recently predicted the winner of every notable QB competition. For the Vikings, Sobleski went with Murray and offered the following rationale:

Unless McCarthy somehow showed significant growth and understanding of the position this offseason, Murray is a superior option.

Murray's combination of athleticism, arm talent and experience are all massive upgrades, even if the 28-year-old veteran struggled to elevate the Arizona Cardinals after being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 class. He's now entering one of the league's most QB-friendly schemes with an outstanding head coach/play-caller in Kevin O'Connell.

The Vikings need to make the obvious choice sooner rather than later so the offense can hit the ground running this fall.

As Sobleski mentioned, there's pretty much no denying Murray is the more talented passer. Murray has thrown for over 20,000 yards in his career and has 121 touchdowns to 60 interceptions.

Murray's tenure didn't end pretty in Arizona, but that entire team was a disaster. Kevin O'Connell has elevated multiple quarterbacks in the past, and there's no reason to think Murray can't be his next reclamation project.

Unless McCarthy has an incredible training camp and preseason, it's hard to see the youngster winning the job. Perhaps a repeat of the Sam Darnold situation occurs, where Murray dominates in 2026 and then cashes out in free agency, thus paving the way for McCarthy to get another chance in 2027.