Who Should I Start? Kyler Murray or Fernando Mendoza

Thursday, July 9, 6:02 PM

Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell wouldn't shed much light on where the quarterback competition stands between Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy during an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show with training camp quickly approaching later this month, according to NFL.com's Nick Shook. "Kyler has come in and done a great job," O'Connell said. "J.J., I think, has benefited from it; he's had a really good spring. Carson Wentz is this veteran quarterback in the room," O'Connell said. Some believe that Murray is already the favorite to win the starting job, but O'Connell isn't going to admit it before camp even begins. Murray, 28, flamed out with the Arizona Cardinals and is no stranger to injury, but given his experience and dual-threat abilities, he makes sense as the QB1 to begin the 2026 regular season, and he will have clear bounce-back potential in a better offensive situation in Minnesota with a QB whisperer as his new head coach. In fantasy, Murray is the much more intriguing QB2 option with upside because of his rushing ability. RotoBaller has Murray ranked as the QB19, with McCarthy not even listed among the top-34 signal-callers.