Heading into his eighth season in the NFL, new Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kyler Murray is hoping to get things back on track after a disappointing 2025 campaign with the Arizona Cardinals.
Due to injury, Murray only appeared in five games for the Cardinals last season, and it resulted in him ranking 21st in the league in EPA (expected points added) per play, according to data from SumerSports. In 2024, Murray ranked 15th in the NFL in this category, and that was the highest he's ranked in the last four seasons.
So, even if someone is low on Murray at this point in his career, most probably still view him as a top-20 quarterback in the league, if not better.
Well, NBC Sports' Chris Simms certainly made it clear recently that he isn't a member of that "most" group.
Simms has been revealing his quarterback rankings for the 2026 NFL season, and Murray didn't even crack his top-25. Instead, Minnesota's new signal-caller is sitting in the No. 30 spot.
Hilarious QB ranking for Kyler Murray should only motivate him more in first season with Minnesota Vikings
For those interested in how Simms determines these rankings, he says they are a projection of where these quarterbacks will be "in Week 5 or 6 or the middle of the [upcoming] season."
That explanation might actually make Murray's placement in the rankings even worse.
Simms really thinks that by the middle of the 2026 season, Murray is going to be performing worse than guys like Joe Flacco, Jacoby Brissett, Geno Smith, Jaxson Dart, C.J. Stroud, and Malik Willis?
With Kevin O'Connell as his head coach in an offense with Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, Jauan Jennings, T.J. Hockenson, Aaron Jones, and Jordan Mason, Murray is going to be the 30th-best quarterback in the NFL?
C'mon man.
In his breakdown of Murray, Simms didn't do much to explain why he has the Vikings quarterback ranked at No. 30, other than the typical criticism of his lack of height and saying that he has to throw with more anticipation.
If we're being completely honest, it feels like Simms just took one look at Murray's stats from 2025 and based his ranking on that without considering any of the other notable factors that will impact his performance after signing with Minnesota.
Want evidence of this? Before the 2025 season, Simms had Murray ranked as the 14th-best quarterback in the league, ahead of Jordan Love, Dak Prescott, and Trevor Lawrence.
So, missing 12 games due to injury and leaving a longtime dumpster fire of a franchise to sign with the Vikings is worth dropping Murray 16 spots?
No, there is no logical explanation for a decision like that.
Whatever, Murray has a great chance to have one of the best seasons of his pro career in 2026 with the Vikings, and if that happens, then this ranking is going to look even more embarrassing than it currently does for Simms.
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