There are all kinds of conversations surrounding the Minnesota Vikings quarterback position, with J.J. McCarthy and Kyler Murray battling for the starting job.
The Vikings are on the verge of completely giving up on McCarthy, while Murray might end up being a cheap one-year rental for Minnesota. OnSI NFL Draft's Justin Melo has a solution to the quarterback situation after the 2026 season: the Vikings select Notre Dame signal-caller CJ Carr with the 13th overall pick in his latest 2027 mock draft.
"The Minnesota Vikings are getting closer to admitting defeat on J.J. McCarthy after adding Kyler Murray this offseason. If the quarterback spot doesn't sort itself out in 2026, they could be right back in the market for one.
New general manager Nolan Teasley is inheriting both McCarthy and Murray. Notre Dame's CJ Carr is a natural thrower with good baseline traits to take another developmental step as a second-year starter in 2026."
CJ Carr might be the best option for the Minnesota Vikings at QB in the future
Carr put up some good numbers in his first season as the starter for the Fighting Irish, completing 66.6 percent of his passes for 2,741 yards and 24 touchdowns to six interceptions. He went 10-2 as the starter for Notre Dame, proving himself to be worthy of being a future quarterback in the NFL.
Minnesota might have to consider its options at quarterback during the 2027 offseason. Even if Murray ends up being a great starter for the Vikings this season, he might end up being too expensive for them to bring back, as happened with Sam Darnold.
McCarthy is a fascinating piece of this puzzle since many Vikings fans are not ready to move on from him, even though he's only in his third year in the NFL. Others have seen enough and don't want to be patient with his development.
The Vikings selecting someone like Carr would actually make sense for the scheme run by Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell. O'Connell has typically been more about having a pocket passer make the throws on two- or three-step dropbacks, as Murray will be a completely different type of athlete for Minnesota.
What would be more ideal for the Vikings is to see McCarthy and Murray thrive in 2026, and for the team to find a way to bring one of them back as the starter in 2027 and beyond. A lot still needs to play out this season, but the quarterback situation feels like a revolving door that will hopefully be closed soon enough.
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