In the days since the Minnesota Vikings made the decision to go with Kyler Murray as their No. 1 quarterback over J.J. McCarthy for the 2026 season, momentum has been picking up about Carson Wentz possibly surpassing McCarthy on the depth chart during the next few weeks to begin the 2026 campaign as the team's QB2.
Kevin O'Connell was asked on Wednesday if McCarthy is currently the team's No. 2 quarterback, and while the Vikings head coach confirmed that the young passer is second on Minnesota's depth chart right now, he didn't close the door on a change being made before the start of the regular season.
"[McCarthy] has taken all the [second-team] reps in practice, and he's done really well. You think about from the time we made that announcement till now, there's been some plays where I've been proud as heck of some of the [things he's done].
...There's been some really good stuff, but I want those guys feeling like they're competing. The philosophy [is] around making our quarterback room competitive and [allowing] that to [raise] the standard of not only our team but our offense.
...So we'll see how these next couple weeks play out, and we're gonna do what's best for our team."
Are the Minnesota Vikings making the right approach by having J.J. McCarthy as the team's No. 2 quarterback?
Naturally, most would assume that after McCarthy didn't land Minnesota's QB1 job this summer, he would step on the field in Week 1 against the Green Bay Packers as the Vikings' No. 2 quarterback.
But if Minnesota's goal is to have the best chance to win every week this season, are those chances higher with McCarthy one snap away from playing under center or Wentz?
Wentz didn't put up MVP-type numbers in his five appearances with the Vikings last season, but he also wasn't terrible either.
When comparing what he did on the field to McCarthy, Wentz was the quarterback who ran Minnesota's offense the closest to how O'Connell wants it to be run.
Compared to McCarthy in 2025, Wentz had a higher completion percentage (65.1 to 57.6), passing yards per game average (243.2 to 163.2), passer rating (85.8 to 72.6), and EPA per dropback (+0.06 to -0.08), while also having a lower interception percentage (3.0 to 4.9).
Judging from those numbers alone, it makes it harder to believe that O'Connell and the Vikings will be okay with opening up the regular season with McCarthy as their No. 2 over Wentz, especially since avoiding a hot seat it likely going to be a top priority for Minnesota's head coach this year.
So, as O'Connell said, we'll see how these next couple of weeks play out and take it from there. But don't be surprised if the Vikings ultimately decide to move McCarthy even further down the depth chart before taking on the Packers in Week 1.
Add us as a preferred source on Google