At minimum, with hindsight always being 20/20, the Minnesota Vikings miscalculated J.J. McCarthy's readiness to be an NFL starting quarterback. Three separate injuries this season have thrown wrenches in his development process, and a young quarterback's development often isn't perfectly linear anyway.
Until a Day 3 draft trade with the Seattle Seahawks for Sam Howell, the Vikings watched capable veteran signal-caller after capable veteran signal-caller sign elsewhere in free agency last offseason. Then, when Howell couldn't clearly beat out Max Brosmer for the No. 2 spot on the depth chart, he was traded in late August, and Carson Wentz was signed off the street to be McCarthy's backup.
Last season's full anointing of McCarthy as the Vikings' starting quarterback will not be repeated during the upcoming offseason. There surely will be competition added; it's just a matter of who it is, and then how much of a threat to take the starting job that newly-added quarterback is.
There are multiple hypothetical options for the Vikings to add a quarterback, from a free agent signing to a reasonable trade acquisition, all the way to a bold trade acquisition. The 2026 draft is an incredibly unlikely avenue to add competition for McCarthy.
Analyst dreams up a wild hypothetical Minnesota Vikings fallback option for J.J. McCarthy
Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report recently did some wishcasting to make a list of nine NFL players "we wish we could've seen on different teams in 2025."
Rounding out the list was a player Knox matched with the Vikings, and he went with current Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders.
Before we scoff at the idea, let's see Knox's rationale. Starting with the aforementioned plan that did not go as planned for the Vikings.
"Two picks before the Browns took Sanders.... the Minnesota Vikings traded for Seattle Seahawks backup quarterback Sam Howell.
The plan was for Howell to provide veteran insurance behind 2024 first-round pick J.J. McCarthy, who missed his entire rookie season following knee surgery. However, the Vikings quickly soured on Howell, traded him to the Eagles and signed Carson Wentz in late August.
Wentz went on to start five games for Minnesota, while McCarthy has been in and out of the lineup with various injuries.
Had the Vikings simply used the 142nd pick on Sanders instead of trading it for Howell, the former Colorado star might be starting for Minnesota right now."
Knox then outlined why the Vikings, had they kept the 142nd overall pick in last April's draft, would not have used it on Sanders (or any other available quarterback).
"Of course, Sanders wouldn't provide the sort of veteran presence Wentz did, but he could have pushed McCarthy while providing depth.
Considering the bright moments Sanders has managed to produce with a horrendous Browns supporting cast, he might have already overtaken McCarthy as Minnesota's long-term quarterback.
Yes, drafting Sanders and allowing him to compete with McCarthy would have invited utter chaos. It would have also given us a chance to see the Colorado product grow in Kevin O'Connell's offense while chucking the ball to Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and one of the league's more impressive receiving corps."
Sanders has had his struggles over his five starts for the Browns entering Week 17, but as Knox noted, his supporting cast has not been great, and he has also had some bright moments.
If nothing else, his polish as a passer would seem to make him a better immediate fit for Kevin O'Connell's offense, and he could've have given McCarthy the push it has been shown he clearly needed.
McCarthy's shortcomings make it easy to invite all kinds of hypotheticals that could have made the situation better for the Vikings this season, but they never would've drafted Sanders. So even if his NFL career really takes off, he is not going to be looked back on as a missed opportunity for them.
But, even with the 0.0 percent chance it would've happened, Sanders in purple is a unique hindsight hypothetical that can make you wonder what it would look like.