During Kevin O'Connell's entire NFL coaching career, he has yet to experience a consistent level of success with a young quarterback running his offense. Despite this, a suggestion has been made for the Minnesota Vikings to consider selecting former Alabama signal-caller Ty Simpson in this year's NFL Draft.
In a recent clip from his YouTube channel, former NFL quarterback Chase Daniel shared how he thinks the Vikings' decision to sign Kyler Murray this offseason means the team is done with J.J. McCarthy, and Minnesota should think about drafting Simpson this year.
"The second that Kyler signed with KOC, in my opinion, J.J.'s done there. They're not giving J.J. a chance to win [the QB1 job]. It would surprise me, very much so. You don't sign there to be a backup to J.J. McCarthy.
I think J.J. McCarthy's days with the Vikings are done. I do, and so that's why I think you have to entertain [drafting] Ty Simpson.
You're not sure what Kyler's going to do. It's a one-year deal, $1.3 million. I just think if Ty can go to KOC, and there's a lot of things that can happen, but with that offense, come on, man."
Minnesota Vikings selecting Alabama QB Ty Simpson in the 2026 NFL Draft would be a disaster
It's very possible that the Vikings signing Murray this offseason is a sign that they are close to being done with McCarthy, so Daniel isn't in the minority with that take.
However, moving on from McCarthy and then drafting Simpson in a few weeks is not even close to a logical solution.
Everyone just watched McCarthy struggle to run O'Connell's offense in 2025, even after already having the chance to learn the scheme for an entire year while he was sidelined with a knee injury. So, now Minnesota should consider drafting someone with even less pro experience to solve the team's quarterback issues?
No, absolutely not.
Sure, O'Connell would probably have Simpson sit for at least one season while Murray starts the majority of the Vikings' games. But is that going to be enough to guarantee that Simpson will become the first-ever first or second-year quarterback to have success in the NFL under the guidance of O'Connell?
Minnesota's head coach has shown that he can get the most out of a veteran quarterback who has already been in the league for at least a handful of seasons. Drafting Simpson this year or even any of the top quarterbacks in the 2027 draft would completely ignore a glaring O'Connell weakness, and it would likely get a lot of people fired.