On Tuesday, the Minnesota Vikings made it official that Kyler Murray would be their starting quarterback. Ideally, Murray plays well enough to have this job the entire season, perhaps even beyond the 2026 campaign.
Internally, I would not be shocked if some thought that Murray in 2026 could turn into what they got out of Sam Darnold back in the 2024 season. If that happens, the Vikings would surely not hesitate to re-sign Murray on a long-term deal.
This is also pretty bad news for J.J. McCarthy, as it feels like his starting chances with the Vikings are virtually zero, unless Murray gets hurt. Let's power rank the NFC North now that the Vikings have their guy.
Ranking the NFC North after Minnesota Vikings announce Kyler Murray as starting QB
4. Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings did win 9 games in 2025, so this team wasn't some basement-dwelling squad, and being able to do so with the QB room they had was rather impressive, but I am not sure if there are enough wins to go around in the NFC North this year.
You'd have to assume that all of Green Bay, Chicago, and Detroit will be quite good. The Packers dealt with a ton of injuries later in the season, and had those not happened, this team would have won 12 games or more.
The Lions have dealt with mounting injuries on defense for two years now, so a regression to the mean could be on the table. Simply put, and especially with the Bears emerging, you struggle to see where the Vikings stand out in this division right now.
3. Green Bay Packers
The Packers have a lot of 'good' on the roster but don't have a ton of great, and that's a problem if this team hopes to win it all this year. Sure, the Packers know how to finish with 9-11 wins and slide into a Wild Card spot, but there needs to be more.
And I am not sure the roster was improved enough in the offseason to make us believe that the 'more' was reached.
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