J.J. McCarthy Loses Vikings Job to Kyler Murray — What Now for His Fantasy Value?
McCarthy is Minnesota's backup after Kyler Murray won the QB1 job. With 12 INTs and 11 TDs in 10 starts last year, his fantasy stock is toast — for now.
Backup with no path to snaps — nothing to roster in redraft.
- Named backup before Vikings' first 2026 preseason game
- 10 starts in 2025: 11 TD, 12 INT, 1632 pass yds
- Only cleared 182 pass yards twice all last season
- 2nd-worst QB rating among passers with 155+ attempts
- McCarthy ranks QB32, #145 overall in our model
It's official: J.J. McCarthy is a backup. Kevin O'Connell named Kyler Murray Minnesota's starting quarterback before the team even played a preseason snap, ending a competition that most of the league expected to break this way once Murray signed in March. McCarthy, the No. 10 overall pick in 2024, gets to hold a clipboard for at least the short term.
The numbers explain why. In 10 starts last season (2025), McCarthy threw 12 interceptions against just 11 touchdowns, cleared 182 passing yards only twice, and finished with the second-worst quarterback rating among all QBs with more than 155 attempts. He scored 127 PPR points across those 10 games — QB32 in our model, buried at #145 overall.
The mitigating factors are real. McCarthy missed his entire rookie year with a knee injury, then lost five more games last season to a high-ankle sprain. He won't turn 24 until January. According to reporting, opposing coaches still see a mobile, strong-armed passer who can throw to all levels — they just think he tried to do too much and never found a rhythm.
Why Rival Teams Are Skeptical
Here's the harsh comp making the rounds: front office types worry McCarthy trends closer to Zach Wilson or Trey Lance than to the reclamation stories. The problem is context. When Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield struggled early, they were stuck on bad teams with bad supporting casts. McCarthy had none of those excuses — a roster that won 14 games, Justin Jefferson, a strong line and a top play-caller. Fewer threads to explain away the struggles, as one official put it.
For reference, Mayfield turned it around completely and is now our QB12 (#26 overall) after a 274-point PPR season (2025) with Tampa Bay. Even Geno Smith, another late bloomer, sits at QB24. Those are the ceilings optimists point to. But both had shown more in flashes than McCarthy has through two injury-marred years, and both benefited from fresh starts.
The Fantasy Fallout
For fantasy purposes, this is simple. A backup quarterback with a healthy starter ahead of him has zero standalone value in any format. Drop McCarthy in redraft and don't look back unless Murray gets hurt. The only mild ripple worth tracking is Jefferson, our WR18 (#62 overall) coming off a 202-point PPR campaign (2025) — Murray's arm and mobility could restore some ceiling to a Vikings passing game that sputtered under McCarthy last year.
Bottom line: McCarthy is a DROP in redraft and a deep-stash dynasty flier at best. He's still young and still talented, but the runway to fantasy relevance runs through an injury or a trade — and neither is on today's schedule. Move on and revisit in 2027.
