{"id":903935,"date":"2026-05-29T00:09:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T00:09:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/903935\/"},"modified":"2026-05-29T00:09:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T00:09:19","slug":"kyler-murray-really-has-it-made","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/903935\/","title":{"rendered":"Kyler Murray Really Has It Made"},"content":{"rendered":"

Minnesota Vikings organized team activities (OTAs)<\/a> kicked off on Tuesday, and alas, onlookers got their very first look at Kyler Murray in a Vikings uniform, signed by Minnesota in March as its possible free-agent quarterback solution for 2026 and beyond.<\/p>\n

Murray spoke with the media, and along the way, he sure sounded like a guy who has it made.<\/p>\n

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Minnesota\u2019s New QB Already Sounds Comfortable in the Building\"ArizonaArizona Cardinals<\/a> quarterback Kyler Murray looks on from the sideline during the 2022 NFL season on Nov. 6, 2022, in Glendale, Arizona<\/a>. Murray remained the focal point of Arizona\u2019s offense while continuing his recovery and development during a challenging campaign that featured heightened expectations surrounding the Cardinals and their long-term direction at quarterback. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images.<\/p>\n

Murray Loves the WR Corps<\/p>\n

In Eagan, reporters asked Murray about his new WR stable, and he replied<\/a>, \u201cI don\u2019t know how you can\u2019t love that wide receiver room. You look at the skill positions in general, I know it\u2019s widely regarded as one of the most QB-friendly offenses around the league. I\u2019m happy to be here. I\u2019m looking around, it\u2019s kind of an embarrassment of riches around here.\u201d<\/p>\n

For context, Murray\u2019s WR corps<\/a> is on tap to look like this in September:<\/p>\n

Murray will also have tight end T.J. Hockenson<\/a> in the mix, and Murray loves slinging the rock to men at that position. Ask Trey McBride<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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With the Cardinals, Murray never had poor WR weaponry; it\u2019s just that he hasn\u2019t seen anything quite like this.<\/p>\n

Grew Up a Vikings Fan<\/p>\n

Before Murray signed with the Vikings in March, he mentioned on various podcasts in years past that he grew up rooting for the Vikings. Of course, the Arizona Cardinals employed him, so the revelation felt more like trivia rather than anything meaningful. But when Arizona kicked him out three months ago, the Vikings were waiting, hungry for a productive quarterback. That turned out to be Murray.<\/p>\n

At his introductory press conference, Murray said<\/a> about his childhood Viking fandom, \u201cI was 7 years old. Genuine, genuine fandom that ran deep. Vikings gear, through and through, a lot of Purple in my household.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cNever in a million years did I think this was going to come around full circle. Never even a thought in my head. But the opportunity presented itself. I\u2019m very appreciative of how today went, and I cannot wait to get in the locker room, compete, and just represent the Vikings.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also told the media that he cried \u201creal tears\u201d when Minnesota lost the 2009 NFC Championship<\/a> \u2014 just like you reading this.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s face it: nostalgia matters here. Murray picked the Vikings partly because of his emotional background with the club. It\u2019s perfect.<\/p>\n

Best Defense in the NFL since the Start of 2024<\/p>\n

Over the last two seasons, the Vikings have the NFL\u2019s best defense per EPA\/Play. Brian Flores<\/a> took over in 2023, hitting his groove in 2024 and continuing the trend in 2025.<\/p>\n

\"MinnesotaMinnesota Vikings defensive lineman Jalen Redmond<\/a> lines up before the snap against the Los Angeles Rams<\/a> during NFC Wild Card action on Jan. 13, 2025, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Redmond prepared for a critical postseason rep as Minnesota\u2019s defensive front attempted to generate pressure and slow the Rams during a tightly contested playoff matchup. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images.<\/p>\n

During the same timeframe \u2014 since 2024 \u2014 the Cardinals owned the sport\u2019s 25th-ranked defense per the same metric. Yes \u2014 that means Murray leaves the league\u2019s eighth-worst defense to join the top dog.<\/p>\n

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He doesn\u2019t play defense, but if he were required to win shootouts in the desert, those days are, for the most part, over in the Twin Cities unless Flores\u2019s unit encounters a bizarre and unforeseen regression.<\/p>\n

The QB Whisperer Coach<\/p>\n

Vikings head coach Kevin O\u2019Connell has a reputation as a quarterback whisperer, mainly because he empowered Kirk Cousins<\/a> to play his best ball in 2022 and 2023. After that, he helped Joshua Dobbs<\/a> look like a Pro Bowler for 2.5 weeks. O\u2019Connell showed Nick Mullens<\/a> how to toss 400-yard passing games at will. And he aided Sam Darnold<\/a>\u2019s career reclamation and then some.<\/p>\n

Now, it\u2019s time for the special sauce as it applies to Murray.<\/p>\n

\"Minnesota<\/p>\n

Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O\u2019Connell stands during the NFL Annual League Meeting on Mar. 31, 2026, at the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix, Arizona. O\u2019Connell joined league executives, coaches, and decision-makers as teams around the NFL discussed offseason priorities, rule proposals, roster construction, and organizational planning ahead of the upcoming 2026 regular season. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images.<\/p>\n

Murray also loves O\u2019Connell, highlighting his relationship<\/a> with him and his respect on Wednesday, \u201cHe could teach somebody who does not even know football how to play the position of quarterback. I believe he is super articulate, and I have been around him a little bit before here, just in conversations going back to Elite 11 days, the combine, stuff like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cI remember every interaction I ever had with K.O., which made this process a lot easier for me, understanding who he is and his ability to do what he does at a high level. His confidence in me as well. I am just excited to be in the room with him and get to learn from him.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Minnesota, Murray has a Top 3 WR corps leaguewide, a blisteringly good defense, the NFL\u2019s foremost quarterback whisperer<\/a>, and the team he loved in the late-2000s.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s like a plot in a football fiction novel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Minnesota Vikings organized team activities (OTAs) kicked off on Tuesday, and alas, onlookers got their very first look…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":903936,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2078],"tags":[375,390,2604,1327,7,1519,38851,10117,8265,9538,2780,294,4827,58,9737,233,259,56296,6,5414,4266,1878,9250,1221,6042],"class_list":["post-903935","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arizona-cardinals","tag-arizona","tag-arizona-cardinals","tag-arizonacardinals","tag-cardinals","tag-football","tag-j-j-mccarthy","tag-jalen-redmond","tag-jauan-jennings","tag-jordan-addison","tag-joshua-dobbs","tag-justin-jefferson","tag-kirk-cousins","tag-kyler-murray","tag-los-angeles-rams","tag-mandatory-credit","tag-minnesota","tag-minnesota-vikings","tag-myles-price","tag-nfl","tag-nick-mullens","tag-organized-team-activities","tag-sam-darnold","tag-t-j-hockenson","tag-tai-felton","tag-trey-mcbride"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116654962373661647","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/903935","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=903935"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/903935\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/903936"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=903935"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=903935"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=903935"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}