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The Minnesota Vikings are resolving their QB situation with a battle between J.J. McCarthy and Kyler Murray. With OTAs and mandatory minicamp right around the corner, this topic will be in the national media spotlight.

Murray is the player many see emerging as the Vikings’ starting QB come Week 1. Moreover, if the former Arizona Cardinals star does become QB1 for Minnesota, ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky believes that the Vikings have the bottom signal-caller in the NFC North QB ranking.

Orlovsky noted that the top two QBs in the NFC North are Detroit Lions‘ Jared Goff and Green Bay Packers‘ Jordan Love. Furthermore, he states there’s a gap and then ranks the Chicago Bears‘ Caleb Williams.

“I saw that Bart Scott, I believe on ‘Get Up’ this morning, said that he could see Kyler Murray being the best quarterback in the division at the end of the year and I’m just like, has Jared Goff and Jordan Love, are they not playing in the NFC North anymore?” Orlovsky said during an appearance on the May 13 edition of the “Pat McAfee Show.”

“But I think those guys are more accomplished than Caleb. Caleb obviously has a chance to take a big step in Year 3… I would put Goff at No. 1, Love at No. 2, and that would be a clear 1-2 for me. Then there would be a gap, in my honest belief. Then I would go Caleb at No. 3 and Kyler at No. 4.”

Bart Scott Has High Hopes for Vikings’ Kyler Murray

This take from Orlovsky comes in response to former NFL linebacker and current ESPN analyst Bart Scott, who stated that not only will Murray win the job, but he’ll also be the best quarterback in a division that also features Goff, Love, and Williams. 

“I believe this is the most competitive division in football and I think the team that’s going to really surprise a lot of people it’s the Minnesota Vikings,” Scott said on the May 13 edition of “Get Up.” “At the end of this season, I think we may say that Kyler Murray is the most talented quarterback within that division.

“You pair him with Kevin O’Connell with the weapons that he has–a tight end in T.J. Hockenson, Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison. Then you go out and get a gritty guy like Jauan Jennings. I think the sky’s the limit for Kyler Murray.”

Brian O’Neill Gets Blunt About Kyler Murray

With Murray now in the mix, the Vikings’ offensive line will have to prepare to potentially protect a QB who makes plays often with his legs. On the May 7 edition of “Green Light with Chris Long,” Vikings’ Brian O’Neill offered his first impressions of the team’s new signal-caller, who many expect to be the Week 1 starter.

“Kyler’s been cool,” O’Neill said. “We just started five days ago. He’s been great [and] he made sure he introduced himself to all the linemen right away; he’s gotten snaps with some of our centers already.

“He’s been cool. I don’t know him that well. I’ve been with him for a week, but I obviously have a lot of respect for him, watching him over the years. He’s been a hell of a player.”