NFL training camps open up this week, which means the fantasy football season is fast approaching. While most teams know who will be the starting QB come Week 1, others will be figuring that out in heated competitions. Yahoo ******* yst Matt Harmon poses the biggest QB questions for fantasy going into training camps.
Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2026 NFL season
Of all the quarterback battles we'll discuss here, the one taking place in Minnesota is the least likely, in my view, to be a real competition. The Vikings are insistent that J.J. McCarthy will get an even shot to be the QB1 over Kyler Murray but I'm highly skeptical. My sentiment isn't unique.
Maybe Murray doesn't hit as the starter; perhaps McCarthy can improve over an all-out flop season in his first showing as a pro. At this current moment, Murray, while a flawed player, is a better option heading into Week 1. McCarthy's 4.31 adjusted net yards per pass attempt in 2025 ranked 40th out of 45 passers with 100-plus attempts. Murray ranked 37th with 4.72, by far the lowest mark of his career. Even in his worst season as a pro in a far inferior environment, Murray was objectively better than McCarthy.
Unless McCarthy is just a dramatically improved version of the player we saw last year, I expect Murray to start the vast majority, if not all, of the games in 2026. As the starter, his rushing chops alone make him a clear QB1 candidate in fantasy but he's also a strong fit in a Vikings' passing game that's extremely downfield oriented, even if he won't access the middle of the field as much as Sam Darnold did for Kevin O'Connell in 2024.
#week
Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2026 NFL season
Of all the quarterback battles we'll discuss here, the one taking place in Minnesota is the least likely, in my view, to be a real competition. The Vikings are insistent that J.J. McCarthy will get an even shot to be the QB1 over Kyler Murray but I'm highly skeptical. My sentiment isn't unique.
Maybe Murray doesn't hit as the starter; perhaps McCarthy can improve over an all-out flop season in his first showing as a pro. At this current moment, Murray, while a flawed player, is a better option heading into Week 1. McCarthy's 4.31 adjusted net yards per pass attempt in 2025 ranked 40th out of 45 passers with 100-plus attempts. Murray ranked 37th with 4.72, by far the lowest mark of his career. Even in his worst season as a pro in a far inferior environment, Murray was objectively better than McCarthy.
Unless McCarthy is just a dramatically improved version of the player we saw last year, I expect Murray to start the vast majority, if not all, of the games in 2026. As the starter, his rushing chops alone make him a clear QB1 candidate in fantasy but he's also a strong fit in a Vikings' passing game that's extremely downfield oriented, even if he won't access the middle of the field as much as Sam Darnold did for Kevin O'Connell in 2024.
#week
9 days ago
