Dan Orlovsky has wild take on Kyler Murray with the Minnesota Vikings rooted in both truth and myth
Talking about the Minnesota Vikings offense is an interesting beast
When the Minnesota Vikings named Kyler Murray the starting quarterback, there were some interesting opinions across the media, especially with how things will go. Within the conversation, ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky called it the easiest place to play quarterback in the NFC outside of the Los Angeles Rams, and it raised some eyebrows.
“I think it’s the easiest place to play quarterback in the NFC outside of the Los Angeles Rams. You can have a top 10 offensive line. You’ll have a top 10 run game. I think you have one of the most skilled pass catching groups in the NFL,” said Orlovsky.
Dan Orlovsky calls playing quarterback for Minnesota Vikings easy
Now, Orlovsky does make an interesting point here, in that the Vikings have a lot of talent surrounding the quarterback. However, there are layers to the discussion.
First thing that isn’t correct is the Vikings have a top 10 run game. The highest they have finished in the NFL in rushing yards was in 2024, ranking 22nd in the NFL. He is right in this aspect that you just have to not be bad, something J.J. McCarthy, Carson Wentz, and Max Brosmer were all of last year.
“If we think of the three receivers they have, and add in T.J. Hockenson, you’ll have a top five defense. You just can’t be bad. We’ve watched Kyler play at a very high level for stretches in this league. If the Vikings get that version of Kyler, there’s no question they’re going to contend to win this division.”
There is some truth rooted in that, as average quarterback play could have given the Vikings 12 or 13 wins. Murray is entering his best situation in the NFL, and the weapons around him are great.
Here is where Orlovsky loses me. Calling it easy to play quarterback in Minnesota is only partially true. Where it’s not is the difficulty of Kevin O’Connell’s offense. It’s been widely agreed upon that the offense is very complex and difficult to learn. Once you get the offense down, I can understand how things could be on easy mode. Even so, it’s a difficult thing to actually say it’s easy, because if it was, McCarhty would have played much better.
Will this work with Murray? The hope is that it does. Even so, we won’t know for sure for a couple of months.
