Imo, in 2024, the team made a 4 year committment. $5.5m per year. Guaranteed. To JJ-mac.

In 2 seasons, mes been junk. Why?

Look at the 3 that had success. Were any of them asked to be a 35 for 28 280 yd passer?
Were they asked to run such a scheme?

Nope...
They were given a run game and asked to complete 18 for 190.

The problem with mccarthy is he was asked to compete in a marathon using a plan of sprint from the start.

The result? Every mechanical issue was exposed, ever team weakness added to his flaws. The same problems on the team that existed for Kirko were in place for McCarthy. Bad 0-line. Unreliable run game. And a scheme thats based off needing extra protection time for the qb so the route concepts can get to the windows.

Kirko handled it remarkably well. I know many kept blaming kirko for taking sacks or lack of escapability. Somebody kept saying- its not the qb. Its the o-line & inconsistent run game.

Now, lets go back to those 3 successful qb's. How did year 2 go?
Jayden daniels. With a playoff finish & tougher schedule. A lesser run game Mr Daniels got killed.
Bo nix with no run game. Finishes the season on ir. Drake maye, finally faces good defenses in the playoffs. He became a deer in the headlights.

Ironically. The qb from the 2024 class that had the best season in 2025, Caleb Williams. Looked to be the biggest bust as a rookie.
What changed? The bears emphasized the run a ton more and the new hc worked with the qb to create a scheme that played to calebs strengths.

Back to the question. What to do at qb?
Isnt it obvious?
Build a run game has to be priority 1.
There isnt a qb alive that can turn the KOC stubborn shlt show offense into a true contender until there is a complimentary run game. Not Josh Allen. Not Pat Mahomes, or stafford or bo nix or caleb, drake, Darnold.

When your opponent knows you are going to run the ball. Can you still gat the 4th &1, 3 rd & 2 -1st down. Can you bully your way and bleed the clock to zeroes in the 4 minute drill.
If you cant? Qb is not the biggest issue.

Superbowl mvp last sunday?
The rb.
The patriots a top run team all year. Totally shut down by the seattle defense.

Flip those 2 qb's. Drake maye in seattle. Darnold in ne.

Seattle still wins the superbowl. Why?
The seahawks dominated the los on offense & defense.
Philly last season. Same story.
The chiefs in their 3 wins, the patriots in their dynasty... All the same story.
Own the line of scrimmage.

The star qb so often gets the glory. He's only the point guard.

Lol- i still havent answered the question have I.
In round 1 & 2 draft linemen. A blicking te in round 3- Big strong road graders. With the Round 3 supplement pick if he's there. Grab Trinidad.
Sign Flacco as the backup.

Yeah, i know the defense needs db's. The o-line and run game are still the teams biggest weakness. Dont fall for the pr schtick that the vikings are very close to a sb window. In reality
The only thing the vikings have in place that has the scent if a superbowl squad. Is the best defensive mind currently coaching in the nfl.
Everything else needs a ground up rebuild.

For gawds sake! Trade jefferson. The dude is a luxury that a true superbowl team only adds once the rest of the team is stout.

All that said? Jefferson is the wilfs meal ticket. Just as AP was for 10 years. That 1 superstar that sells the tickets. Creates a false narrative that the vikings are a superbowl team.
And. That is what the vikings are best at.
Feeding us bologna and convincing the fans its a 5 star surf & turf. Vikings are top notch PR pros!

For 2026. The best scenario is mccarthy plays a full 17 games and never attempts more than 30 passes. The viking offense becomes a balanced attack. 30/30 runs passes per game... And wind up 1-16. 1st pick in the 2027 draft. A qb draft class that oughtta be very good.