​The Minnesota Vikings’ offense in 2025 was abysmal at best. There was no rhythm, no consistency at quarterback, and the play from all three starters was horrific. This offense needed a shot in the arm, and that shot was signing Kyler Murray to a one-year deal. Murray raises the ceiling of the Vikings, so long as he can fit in this offense, which one ESPN analyst is excited to see.Ben Solak of ESPN wrote about the new head coach/quarterback pairings he is excited to see, and the Murray/Kevin O’Connell connection is right up there. We will highlight a few passages from his reasoning:This is not Murray. Like most shorter quarterbacks, Murray prefers to play from the shotgun and sink deep into the pocket during his dropbacks (it helps him see the entire field). To this point in his career, Murray has largely avoided throwing to the intermediate middle — which the McVay/O’Connell offenses tends to feature — in large part because shorter QBs struggle to see those throwing windows and get the ball up and over the first level of the defense. Across the past five seasons, Murray is 36th among 40 high-volume quarterbacks in the percentage of throws going 10-20 yards downfield and between the numbers. Cousins is eighth, Stafford is 10th, Goff is 11th and Darnold is 13th.In this way, Murray is a poor fit for O’Connell’s offense. But O’Connell’s offense is not a static thing. Over his seasons as the Vikings’ head coach, he has done well to put imperfect quarterbacks in strong positions to succeed. Last season, both J.J. McCarthy and Carson Wentz attempted fewer passes to the intermediate middle than any other quarterback O’Connell coached in Minnesota or Los Angeles. Wentz was under center on only 37.4% of his dropbacks, again O’Connell’s lowest mark. McCarthy threw more deep outbreaking routes than any O’Connell quarterback — the sort of routes that O’Connell will need for Murray, as they’re easier for him to see.The ceiling in Minnesota with Murray is far, far higher than we’re inclined to estimate. The most recent tastes in our mouths for O’Connell and Murray are bad ones: O’Connell couldn’t develop McCarthy, and Murray couldn’t grow in Arizona. But these are similar circumstances to those under which Daniel Jones and Shane Steichen joined forces in Indianapolis, and they produced truly historic offensive numbers (for a couple of months). Desperation can foster spectacular innovation in the NFL.The floor is higher than starting J.J. McCarthy, but with the struggles Murray has had over the last two seasons, that bar isn’t much higher. However, if Murray can find his former self, this Vikings team could find themself in contention for the division once again in 2026.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThis article originally appeared on Vikings Wire: ESPN analyst excited to see Kyler Murray and Kevin O’Connell together