Vikings legend Cris Carter: Kyler Murray is going to get a fresh start

Q. It could be argued that Kyler didn't have great infrastructure at Arizona to perform to his best. Do you think a team like the Vikings can help everything click? And what do you think his ceiling is as a quarterback if, if everything goes well?

“Well, I think his ceiling is being a long time starter in Minnesota.

“The Vikings wanted to sign him to a long-term contract because of the support that they do have, that maybe Kyler Murray hasn’t had in Arizona.

“What they do from an ownership standpoint at the Vikings, I believe, is second to none. They always support the players. Kyler is going to get a fresh start.

“He'll be playing indoors again on a fast surface, but with the competition with who they have at quarterback in Chicago, in Detroit, in Green Bay, he is going to need to be at his best and to be able to stay healthy for the Vikings to be able to get the maximum out of him in, in his first year with the team.”

Q. Which areas should the Vikings target in the draft?

“You can never have enough good big people, so any additional offensive line players to help that offensive line or defensive line continue to grow and be one of the best units in the NFC, would be very useful to have.

“That’s especially important when you look at the teams they're going against, the powerful teams— Washington, the Giants, Dallas, Green Bay, Chicago.

“Those are all big, physical football teams. If you can add a couple more big people in the draft and then, of course, playmakers, I wouldn't be surprised if they drafted a receiver around mid-round and also a cornerback or two.

“On the back end, do we have a replacement for Harrison Smith long term if he doesn't come back? The ability to go and draft players like that and for depth is never a bad thing; last year we had depth in certain areas and utilized it. This year it'd be the same thing, but our frontline players being able to stay in there a little bit longer.”

Q. Any specific names you like for the Vikings’ draft prospects?

“Well, there's a lot of good players, and we could see a few surprises with trades and people moving around the order in the first round.

“Will Minnesota move back to get multiple picks? It’s a very good draft, especially for defensive ends.

“I would like to see the Vikings get multiple picks to be able to use because I don't believe one player will be the answer, but multiple players to be able to add depth throughout the roster could really benefit them.”

Q. Who do you think is going into the draft as an underrated prospect?

“Wow, underrated. It's really hard with so much attention, so many publications, to say, hey, you know something this guy might, might be underrated because everybody's watching, everyone's looking for a nugget.

“There's a kid from Ohio State, Cayden McDonald at defensive tackle. He was the best run stopper in the draft this year, and everyone in the NFL, every team needs a guy like him. They're a hard commodity to find.

“They’re talking about the other 5 guys that might go in the first round, for the Buckeyes, but McDonald, to me, is such a valuable asset to have in your organization because what he does, very few people can do.”

Q. Do you think Carnell Tate’s modest 40 time will impact his position in the draft?

“Well, I mean, people had him in the top 10, so if he's in the top 15, I don't think he's going to get out of the top 15 because he's that dynamic of a player and because of his college resume.

“The guys from Ohio State have done very well, not only in the draft, but in their professional careers. Some guys have gone on to be number 1 receivers and made great contributions to their team.

“Most of the receivers in the Hall of Fame don't run 4-4, 4-3. Now in the draft, it's about marking people down. After looking at his pro career, he was the best deep threat in college football this year, and he played the number 2 opposite of Jeremiah Smith, who's probably going to be the highest-ranked player on Mel Kiper's board next year for the 2027 draft.

“I think Carnell Tate is a big-time player. I just don't know if Cleveland, with all the needs they have and questionable quarterback, do they take a receiver with that pick? It’s a risk for sure.”

Q. In that case, where do you think Carnell Tate will end up?

“I could see the Giants taking him, I could see Washington moving up and taking him, I could see Tennessee taking him.

“There are a number of teams that are drafting at the top of the board in need of a player like him, and I like young receivers to go somewhere they have a good quarterback and they don't have questions about their quarterback, even if it's a young guy who's got a good arm.

“Who you’re playing with at that position, as I mentioned earlier, can make or break your career.”

Q. Jeremiyah Love’s draft position has been the talk of the draft; where do you think he ranks and how good is he?

“He’s a unique talent and the experts have kind of undervalued the running back position.

“He has the ability to be able to dominate a game, he can make a big play at any moment, whether it’s rushing or receiving. He runs between the tackles, he’s got blazing speed, and has amazing character on and off the field.

“He's a clean football player. Now, if he wasn't a running back, he would be 1 or 2 in the draft, but I would say he's one of the top 5 players that we have in the college game, and when you have a running back that's as special as him, you're going to make those concessions and draft them in the top 15, at least.

“I’d look for him to make an immediate impact in pro football if placed on the right team.”

Q. Who is your favorite receiver in the draft?

“It has to be Carnell Tate; I've watched him his whole career.

“He's got an amazing story; his Mom died when he was a freshman in college. His overall perseverance, even last year he's ranked as the number as a first-round pick, deciding to stay in the draft, build his body up, go back to Ohio State, play another year, for which he was spectacular.

“For what he can do and his ability on the 50-50 balls, that separates him from the other guys, and he’s a Buckeye. In the next couple years, my favorite receiver in college football, Jeremiah Smith will make the move too. It's going to be a Buckeye theme in this position for years to come.”

Q. We’ve seen some exciting moves in the OC department this off-season. What do you think Matt Nagy can do working with an exciting talent in the shape of Jaxson Dart?

“I think you’re immediately going to see with Dart that he's going to take more care of his body.

“He's not going to be as reckless running the football. Nagy's worked with some of the best in the league. The system that he runs— Harbaugh has gotten great productivity from his quarterback, helped develop Lamar Jackson into being one of the best, a 2-time MVP.

“A lot of that was because of John Harbaugh and his belief in him.

“I’d look for Matt Nagy to make a tremendous adjustment. They're going to be productive, they have young, talented players coming back from injuries. Cam Skattebo will be coming back, being a threat, running with a lot of power, running the ball between the tackles, which is going to be a necessary thing.

“They have to get Malik Nabers back healthy, too. They have a lot of question marks, but I don't think Nagy's one of the question marks.

“The health of the quarterback, star receiver, and star running back, those are the questions, not Matt Nagy's ability to be confident as their offensive coordinator.”

Q. You’ve talked in detail about the Miami Dolphins and how they should rebuild. What should fans set as the expectation there in 2026 and 2027?

“Their expectation should be that they're going to only win a handful of games, and that's the only way you can rebuild it.

“They don't have the personnel. They are a cap deficit team this year, they're fighting the cap. They're in cap hell for the next year and a half.

“They just need to do it the right way, build it up. I would try to get as many draft picks as possible to get ready for the 2027 draft because a lot of people in the football world are talking about it potentially being a great quarterback draft.

“You could draft Arch Manning, but the highest-ranked prospect in college football for next year is going to be Jeremiah Smith.

“For me, if I'm the Dolphins, I'm trying to bring Jeremiah back to Miami, his hometown.

“You saw the Miami Hurricanes, there's some rumors that were communicated that the Miami Hurricanes offered Jeremiah $10 million to bring him back home, and he decided to stay at Ohio State.

“For the Dolphins, if I'm positioning myself, because he is box office, he's going to be a gold jacket Hall of Fame receiver, he's going to sell a lot of tickets, and it's going to do great things for your fan base and for your overall team morale to be able to bring a guy like that into the locker room.”

Q. How do you think Malik Willis will fare at QB for the Dolphins?

“We just don’t know yet.

“We don't know if they're going to trade their star running back; they trade everyone else.

“We don't know who he's going to throw to. Both the receivers are off the roster. Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, both of them are going to be playing in different places in 2026, so there's no way you can evaluate the quarterback.

“Taking into account even the limited number of starts that he had in Green Bay, you're just guessing, you're just making stuff up, you're just throwing stuff against the wall. So for me, it's going to be a wait and see kind of thing.

“I do think he is a good prospect, but if you can't protect him, if they can't run the ball, then he's going to have some serious growing pains there in Miami.”

Q. How good of a move is Jaylen Waddle to the Broncos for both parties?

“I think it's great for both of them, especially for Denver and their quarterback to develop. You need some more weapons out there.

“I think he's a great complement to Courtland Sutton. I don't think Courtland, at this point, is a number one week in, week out receiver. I do believe, in maybe half the games, he can be a number one, but the combination of him and Waddle, the difference in their skill set, the speed he brings to the offense, will make them dangerous.

“You’ve got to have firepower in that AFC West division up against the likes of Kansas City and the Los Angeles Chargers. You’re going to have to be a good explosive football team, so that's what Sean Payton is building.

“He loves to have a speed receiver like Waddle, and I expect him to get the best out of his career.”

Q. We’ve seen a lot of AJ Brown rumors over the last few months; do you think he’ll be traded by the Eagles?

“Well, all indications are they're going to trade.

“They're going to take a big cap hit, less of a cap hit after June 1st, but they've already been in discussions.

“Brown has mentioned that he's unhappy. Philadelphia has mentioned that they've had discussions with a couple other teams, that being the Rams and the Patriots.

“I think the Patriots are the hot spot with Vrabel coaching them, and the fact they’ve worked together before. I’d say he’ll be traded on June 1st, most likely to New England.”

Q. We recently saw a big ESPN exclusive on Jalen Hurts apparently falling out with the Eagles organization. Do you think Philadelphia will trade a young QB, with the future in mind?

“I wouldn't be surprised if they drafted someone for the future.

“I think their inability to have a constant offensive coordinator hasn’t helped; ever since he's been in college, every year he's had a new coordinator. I didn't think the article was fair, even though some of the stuff in there is very obviously true.

“Being a former wide receiver, the way they said things, and I knew from hearing AJ Brown that he was saying things about the quarterback in code, talking about the lack of timing in the passing game, lack of consistency in the passing game.

“Even when they were winning games, they weren't playing at a high enough level that he said it's going to hurt him in the future. So no, I'm not surprised at all, but I didn't think the article was totally fair to Jaylen.”

Q. The KC Chiefs look to be “getting the band back”, with Travis Kelce doing one more year and Eric Bienemy back as OC. Tyreek Hill is also linked with a return; do you think they’ll bounce back in 2026?

“I mean, they still have Patrick Mahomes. I guarantee they're going to compete for more Super Bowls than just one with him around in the next few years.

“Kelce’s still around, Andy Reid's not going to retire, but as long as they have Patrick Mahomes, they definitely have Super Bowl aspirations.

“I would be a little more shocked about Tyreek Hill. I think his asking price is going to be a little high and his personality could be a little volatile in that locker room.

“It might not be what they want at this point, with the leadership that they already have established with Kelce and Mahomes being the main leaders there.

“I would be a little shocked if he ends up in Kansas City.”