Kyler Murray-J.J. McCarthy QB competition feels manufactured as Vikings begin OTAs

It is what it is, but we don't really know what it is for a few months, yet.

JJM still has much to learn and to prove. Kyler has a history hanging over his head that hobbles his future.

We'll see how it plays out, but the spastic overreactions to everything from a single foot kick on a pass to a play to a press quote will make for a long offseason....

Teams invent QB competition when they have a draftee who's not cutting it but for the sake of optics they wanna make replacing him seem like some frictionless process where he still has a "chance" despite the reality that they are over him. Anthony Richardson for example. The same talk was buzzing about Justin Fields before Chicago shipped him out.

But you can only have a genuine competition if there is actual uncertainty about who the best quarterback on the roster is. With the caveat that this was one day in May, with no pads and some drills performed at half speed, it is only fair to point out that the gap between the two quarterbacks was not close.

Murray made all of the best throws of the practice, demonstrating his downfield touch and accuracy. Nothing McCarthy did was objectionable, and one of his few incompletions -- a pass to the flat that cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. nearly intercepted -- occurred when two receivers drifted far too close to each other. And while McCarthy's post-practice comments about their relationship delivered headlines, it was Murray who might have said the most notable four words of the afternoon: "My confidence is unshakeable."

Overall, the afternoon was a reminder that McCarthy could continue along the upward trajectory he established at the end of last season -- and still fall well short of matching Murray's experience, arm talent and potential to make big plays in the passing game.

Consider, for example, the subtle but meaningful differences in two deep passes receiver Jordan Addisoncaught.

The first came on the initial play of 7-on-7 -- a deep throw from McCarthy down the left sideline. The ball's arc forced Addison to make a slight adjustment and make a leaping catch that left him rolling out of bounds short of the goal line.

Later, Murray lofted a pass deep down the right sideline as Addison got a half-step on cornerback James Pierre. The ball hit Addison in stride at a full sprint as he approached the goal line. He stepped out of bounds after the catch, but on a live play in full pads, he was one broken tackle away from a touchdown.

Both plays were deep completions and big gainers that, at worst, would have set up the Vikings in the red zone during a game. One required Addison to redirect, however, and the other maximized his chance to make an easy catch and then score.

It's important to note that no one was crowning Murray after that throw. NFL quarterbacks routinely hit receivers in stride during non-contact drills. Nor was anyone condemning McCarthy's imperfect placement. NFL receivers are expected to adjust and make difficult catches.

The difference was still noticeable. McCarthy didn't want to get into specifics about how he worked to improve during the early part of this offseason, but in a nod to his 57.6% completion rate during his 10 starts last season, he twice referenced accuracy while speaking to reporters. He said one of his points of emphasis was "ball placement, putting it in the right spots" and later said he was "focusing on the ball placement for each routes for certain coverages."

The one thing that I mentioned about McCarthy as a prospect even before he was drafted is that he'd need to work on his accuracy. Work in progress. Can he be accurate enough to be a NFL starter in the NFL? I don't know. But if Murray shows to be consistently accurate throughout this competition, its going to make the 'decision', if it really is that, very easy for KOC. EVERY offensive oriented HC or OC talks about accuracy as the #1 attribute for his QB.

Maybe we (especially me) are too focused on this immediate OTA/TC window...

Whereas the real story for JJM and the NFL will be told well after this summer

I know I am already tired of the fan drama.

purplefaithful wrote:

Maybe we (especially me) are too focused on this immediate OTA/TC window...
Whereas the real story for JJM and the NFL will be told well after this summer
I know I am already tired of the fan drama.

Well I'm not saying there's no chance for JJM here but it's really slim at this point. So I wouldn't spend the time between now and opening day giving myself heart palpitations over it.

Instead I'd relax and enjoy sailing under the watchful eye of Captain Kevin O'Connell. Will we sail to Valhalla and hear the gjallarhorn blow as we collect the Lombardi trophy at long last? Or will we sail off the edge of the world into the abyss?

Probably we'll just do what the Vikings usually do- win 9 or 10 games, get our asses kicked in a wild card game, and all be back here next spring arguing about the same old shit lol.

StickierBuns wrote:

The one thing that I mentioned about McCarthy as a prospect even before he was drafted is that he'd need to work on his accuracy. Work in progress. Can he be accurate enough to be a NFL starter in the NFL? I don't know. But if Murray shows to be consistently accurate throughout this competition, its going to make the 'decision', if it really is that, very easy for KOC. EVERY offensive oriented HC or OC talks about accuracy as the #1 attribute for his QB.

I think JJ has remarkably good accuracy...when he's not in his head. This could be why he seems to play better late in the game or in hurry-up. He doesn't have time to think. It's the easy ones that he seems to sail or bounce, which suggests to me he's thinking too much. That could go away over time.