Vikings OTA Recap: Both QBs Play Well, Kyler Murray Wows With Deep Ball

The Vikings held their second OTA session on Wednesday at TCO Performance Center. All we had to react to from the first one were Instagram clips, but this one was fully open to media members. After warmups and individual drills, we were treated to a good chunk of 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 action on a hot late-May afternoon in Eagan.

As you'd probably expect, all eyes were on quarterbacks Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy.

It's important to note, before we dive into what happened, that it's only May. This is still largely the learning phase of the offseason. There are no pads or contact or true full-speed reps. That'll come in training camp in a couple months.

With that said, this wasn't a walk-through, either. These were real competitive reps. Players are fighting for roles and jobs and trying to show that they can apply what they've spent the last month and change learning. Both quarterbacks, especially McCarthy, had plenty of motivation to play well — and both did just that.

McCarthy got the first reps in 7-on-7 action and came out guns blazing. His first throw was a deep ball up the left sideline to Jordan Addison, who had a busy day with Justin Jefferson only mixing in for a handful of plays. McCarthy then progressed to the back side and connected with Josh Oliver. And his third throw was a seam ball up the middle to Tai Felton, who went up and made a great catch.

McCarthy finished that first batch of reps 4 for 4 with a checkdown to Addison. Two of his completions went for big gains. The only thing you could nitpick is that Felton was quite open on the third play, and a perfect ball might've given him the chance to stay on his feet and go the distance. Regardless, it was an early statement that certainly caught my eye.

Then it was Murray time with the second-team offense. He too completed all four of his passes, finding Myles Price and Bryson Nesbit for short gains before picking up back-to-back chunks to undrafted rookie Dillon Bell. The first was a crossing route that Murray delivered with touch to the perfect spot. The second was a dart over the middle.

Carson Wentz, who is the clear No. 3, got two reps, one of which was broken up by Byron Murphy Jr. Max Brosmer didn't get any until later in the practice.

McCarthy was back up. He double clutched but ripped a ball over the middle to newcomer Jauan Jennings, who both quarterbacks had lots of good things to say about. Then came the first tough rep of the day for either QB, as McCarthy threw too far inside on an out route and was nearly picked off by Murphy. There were two receivers in the area, so it's possible one messed up their route.

Murray hit Price again for a short gain, then hit on a deep ball to Dontae Fleming, who made the catch despite Price also being in the area (which can't have been by design). Murray's first incompletion came on a slot fade type of throw to Bell, who may have looked over the wrong shoulder.

That's when we got our first 11-on-11 action of the day, with McCarthy and Murray taking turns on one field and Wentz and Brosmer working with the reserves on the other. McCarthy tried to hit a checkdown back across his body on a rollout to the right, but it fell incomplete. He got "sacked" on the next rep, as Brian Flores cooked up one of his signature blitzes that wasn't picked up. McCarthy finished with a completion to T.J. Hockenson.

Murray also felt the brunt of Flores' scheme, as he was "sacked" before ultimately lofting one up to Jefferson. But he bounced back in a big way. The next rep was an absolute stunner, as Murray shifted back in the pocket slightly and then dropped an absolute beauty in the bucket to Addison deep down the right sideline. The coverage was good, but the throw was perfect.

Back in 7s, Murray had a pass broken up by Isaiah Rodgers but responded with a nice completion to Jeshaun Jones. McCarthy went through his progression and ultimately found Fleming uncovered for a big chunk down the right side. McCarthy pushed it downfield again, but Joaquin Davis found himself facing double coverage from Zemaiah Vaughn and Jacob Thomas, and the ball fell incomplete.

The session ended with one more short period of 11s. Murray connected again with Addison over the middle, then couldn't quite link up with Jefferson with Theo Jackson in the area. Bo Richter made a nice play in space to break up a McCarthy pass for Josh Oliver.

Both quarterbacks mixed in with the first-team offense. Both missed a couple throws but largely played well. McCarthy's zip on line-drive throws is still obvious. Murray, who is far more experienced, can throw the fastball and also change speeds and layer the ball with touch, which remains the big thing for McCarthy to continue working on.

Other notes

Christian Darrisaw was practicing and didn't have any sort of brace on his knee, which has to be encouraging. Brian O'Neill did not participate.
With Caleb Banks still out, the Vikings' starting defensive line in the first 11-on-11 period appeared to be Jalen Redmond, Levi Drake Rodriguez, and Elijah Williams. Rookie Domonique Orange was with the other young players on the second field, but I imagine he'll work his way up quickly this summer.
One late-round rookie I'm very intrigued by is running back Demond Claiborne. There's obviously no tackling in practice, but he had a couple reps where his burst and change-of-direction ability just jumped out at you. Keep an eye on No. 21 moving forward.

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