Vikings Thursday OTA Recap: QB Takeaways, Intriguing Young Players

Thursday saw the Vikings hold their sixth OTA session of the last couple weeks, their second open to members of the media, and their first with new general manager Nolan Teasley in attendance. It wasn't quite as eventful as the practice we got to watch last Wednesday, but there are still a few things to discuss from a day of light rain and football at TCO Performance Center.

How'd the quarterbacks look?

As will be the case at every open practice until the Vikings name their starting QB, all eyes were on Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy. And for the second straight practice that we've been allowed to watch, there were enough eye-popping throws from Murray that make it hard to imagine McCarthy having a realistic chance to win this competition.

McCarthy got the first reps in 7-on-7, and his very first throw was a mile behind his intended target. Josh Metellus might've intercepted it if the ball wasn't thrown behind him, too. McCarthy then checked a ball down to Jordan Mason that Andrew Van Ginkel read nicely, threw short to Jordan Addison, and rifled a ball into a tight window to Jeshaun Jones over the middle of the field.

Murray's first throw, which went to undrafted rookie Dillon Bell near the left sideline, was a beauty. He then went through his progressions and connected with Bell again, this time on a somewhat deep ball up the right side. Those two throws said a lot. But it wasn't a perfect day for Kyler. After a short pass, Murray held onto the ball for a bit and tried to eventually push one deep downfield to an open receiver. He didn't get enough on it, which allowed Zemaiah Vaughn to recover for the interception.

McCarthy began his second set of reps by hitting a sliding Tai Felton on a well-placed ball over the middle. He couldn't quite connect with Jauan Jennings on an intermediate out-breaker to the left, but he came back and found Jones on an out-breaker to the right. Murray's final three reps included a couple short throws and one more eye-grabber, as he threw with quite a bit of an anticipation on an intermediate in-breaker to Jones.

Nothing that happened in 11-on-11 action is worth reporting, as the reps were done at well below full speed. In the final set of 7s, there was a Murray-to-Jennings connection, a couple solid throws from McCarthy to Jones and Myles Price, and a ball that sailed on McCarthy while he was rolling right.

The overall analysis hasn't changed much. McCarthy can still zip the ball on a straight line as well as anyone, and he's shown some signs of mechanical improvement from last season. But Murray just looks like a veteran quarterback who can make all of the throws, even if his interception highlighted a concern about his ability to push the ball deep downfield if it's not his first read.

"His physical talent throwing the ball has been on display every day," Kevin O'Connell said of Murray. "The ability to throw to all three levels, layer the ball, anticipation that veteran players bring to the position."

O'Connell also praised his growth within the Vikings' scheme, saying "it's like two totally different guys" when comparing Murray's current comfort with calling plays to where he was when the offseason program began.