The quarterback competition for the Minnesota Vikings has been relatively fair during training camp. Both Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy have been splitting reps throughout training camp in terms of total reps, while the majority of first-team reps have been going to the incumbent veteran. Per Matthew Coller of Purple Insider, Murray had 21 first-team reps during Sunday’s night practice, while McCarthy had just nine.

That raises the question: why is Murray getting that many more reps when reports have been relatively even? It’s not just about throwing completions, but the overall process of each individual play.

Kevin O’Connell’s comments on Kyler Murray raise eyebrows

When head coach Kevin O’Connell spoke to the media about the quarterback competition,

“I think mentally, he’s definitely ahead of where I thought,” said O’Connell.

That is a big aspect of the entire competition. We know how difficult O’Connell’s offense is to learn, something that Sam Darnold took multiple weeks of training camp to get down. Murray even said during mandatory minicamp that it’s tougher to not have the lion share of reps while trying to learn the offense.

“I think the toughest part is having to split reps,” said Murray. “It’s me already being behind, not getting the amount of reps that you know you would typically want to, gotta get learning an offense. That’s probably the toughest part. Again, going back to the past, being in control of everything, understanding what we were already doing, because I was comfortable within the system. Now, [I] come to a new system, learning on the fly, trying to play fast, efficient, and then let it loose while learning. That’s the toughest part.”

O’Connell did say that the reps overall have been 50-50, but they aren’t even when it comes to who is working with the first team. He also gave a very interesting tidbit about the flow of practice within the context of his offense that could explain a lot.

“There’s been some new layers to our offense that maybe, as a whole, our offense, whether it’s Kyler or J.J. in there, it’s new to those guys, and it might be a small detail, but it’s important, and it affects the visual outcome of the play. Where maybe us as coaches love those plays because then you can really highlight it and get a correction, and you move forward. But for the overall flow of the offense, it can really impact that,” said O’Connell.

That is a big aspect for the Vikings here. If something is slightly off for Murray, it can look really bad, but the process could have been good for him with a breakdown somewhere else. Watching practice without having the play call in front of us, we don’t know exactly what was supposed to happen. That could be a reason why Murray is getting more first-team reps, because he is processing at a much higher level.

Remember that Darnold didn’t get a lion share of the first-team reps until after McCarthy tore his meniscus in the first preseason game. Once he got the reps, the rest is history. Will Murray get the same treatment? Hopefully he does, because all signs still point to him getting the job.