Kurt Warner has watched as much Kyler Murray as anyone. Murray played in Warner's backyard in Arizona, and the Hall of Fame quarterback has broken down film of Murry on QB Confidential for years. But this week, Warner was a guest on the Rich Eisen show, where he praised the Vikings quarterback and their undefeated start, but he also described a ceiling that's followed Murray his entire career.
Unfortunately for Murray, the numbers back it up. The Vikings may stand as the only team in the NFL that's not surrendered a loss yet, but Murray has only thrown three touchdown passes in five games. Meanwhile, the offense is averaging only 20.8 points per game, and Minnesota's 10 touchdowns are the second fewest in the NFL, only beaten by the 0-6 chargers.
Even Justin Jefferson, one of the most prominent receivers in football is only getting a handful of targets this season, with his season high of nine targets against Green Bay.
"He's unbelievably talented. He's a gifted, gifted thrower of the football. But where he's best is when your first guy's available to him. He's gonna make that throw over and over again because he can. When the first guy's not available, he has always struggled to work through his progressions, to see the field, and to work from there. So it's usually first read, checkdown, is kind of how he plays football."Kurt Warner
That's the kind of football that might get a team by in October, when you have the league's best defense behind you. But Warner's point is that the assignment changes as the league approaches January. Eventually teams are going to break through Brian Flores' defense, and Murray plus the offense isn't going to have enough to hold it all together.
That's where the stark contrast in this division lives, because exactly what's been described above is precisely where Caleb Williams thrives. The ability to manufacture plays when there was nothing in the first place is simply what he does.
Last season, Williams finished the season with a league and career low completion percentage of only 58.1%. Much of the criticism about Williams was surrounding his accuracy. He could escape a collapsed pocket, wrap around six defenders and hit a 35 yard blast for a touchdown, but he couldn't hit his checkdown eight feet away without pressure.
Now, in year two under Ben Johnson, not only has Williams astronomically improved on his accuracy, but you can see his decision making process has been upgraded several folds. No doubt, this is the result of good coaching and a lot of hard work from Williams.
But the immense divide between these two quarterbacks couldn't be wider. Both quarterbacks sustained injuries that left them on the sidelines, but the difference can be measured in how they returned.
While Murray has struggled to get on pace with his team's record, Williams has been the undeniable franchise leader that the Bears need the most. And if things keep going the way they are now, Week 18 in Minneapolis is going to be a heck of a lot more interesting than previously expected.
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