Purple Insider - a Minnesota Vikings and NFL podcast - Bobby Peters breaks down Murray, Carr's fits in Vikings offense

Episode Date: February 27, 2026

Author and offensive guru Bobby Peters joins the show to discuss Combine buzz and how he sees Kyler Murray and Derek Carr fitting into the Vikings offense. The Purple Insider podcast is brought to you by FanDuel. Also, check out our sponsor HIMS at https://hims.com/purpleinsider Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This episode of Purple Insider is presented by Fandul. Hey, everybody. Welcome back to Radio Row. Matthew Collar here, along with Bobby Peters, a staple of the show now these days in Indianapolis, football coach, author of many leatherbound books about NFL offenses. Now, last year, the Vikings offense was so impressive that you wrote the Vikings' 24 Offensive Manual. Let me ask you a question, Bobby Peters, why didn't you write one this year about the Vikings' offense?

something change? Was it personal? No, it's just not. It's just not in the plans this year. Yeah, I just can't quite put my finger on it. No, obviously the Vikings offense last year. I mean, they did so many great things, like, especially in the dropback game. Like you and I have had many conversations about all the different five and seven step concepts

that really allowed Darnold to push the ball down the field. And, you know, unfortunately, I just haven't had time to dive into a ton of 2025 Vikings tape because I've been busy writing 500 pages on Ben Johnson and the Bears. Well, also, there was the problem of the Vikings. offense being bad and the Chicago offense is fascinating. So I want to I want to get into that momentarily and just how sustainable it is. I also notice a very large book. So I'm intrigued by what Ben Johnson has done there with Caleb Williams and how it relates to the future of the Bears and Vikings, so forth. But we got a little bit of a quarterback situation here, Bobby. I know

you're not new to the show or new to quarterback discussions with me. But here's what I want you to compare and contrast. Suppose the Vikings are looking for a starting quarterback that is not JJ McCarthy. I don't think that's a stretch based on our conversations with them. Let's say that it came down to Kyler Murray and Derek Carr, where there are two options. There will be other guys that, you know, they could potentially go after, but let's say it's those two. Let's start with Kyler Murray. The idea that KOC would have to greatly adapt his offense were Kyler Murray to be his quarterback. Like how much truth is there to that? Like how much would they have to adjust to Kyler Murray skill set? I think there's a fair amount of truth to it. I think what Kyler's done,

his body of work, you know, the six, seven years he's been in Arizona. The way he attacks, the way the Arizona Cardinals have attacked with him, you know, over a couple of coaching, you know, a couple of coaching regimes over there. It's very different than what KOC and the Vikings have done. Kyler Murray obviously likes to use his, you know, use his legs in the run game. And then in the past game, he's a lot of stuff outside the numbers. And Kevin O'Connell, a lot of his five and seven step family of concepts really attack the middle of the field. And it's just something that that Kyler has been towards the bottom of the league in as far as like attempts and then efficiency for attacking that area of the field. One thing that I noticed when I was looking at 2024,

Kyler Murray, is that he was under center a lot more than I think people would expect. Because when he was with Cliff Kingsbury, it was just shotgun, shotgun, shotgun. And then throwing a bunch of out routes to DeAndre Hopkins over and over and over again. There was that heat map that basically just showed the same route time and time again. Sure. To DeAndre Hopkins. Do you think that he could run a little bit of a hybrid of like under center stuff, rollout, play action, but also can he make those throws over the middle?

Because when I look at his data when he actually attempts the throws over the middle, it's not bad. He doesn't grate out poorly. His numbers aren't bad. It just feels like it's harder for him to see that. And then you have to throw it blind with anticipation, which he can do, I think, talent-wise. But can you mold the two of what KOC wants to do in the drop-back game with some of the stuff

that Drew Petting had success with him under center? Oh, certainly. I think right now, especially after studying the Bears, I think the best offensive coordinators or play callers in the game are finding different ways to attack the hook windows. And the hook windows are defined as the area, you know, anywhere from like six to 22-yard. like just outside the hash marks on either side of the field. And it's just where a lot of explosives are. It's where a lot of defenses are weak.

A lot of defenses right now, one of the invoked things are like simulated pressures. So what that means is like the defensive blitz, like the nickel or a linebacker and drop a defensive end. And what they usually do is that defensive end is usually dropping into the hook zone. He's not used to playing in coverage. So the best play callers are attacking those windows, really pressing the ball downfield. Just think about how many different dagger concepts that the Rams hit to Pooka Naku or DeVontz Adams last year. Think of all the different ways the bears have attacked those windows.

So yeah, if Kyler's beneficent those areas, you obviously, I think if the Vikings want to obviously get back to kind of what they were able to do in 2024, which they did attack the hook windows a ton in that in that season to create. If they want to get back to that efficiency and explosiveness, I think that's something that they have to incorporate. There is a little bit of a concern for me, though, with Kyler when it comes to pushing it way down the field. And I'm curious about your opinion on this because when I look at numbers from year to year on whether it's car, whether it's Kirk, whether it's Kyler, they tend to, in terms of actual deep passing, I'm talking 20 plus down the field, tends to bounce up and down. It's maybe like home run hitting in baseball,

where some years you hit 30 and some years you hit 20 and then wide receivers play into that. But from just watching back Kyler trying to get a feel for like, what if he's the Vikings quarterback? There was some concerning throws from him down the field. I don't know if there's an injury that he was playing through or something with the shoulder, just didn't have a lot of juice on the football. And I think that would be a big concern for me. And the other part is, too, I've noticed that running quarterbacks, unless they're huge, unless they're Josh Allen, they're running tends to go down with age. So they don't go to 34 where you're Russell Wilson and you're running for five or 600 yards. I wonder about that with Kyler Murray as well.

So like those sort of staples of his game early in his career that haven't quite been the same as he's gone along. Yeah, no, that's a fair concern. If you, just like defensively, right, if I'm game playing against a team and they show on tape, the quarterback doesn't have the ability to take the top off the defense. They don't have a receiver. The Vikings don't have that problem, because they have Justin Jefferson, but if they don't have a receiver that can threaten me one-on-one down the field, you can play aggressive robber type quarters and really bracket the two primary receivers, you know, in those hook windows or, you know, in the hole, the middle hole of the field.

So it really changes how defenses have to play because now, okay, you know, You got Sam Darnold, you got Justin Jefferson. Now you've got to play some cover too. Those safeties are flying out of the box, you know, flying off, you know, into the deep halves of the field. Now you have those windows, those intermediate windows that KOC likes to attack. So that ability really is game changing and it allows offensive efficiency to explode. I think that what Murray could do for them is give them a baseline level of quarterback play that they've talked about with the potential to have stretches where he was ridiculous. That I feel like is what sort of defines his career is that maybe those.

Those stretches don't go for long enough. And there are also stretches where it's ridiculously bad. You'd have to work your way through that. But give me a thumbs up or thumbs down on Kyler as the Vikings quarterback. I think I'm thumbs down for where the Vikings want to go and the expectations that they want to get back to. I think I'm generally thumbs down on it. I've been thumbs up because of his pedigree as a first round, the first overall draft pick is athleticism. explosiveness. I feel like that's got the highest ceiling. I think he's played better in stretches

than any of the other available quarterbacks and is younger. Let's talk about Derek Carr. One thing I like about Derek Carr is that he doesn't get sacked a whole lot and that he recently played in an offense that at least has some shades of, again, the undercenter play action type of stuff with Clint Kubiak. How close do you think it is between what COC does and what he was doing with the New Orleans Saints? I think I'm going to, I'm going to. I'm going to. to go back a couple extra years here to 2020 with the Raiders and John Huron's offense. Gruden carries so much volume

in the dropback game. And I think basically most of the stuff the Vikings run, Gruden ran back then. And, you know, you hear stories of Derek Carr going to the line of scrimmage with four play calls and basically, you know, with a shift or a motion having to figure out which one of those four to get into. Very, very cerebral quarterback.

Always getting through his reads, getting to checkdowns when he needs to. And I think that's the type of quarterback that I think Kevin O'Connell I think would fit best in Kevin O'Connell. Not that, you know, I know I just said thumbs down to Kyle Murray. I'm thumbs down in the sense that I think that the Vikings would have to change a lot of what they do to fit it. Obviously, it could work. But I think as far as like a plug-in play, something that Kevin O'Connell would be comfortable, someone could be comfortable in coaching.

I think Derek Carr fits that mold very well. Derrick Carr was my prediction yesterday. My official Purple Insider, who's the quarterback, is Derek Carr. Because of exactly what you're saying is, you know, I think that Kyler, if you make those adaptations, has the potential, especially with his playmaking, to be. a difference maker. But with Derek Carr, you could just give him Sam Darnold's 2024 offense that worked so well for you and the really important guy's number 18. And I think that if you have an offense that centers so much around forcing the ball,

pushing the ball to one guy where every play your starting point is, how are we getting this to Justin Jefferson? Derrick Carr feels like the guy for the job, especially when KOC's phrase of his life with his offense is rhythm and time. That's not Kyler. That's much more Derek Carr. Correct. Definitely agree with that. How about Mack Jones? You got Mac Jones takes? You've done a lot on San Francisco over the years?

Yeah, yeah. This year, so this year I have not. I've done five books on the Niners, but this year I might not be doing one. But, I mean, obviously he kept that train moving when Purdy was out this year. I think he did. And I actually, I studied, I think it was either his rookie year or second year with the Patriots. I kind of studied a lot of what they were doing just because I like what Josh McDaniels does as well. And I saw some good stuff there too. As far as fit now, the arm strength, obviously, isn't quite there.

It isn't obviously on the level of a Sam Darnold. But I think that fit, maybe a tier below what Derek Carr can probably bring you just from what I've seen on tape. But, yeah, like we talked about, I think Derek Carr, I think if the Vikings end up with Derek Carr, I think that'd be a great situation for them. I know you didn't watch a ton of J.J. McCarthy. What do you think? I mean, what do you think that they should do with a quarterback? who's that young and that inexperienced to try to make that work, or is there nothing you could do?

Yeah, I mean, at this point, it's tough. I think if he ends up, if somebody else, you know, if they bring in a Derek car type or if somebody else ends up starting for them next year, it's tough, right? You go back to the bench, like, do they, is it just irreparable at that point? Does he need to go to another team, get a fresh start? You know, definitely, you know, the Viking State that I did watch last year, there were some, obviously he had issues, right?

the rest of the offense, you know, there would be, there'd be times where the pass protection kind of broke down on them, right? The run game, I know you and I have had many conversations over the years about the run game and how, you know, the Vite, Kevin O'Connell spent so much time really expanding out the different past concepts that there's a level of me wanting a little bit more from the run game, from a, from a designing standpoint. So that didn't help them and do any favors.

You know, most young quarterbacks, you know, Patrick Mahomes aside from like 2018, you know, in his first year starting, they've had a really good run game to lean on, right? I think of the commanders last year, how well they ran the ball, or two years ago now, with Jayden Daniels rookie year to kind of allow him to kind of grow a little bit. And he so much wasn't thrown on his plate right away. And I think that stuff just kind of wasn't there for McCarthy. But at the same time, he did not perform what he did not perform how he needed to.

So you mentioned the run game. And amazingly, we can move away from the quarterback for just a second. They hired Frank Smith from Miami. And that was actually another one of your books that you wrote about Mike. McDaniel's offense a couple of years ago. Why is it that every time I look at a running back from Miami and their yards per carry,

it looks like Barry Sanders? Yeah. I mean, do you think that Frank Smith can bring that over, or let me toss another possibility out there, that they've had some pretty darn good running backs. And if you emphasize getting a good running back,

if you follow along with me, that player is probably better at football than if you emphasize just getting a guy who has a limited ceiling or whatever is available. Sure. Because, I mean, not to disrespect Aaron Jones, who was a solid quality running back the last two years. It's not as fast as Devon A Chan. In fact, it's not even particularly close.

So I think there's a little, you've got to do both. But what is it that Miami's run game could bring over to Minnesota? A couple of things that I would love to see. And I think the parallels are really interesting because you have Miami who benefited and got a ton of cover two too high coverages because of Tyreek Hill, right? You need safety help over the top. You got to find ways to, you know, cap that speed. The Vikings see a ton of too high cover to because they have Justin Jefferson. So when you're seeing two high coverages, your run game's a little bit different than single high. You know, the different types of outsides, even just

within the outside zone family of runs, there's, you know, different versions that you need to get to to kind of create explosives. And I think what Miami was was really good at is regardless of the front, regardless of the coverage structure, they were able to design explosive runs. like that gash the defense, whether it be on the perimeter or, you know, a cutback on a different version of outside zone. I think those types of design tweaks without getting too wonky with the scheme stuff, I think that stuff would be huge for the Vikings. If you're able to generate a few more explosives game on the ground, okay, that's going to beef up the play action stuff. It's going to make whoever's playing quarterback, right, Derek Carr, J.J. McCarthy, whoever and Kyler, right, whoever's playing quarterback. Once you get that, those play action attempts are a lot easier over the middle of the field when there's huge holes because the defense is respect.

They're going to run a little bit more. I think that they could flavor it up a little bit in terms of even just showing some different stuff pre-snab. Yes. Which I didn't see a ton of. And maybe some of that is even for this last year, you know, the quarterback, if you can't handle a bunch of different checks and changes and motions and stuff with the line of scrimmage, which it seemed like there was some struggle there, then it's a lot harder to do all the eye candy that you're trying to do. Like we so much take for granted getting in and out of the huddle. And now I take nothing for granted ever again because we've seen how hard it is.

So throwing a dagger concept, I will never say that's easy ever again after what we saw. But you know, I think it's a great point with some of the wide zone where you have these staples that have worked forever with that. But then how do you add something to it that's going to take one more defender out of the box? It's going to take advantage of where they are. that's something they just haven't had, I feel like, on identity. And also, they haven't had an offensive line to form an identity either. It's been a lot of guys, you know, coming and going, injuries last year. And even if you look at how they're built, the left side looks like it would be amazing for outside zone.

The right side, well, O'Neill is good, but they signed a guard who's more of a baller, more of like a gap scheme guy. And you still kind of wonder, well, what are you going to look for as a center? And that will matter, too, because Miami has a great run blocking center. and those guys are, I think, worth their weight in gold. Let's talk about the Chicago Bears. So on Fandul, the Chicago Bears are plus 370 to win the division. That is third in the division for next year. Before we get into their scheme, does that surprise you, considering how good they were?

Yeah, I mean, they're, you obviously the offense kind of developed as the year went along. Defense was, you know, there were some holes there. That does surprise me, especially since, you know, Bears fans are very rabid when it comes to, you know, slamming the hometown bets. Yeah, that is surprising a little bit. I think, especially offensively, I think they were starting to reach that peak

as the season went along. Ben Johnson did a phenomenal job of where they started to where they end was night and day. I mean, we obviously played the Vikings week one. You had Soldier Field and the offense just did not look in sync whatsoever, Chicago's offense. And by the end of the year, they're making plays

within the opening script, they're making adjustments throughout the game, and then they're operation at the end of the game. Some of those late, you know, those late season games and then even the wildcard against the Packers was, they were doing some really good stuff. So how, well, I think that what this number represents is that there's a lot of thought that there will be regression because they got a lot of turnovers and they won a lot of close games. But I also think that with Caleb Williams, he is a player where you can say there were a lot of open throws out there that did not land in the wide receiver's hands that if he improves in that action,

that he's going to be a lot better. But explain to me from a schematic perspective, what the heck is Ben Johnson's problem? He is really, really good. And it feels like to me that he understands manipulating defenses, holes in defenses, and the biggest thing, which is tying run to the pass. When I watch them, I have no idea.

When the quarterback drops back based on their formation, based on their motions, based on whatever, and they are able to establish that run, and with their offensive line and build off it. This is something that's been talked about since the beginning of the forward pass with football is tying those two things together. Every coach goes to those podiums over there and says, well, we're trying to tie together to run the pass, obviously. I feel like this is the guy, like him, Kyle Shanahan, these are the best of the best. Yes, no, I firmly put him kind of in the top three right now.

I think Shannon McVeigh have been doing it a little bit longer than him as far as calling plays. I think this was his fourth year calling plays this past year. But to me, he's firmly in that group now based on, you know, he's done it with two different teams. He's done it differently. Where they started in Detroit is not where they finished in Detroit. Similar to like Shannon Hay and McVeigh, how they're evolving their system every year. To me, he's in that group. And like you said, the marriage of the run in the past, like the way, the amount of different concepts in the past game where they're able to find ways to push the ball down the field, which is so much fun to study.

And then even in the run game, like every section that I wrote in the book for every run concept, he would adapt it. he had one or two different variations specifically to adapt it to like short yardage situations. Like he was an incredible short yardage play caller. And that's something that a lot of coaches, like that's like next level play design. Like I can, we can draw up a chalkboard right in the middle of the field. But once we get in the red zone and you got those safeties near the line of scrimmage, it becomes a lot harder to draw on runs schemes. And I think he like savers those moments on like, you know, how to how to find creases,

how to create angles and leverage in those situations. But yeah, no, it was like you, like you said, everything, everything that he's done of the last four years with his body of work. He's in that top group for me. Did it feel like to you, because this is what I saw with my eyeballs, I felt like Caleb Williams was in command of the offense, which I had not seen even remotely close in his rookie season. I think that Ben Johnson also his ability to sometimes very aggressively teach Caleb Williams how to really play quarterback in the NFL. I think that as much as you can scheme it and you write a book because the guy's brilliant and everything else, but,

but you need your quarterback to be able to execute all that stuff. Yes. And the growth from Caleb in an offense that does, I mean, you want to hold up the book? Like, it's very thick. This is how much we're dealing with here. It's a big book. It feels to me like it's not just drawing it up, but it's also the way that he taught it to Caleb Williams, which was, right, exactly. Yeah, no, the teaching.

I mean, layering concepts together, teaching, okay, where are your eyes, where are your feet, like, even just talking to, you know, that bears coaches that, you know, the amount of emphasis they put on once they, when they got to, you know, when they got their hands on Caleb and OTAs, right, this is what it has to be, right? Eyes have to be here, feet have to be here. As the year went along, I think, like you said, Caleb became more comfortable. They became more confident. He was playing faster. And I think now then they can take it even to that next level next year and kind of keep adapting those concepts, which, you know, I know it's, we're a long ways away from September, but I personally cannot wait to see kind of where we pick back up with it, with their offense.

So give me your, give me your favorite one. Give me the one. Give me the one that succeeded the most for them, that you were like, man, everybody should be stealing this. Favorite concept? Yeah. Well, it's super football. It's worth the NFL combine. I don't know. So I spent 31 pages talking about the different intermediate to high cross concepts in Ben Johnson's office.

And he has so many different ways to get to that. So basically what we're talking about is a receiver from one side of the field, working to the opposite numbers at like 22-ish yards. There's about three to four different variations of within that route. and then obviously all the auxiliary routes. You know, I go into extreme detail with that. And there's actually one specific version that I call like a latch, like cross latch that I actually wrote about in the Vikings manual.

And I actually referenced that Ben must have been watching a lot of Vikings tape last year because he pulled that directly from Kevin O'Connell because I thought Kevin O'Connell was pretty cutting edge with that concept in 2024. So there's a little bit of a Vikings knot in there specific to that concept. But just, you know, I think there was one or two, you know, shot concepts, you know, like you get to the 35 or 40 of the opponent's 35 or 40-yard line that they scored with those variations against the 49ers in that Sunday night game. But yeah, if I had to pick one concept, and even the cover image is kind of a drop-back variation of it.

I feel like the schematic battle in the NFC North is really remarkable. I mean, when you consider, I mean, Lefleur lost half his offensive line. They couldn't run the football the same way. But when they were having Tucker Kraft be the centerpiece, I mean, they were a really impressive offense in Green Bay. And then now Drew Petzing is going to the Detroit Lions. And they're still trying to replace Ben Johnson, but you have Ben Johnson, KOC. I think when KOC got there in 2022, there was a pretty big advantage that has disappeared now for the Vikings in the NFC North.

Bobby Peters, the book, do you want the Bears offensive manual? If you are interested in hardcore football, yes, you do. But you can also get the Vikings 2024. you want to understand Kevin O'Connell's offense a lot better, or what, a dozen other of your books, many of which I have tried to fully understand for the X's and O's. Bobby Peters. Oh, and Alert the Post. That's right. Alertthepost.com.

Yeah, alertthepost.com is a great place to see more of Bobby's work. And truly, especially if you are into coaching football, you're going to absolutely love all of his stuff. So great to see you at the Combine here, man. And we'll do it again soon. Always fun, Matthew. Say it, football? Football. Football.