ChiefsPlanet - Chiefs Paylor:Aaron Murray working on his footwork and deep ball

Now healthy, Chiefs quarterback Aaron Murray working on his footwork and deep ball
By TEREZ A. PAYLOR

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Aaron Murray dropped back to pass, his eyes downfield. He identified the zone defense, saw his receiver break free on the post and let it rip.

This was June 3, the fifth practice of organized team activities for the Chiefs, and Murray’s long-ball completion to Frankie Hammond — who hauled it in and sprinted to the end zone without breaking stride — represented a fairly uncommon occurrence last season for the Chiefs, who possessed one the most conservative downfield passing attacks in the league.

And while it was just one play — without pads, in a fairly inconsequential setting — it caught the eyes of Murray’s coaches.

It also represented a positive step forward for Murray, Chiefs’ 2014 fifth-round draft pick and the team’s third-string quarterback behind Alex Smith and backup Chase Daniel.

“Well, you saw the deep one — it was a great throw, great read,” offensive coordinator Doug Pederson said. “It was excellent.

“I’ve been in that third-quarterback role where sometimes you’re playing with younger players and you’re just wondering if they’re going to run the right route. And for Aaron to put it up, that’s nice to see.”

Especially since the 6-foot-1 Murray, who said he bulked up this offseason from 204 to 209 pounds, tore the ACL in his left knee roughly 18 months ago.

“A lot of it is getting the strength back in my legs,” Murray said. “A lot of it is the lower body being able to torque, being able to drive through the legs, just like being a hitter. So getting the strength back in my legs has really helped with the deep ball. Being more comfortable with the receivers and timing, just trust and let it rip, man.”

To be clear, Murray’s no Warren Moon when it comes to the long pass. His NFL.com scouting report, which was based on his college tape before the injury, mentioned “marginal deep-ball accuracy.” And throughout OTAs, he’s generally been more accurate the closer his throws are to the line of scrimmage.

Still, the Chiefs’ coaching staff seems satisfied with the progress he’s making on those downfield throws.

“He’s where he needs to be,” quarterbacks coach Matt Nagy said. “Right now, we’re working on footwork with him, and we’re really doing it with all the quarterbacks, but with Aaron, there’s a couple things he had that we’re trying to get better at and improve on. He certainly has the arm strength — now it’s just trying to understand where we want the ball to be on the go balls.”

To his credit, Murray echoed Nagy’s sentiments without any nudging, noting that improved footwork is his biggest area of emphasis.

Daniel, the man ahead of him on the depth chart, praised Murray’s work habits, saying he’s shown a humility that’s crucial for young quarterbacks who hope to make it in the league.

“We’ve been hard on him — I’m going on year seven; he’s going on year two,” Daniel said with a laugh. “Me and Alex (Smith) both have got some seniority on him, so we make him pay his rookie dues. But he’s such a good learner.

“He came in here wanting to learn; he’s like a sponge, soaking it all up. So he’s got a bright future ahead of him. ... Coaches have to be able to feel like they can coach you up if you’re going to stick on.”

Murray said Daniel and Smith have been ideal mentors.

“You’ve just to take it,” Murray said with a laugh. “They weren’t mean to me — they were really nice. They’ve been in the league so long, I looked at it as this is such a great opportunity to learn about the game of football, not only on the field but off the field, how to take care of yourself.”

Murray was amazed by the amount of preparation Daniel and Smith put into the job. Daniel says NFL quarterbacks have 10 times the responsibility college quarterbacks do.

“Just the amount of film work they put in,” Murray said. “Being able to come in there and watch film the way they watch film (is crucial), because watching film in college is a lot different than (watching it) now. College has very basic defenses — you’re gonna get a couple blitzes, a couple defenses.

“Now (there’s) all these various fronts, (and you need to know) how many percentages of time they’ll blitz and play this coverage.

“Being able to pick up those tendencies is a lot more (challenging) than doing it in college. But learning how to do that has been awesome.”

Murray has been making strides in this area, too. Rookie receiver Chris Conley, his teammate at Georgia from 2011-13, said Murray has developed exponentially since he last played with him.

“There’s more maturity from him, and even Aaron is still learning things about this offense,” Conley said. “When Aaron was at Georgia, he knew everything that there was. This offense is so big and grand, and every year, wrinkles are added. Aaron is still evolving as a quarterback himself, and I think he’s light years better than he was.”

It remains to be seen if Murray is anywhere close to challenging for a No. 2 job, let alone a starting role. Those kinds of battles are fought in training camp and preseason.

But for now, he appears to be doing just fine.

“He’s a sharp guy,” Pederson said. “Again, as a third quarterback, he’s right where he needs to be to help our offense.”