The 2019 NFL Draft is just one month away. The hot topic right is Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray and how the Arizona Cardinals could select him at No. 1 overall.
While scouts and coaches seem to be OK with Murray’s short height at 5-foot-10, and 207 pounds, there are a lot of red flags surrounding the one-year starter. Earlier this month, NFL Network analyst and former general manager Charley Casserly said that the comments coming out about Murray from the NFL Combine were the worst he had ever heard about a quarterback entering the draft. Yes, even worse than Johnny Manziel when he was in the draft process.
“Leadership? Not good. Study habits? Not good. The board work? Below not good,” Casserly said. Not good at all in any of those areas and raising major concerns about what this guy is going to do.”
It wasn’t just Casserly reporting that Murray interviewed poorly at the combine, Matt Miller from Bleacher Report also said the same thing.
Are the concerns about Murray’s weight and height valid?
Am I concerned about Murray small weight and height? Absolutely. In his small body of work at Oklahoma, Murray was excellent as he carved up Big 12 defenses. Keep in mind those defenses aren’t necessarily among the best in college football. Yes, Baker Mayfield was great in college, and a lot of people want to compare the two players. But, Mayfield was superb for three seasons compared to just one for Murray.
The draft process is about tearing down the top quarterbacks or even top players. It happened to Lamar Jackson and Josh Rosen, who the Cardinals may trade if they draft Murray. And it has happened to Murray, but a lot of it has been brought on by himself and his camp.
Is Murray a leader of men?
During Super Bowl week before he announced his decision to play football, Murray decided to go on numerous talk and radio shows. However, he wasn’t interested in talking about his future. He also wasn’t interested in answering any questions about it.
Quarterbacks come in all different shapes, sizes, and personalities. However, Murray’s character doesn’t exactly say he can be a leader of men. It is one thing to be a man of few words, but Murray just comes across as awkward when he speaks. Kliff Kingsbury was fired as the head coach of Texas Tech. Just several months later, he was named head coach of the Arizona Cardinals. As someone who has never coached in the NFL, can he Murray lead the Cardinals from the bottom to back to playoff contention? I’m not so sure, as there seems to be a lot of red flags.
Is it baseball or football?
Probably the biggest red flag and question in regards to Murray is this – would he continue to pursue football if he were to struggle during his first couple of years? After all, the Oakland Athletics selected Murray No. 9 overall during the 2018 MLB Draft. Murray was so indecisive during the entire process until finally, he made his choice to focus on football. Who is to say that returning to baseball is not in Murray’s future?
If the Cardinals aren’t sold on Josh Rosen, they should select Dwayne Haskins at No. 1 or trade down to obtain more picks. Even if Murray becomes a great quarterback, he will need a lot of help to be successful. There are just a lot of red flags that say stay away from Murray, but in the end, the Cardinals will likely end up selecting him at No. 1 overall.