Kyler Murray Rumored To Join Arizona Cardinals As Top 2019 Draft Pick

by Bill PiersaFebruary 13, 2019, 12:40 pmDaily Digest, News >

Oklahoma Quarterback Kyler Murray is one of the most interesting draft prospects of this decade. No quarterback has held as much leverage as New York Giant Eli Manning, who famously forced his way off of the San Diego Chargers, but Murray might be the closest. After being drafted by the Oakland A’s as the ninth overall in the 2018 MLB Draft, he returned for one last football season. He lit up the field, going for over 4,500 combined yards and scoring 48 touchdowns. In December, he was awarded the Heisman Trophy.

Oakland A’s Pick kyler Murray may Join NFL’s Cardinals

Despite pleading from the A’s, Murray declared for the NFL Draft in January 2019. There are multiple concerns surrounding him. For one, he’s 5-foot-10 and 195 pounds. On top of that, he’s only got one full season as a starter. Besides the 2018 season, there are only 141 passing attempts to judge him off of. Then, there’s always the lingering concern that he could jump from football to work his way up to the major leagues. On February 11, he announced his decision to focus on his football career and pass up on baseball. However, that could easily change if he’s ultimately drafted by the wrong team.

In one of the weakest quarterback draft classes in years, Murray could easily go No. 1 overall. The Arizona Cardinals hold the pick. Their new hire, head coach Kliff Kingsbury, once said he’d take Murray first overall “if he could,” while he was at Texas Tech. Despite having second-year quarterback Josh Rosen, Kingsbury could clear the house and sell low on the UCLA product.

The Giants and Oakland Raiders are also in the mix for Murray. Oakland is picking fourth overall and head coach Jon Gruden doesn’t like Derek Carr at all. With three first-rounders this year, Oakland could easily build around Murray. Carr, while coming off a week season, could bring in even more rebuilding pieces. Though Gruden loved his underdog quarterbacks in his first go-around with the Raiders and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he said he’s “putting away all the prototypes I once had” for quarterbacks.

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The Giants have an aging veteran quarterback in Manning who could groom Murray. New York has the PFF graded No. 21 offensive line, which could cause issues. However, they also have Saquon Barkley and Odell Beckham Jr on the offensive. Weapons like those can help any rookie quarterback. However, coach Pat Shurmur probably doesn’t like Murray’s build. Last year he said, “I fancy tall guys.”

Besides those three, the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Denver Broncos, the Cinncinati Bengals and the Miami Dolphins could all take a flyer on the Heisman winner. All four had lackluster seasons with good — but not great — veterans at the helm. If not Murray, Ohio State sophomore Dwayne Haskins or Missouri senior Drew Lock could be someone to build around in this year’s NFL Draft.