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By this point we should all know who Kyler Murray is. If you don’t, he’s the too short baseball player who’s not a good leader, has terrible study habits and doesn’t interview well (at least all according to Charlie Casserly). However you feel about Murray—and personally I’m real big on him—you can’t deny that he has the talent to be an NFL quarterback.
2019 NFL Draft profiles
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Fantasy breakdowns for the top rookies in this year’s drafts, including the best landing spot for each player.
Murray possesses a strong arm that can make every throw and he shows excellent touch on his deep ball, probably with a little thanks to playing outfield in baseball. He can work in and out of the pocket and all too regularly shows a knack for extending the play and making the right read and throw with accuracy downfield. Yes, teams have made his size out to be a big thing but it didn’t slow him down at all in college (he’s also a half inch shorter than Russell Wilson if I’m not mistaken). In fact, his size plays into his elusiveness on the field. He excels at breaking tackles, evidenced by the mear 18 sacks recorded against him last year. Honestly, if Murray wasn’t small in stature, I’m not sure there would be this much uncertainty around taking him number one overall.
I’m not saying Murray is a perfect prospect: he’s only had one season as a full-time starter and up till that point he recorded a total of eight touchdowns to seven interceptions. He also has a tendency to stare down his receiver and challenge double coverage a little too readily. But these aren’t crippling flaws that will destroy his career given that he’s surrounded by coaches who know what they’re doing.
Personally, I’m all in on Murray going first overall to the Cardinals. I think he will thrive today’s NFL and with a smart head coach who’s willing to craft the offense around what he can and can’t do, he could be a franchise quarterback for whatever team that takes him.
Murray’s college stats
| Year | Games | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | AY/A | TD | Int | Rush Att | Yds | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Games | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | AY/A | TD | Int | Rush Att | Yds | TD |
| 2015 | 8 | 72 | 121 | 59.5 | 686 | 5.7 | 3.9 | 5 | 7 | 53 | 335 | 1 |
| 2017 | 7 | 18 | 21 | 85.7 | 359 | 17.1 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 142 | 0 |
| 2018 | 14 | 260 | 377 | 69 | 4361 | 11.6 | 13 | 42 | 7 | 140 | 1001 | 12 |
Best fantasy fits
- Arizona Cardinals: Kliff Kingsbury and the whole Cardinals staff are either putting forward the greatest smoke screen known to mankind, or they’re terrible at keeping a secret. While the Cardinals don’t boast elite offensive talent, Murray would be paired with Mr. Reliable Larry Fitzgerald which is a must for a young quarterback and would share a backfield with David Johnson who is a really, really, REALLY good football player, despite what you’ve seen recently. Also, in Kingsbury’s air raid offense, Murray would have so much space to make plays and could put up some major fantasy numbers.
- Oakland Raiders: Jon Gruden has already expressed his love for Murray and—HOLY SHIT I JUST REMEMBERED THE RAIDERS HAVE ANTONIO BROWN! So yea, I would love to see Murray end up in Oakland. Brown and Tyrell Williams are pretty good receiver to be throwing the ball to. Also, for those worried about Derek Carr being in the way, don’t. He’ll get shipped off to Washington for a 4th round pick.
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New York Giants:jk, I don’t want Murray to waste away in New York.