How did NFL Draft Analysts view Kyler Murray before he decided to pursue football professionally?
Around this time last year, an Oklahoma quarterback going number one overall was all the football world was talking about. And no, I’m not talking about Kyler Murray. Instead, I’m talking about Cleveland Browns’ quarterback, Baker Mayfield. Thanks to Mayfield, Murray is getting tons of hype as well. The recent history of Sooners’ quarterbacks has been excellent. However, nobody expected to potentially see two Oklahoma passers go number one two years in a row. Yet, here we are.
The first round of the 2019 NFL Draft is hours away, and the Arizona Cardinals will soon be on the clock. Despite having selected a quarterback in the first round last year, their head coaching replacement might’ve swayed the front offices’ idea of potentially taking Murray, and dealing Josh Rosen away. While there are many reports out that state the Cardinals are unaware of what their final decision is going to be, it seems quite realistic that Murray will be their draft choice when the clock starts ticking.
Ever since Murray decided to declare for the draft, and skip out on playing baseball for the Oakland A’s, he’s been a consensus top three pick. Teams are highly interested in the Sooners’ services, but has that always been the case? Let’s take a trip down memory lane for a moment, when Murray had zero intentions of heading to the NFL after college. Where was the hype at then?
Draft Analysts didn’t think too highly of Murray
Back in November, Kyler Murray was emerging as one of the best players in college football. It wouldn’t be long until he eventually hoisted the Heisman Trophy after the NCAA season ended. At that point, Murray was still set to play baseball, but his sudden rise of stock in the NFL Draft made him rethink his decision to remain on the gridiron, rather than head to the diamond.
Before the change of plans though, NFL Draft Analysts Todd McShay and Mel Kiper decided to have a little bit of fun regarding Murray’s imaginary future at the time. They asked each other the hypothetical question: “Where would Kyler Murray get drafted in the 2019 NFL Draft?”
Top five? If not, maybe the top 20? Wrong and wrong. Even as the Heisman hype was present for Murray, Kiper and McShay didn’t even view Murray as anything more than a third-round pick. Nowadays, he’s looking to get picked first overall. Quite the drastic change over about five months.
Does that say anything terrible for Murray? Not exactly – but it isn’t a great look for this incoming quarterback’s class. When a guy who was once viewed as a third-rounder shoots up the charts after other guys stay in school, it’s not exactly a promising. But we’ll see just how much of an impact Murray can make as the consensus number one pick today.
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