Kyler Murray: Which NFL team does he fit best?
By Erik Lambert
Kyler Murray seems intent on entering the NFL draft. This after initial indications that he planned to leave Oklahoma for Major League Baseball.
The way things stand it appears Murray is trying to determine the best course of action from a financial standpoint. How much can he get from baseball versus declaring for the NFL? That’s not an unreasonable course of action since both leagues clearly want him. Rumors are he’d prefer to play football but scouts have been telling him that they feel he’d be picked somewhere in the 2nd or 3rd rounds based on where things stand.
Then again the 2019 draft class is thin at QB so if here were able to perform well at the scouting combine and other workouts, his stock could potentially rise into the 1st round. At that point it becomes a question of which team may be willing to take that sort of risk. Murray was extremely successful at Oklahoma, but much of that was thanks to an offensive system that accented his strengths and hid the weaknesses.
He’s an athletic QB with great mobility and can throw an accurate ball. At the same time, he’s 5’11 and doesn’t have the strongest arm in the world. So he can’t get away with the same things someone like Russell Wilson can. That could make his list of options difficult.
New England Patriots might be the best bet for Murray’s future
In order to be a success at the next level, Murray must go to a team that has some creativity to their offensive operation. Few have been better at this over the past several years than the New England Patriots. Their ability to constantly adapt to their personnel and keep Tom Brady a success is a big reason why they’ve been so key on keeping Josh McDaniels around. There’s no denying that he’d be able to find ways to use Murray effectively.
The best part is the Patriots are definitely in the market for a quarterback. Brady is pressing deeper into his 40s. They have zero options behind him after the Jimmy Garoppolo trade last year. Adding Murray to the mix gives them that young option they can mold until Brady is finally ready to give it up. Given how good their rushing attack should be moving forward, that could end up being a solid combination in the future.