The Heisman trophy winner is coming to the NFL. Will Kyler Murray be the first quarterback selected in the 2019 draft?
According to a report Kyler Murray is expected to officially declare for the NFL Draft and forgo his baseball carer and contract with the Oakland Athletics to play pro football.
Murray was drafted 9th overall in the 2018 MLB draft by the A’s who allowed him to play one year at Oklahoma before quitting football for baseball. Instead, Murray seems to be heading for the NFL as he tweeted out today that the report from last week was indeed accurate.
I have declared for the NFL Draft.
— Kyler Murray (@K1) January 14, 2019
This is huge regarding the NFL Draft. Murray instantly becomes a projected first round pick and in a sense replaces what was lost in the 2019 quarterback draft class when Justin Herbert chose to stay in school.
To project Murray’s NFL landing spot, there are a few questions to be asked. One is will NFL teams favor him or Dwayne Haskins as the best quarterback in this draft class?
Murray is the more mobile and athletic of the two but, Haskins is taller, has a better arm and fits the model of a pro quarterback more.
A team like the New York Giants, likely to take a quarterback with the 6th overall selection, will have to decide if they value a pro-style or athletic quarterback more when choosing their franchise quarterback.
There’s also the possibility Murray never even makes it to the sixth pick in the draft
Although the Arizona Cardinals selected Josh Rosen to be their franchise quarterback in 2018 new head coach Kliff Kingsbury is a huge Kyler Murray fan.
According to Adam Schefter, it is possible the Cardinals look to trade Rosen and selected Murray first overall.
Other possible destinations for Murray include the Jaguars, Dolphins, and Redskins but, it’s likely those teams would have to trade up to get him.
Murray’s choice to play football is outstanding news for the teams needing a quarterback as he beefs up what was looking to be a weaker quarterback draft class in 2019.