ESPN makes bold prediction for Kyler Murray
By Bryan Perez
How quickly can Kyler Murray flip the fortunes of the Arizona Cardinals? According to ESPN, it won’t take very long.
The Arizona Cardinals selected QB Kyler Murray with the first overall pick because he was viewed as the kind of franchise player needed to transform the franchise into a winner.
This just one year after drafting Josh Rosen in the top 10 with the hopes that he would be that guy.
Rosen is now a Dolphin and Murray has no competition for the starting job in the desert. Expectations are surprisingly high for Murray, too. With new coach Kliff Kingsbury bringing a college spread offense to the NFL, Murray’s expected to light up the league as a dual-threat weapon.
And while that may be exciting for fantasy football owners, Cardinals fans are eager to learn if Murray has what it takes to win games more than if he can fill up a box score.
According to ESPN, Murray will find success in the win column during his pro career.
In a recent article forecasting the next three seasons in the NFL, Dan Graziano predicted Murray will have at least one division title under his belt by 2021.
“The NFC West is a nutty place,” Graziano wrote. “The Rams are on top, the Seahawks aren’t ready to go away and the 49ers haven’t made their anticipated arrival yet. Arizona looks like a clear No. 4, and I don’t expect the Cardinals to contend in 2019.
“But I do believe the marriage between Murray and coach Kliff Kingsbury will be exciting and hard to stop — especially once the Cardinals patch the holes on their offensive line.”
This is a bold — extremely bold — prediction.
As exciting as Murray is, the Rams’ window for Super Bowl contention is just getting underway. Sean McVay is the best young coach in the NFL and with a 24-year-old quarterback in Jared Goff, there’s no reason to expect a regression anytime soon.
Even if the Rams fall from 13 wins to 11, expecting the Cardinals to flip from a three-win team to one that can challenge Los Angeles in just three seasons is pretty extreme.
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Could Murray lead Arizona into wildcard contention over the next few seasons? Yes, that’s definitely possible. But let’s pump the brakes a little before assuming he’ll topple one of the league’s powerhouses in such a short time.