Getty Images Oklahoma Sooners QB Kyler Murray
The tides turned on Wednesday night when it comes to the future outlook of Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Kyler Murray. While the talented signal-caller was expected to play Major League Baseball after the 2018 college football season, that’s all seemingly changed. Now, it seems Murray may be heading to the NFL or at least feeling out the draft process.
And as Bleacher Report revealed, the odds from Bovada favor Murray being a first-round selection.
Where will Kyler Murray be drafted?
O/U where he’s picked: 28.5
Round 1: -170
Round 2: +220
Round 3 or later: +275
(Odds via Bovada)
Murray, who was selected in the first round of the 2018 MLB Draft last year by the Oakland Athletics was allowed to play one year of college football with the Sooners. Obviously, things went incredibly well there, to that point that he’s now seriously considering a jump to the NFL.
The original news came from Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, who reported that the Athletics expect Murray to enter the NFL draft.
The A’s expect Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray, the team’s top pick last June, to declare for the NFL draft on Sunday, multiple sources told The Chronicle on Wednesday.
Kyler Murray’s NFL Draft Outlook
These odds are only slightly surprising, especially considering the incredible amount of hype surrounding Murray. The junior quarterback won the Heisman Trophy after he threw for 4,361 yards, rushed for 1,001 yards and scored 54 combined touchdowns in 14 games. Murray completed 69 percent of his passes while tossing just seven interceptions all year.
He’s been touted as a potential first-round pick for some time now, and the chatter began even prior to the end of the college football season. In late November, Marc Tracy of The New York Times revealed that ESPN’s Todd McShay believed Murray would be a first-round pick.
“He would be a first-round pick if he committed and promised he was going to play football,” the ESPN analyst Todd McShay said.
This isn’t the only rumbling that’s come out which points to Murry as a potential first-round selection either. As Pro Football Talk reported, a current NFL general manager said the quarterback will go on the opening night of the draft.
Text from a G.M. on Kyler Murray: He’ll be a first-round pick.
Arizona Cardinals Coach Kliff Kingsbury’s Comments
While former Texas Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury was recently hired as the next coach of the Arizona Cardinals, a previous comment he made about Murray opened a few eyes. Back in October, Kingsbury said he’d take Murray “with the first pick of the draft if I could,” as ESPN revealed.
“I don’t know, I’d take him with the first pick of the draft if I could. I know he’s signed up to play baseball, but he is a dominant football player and I would take him with the first pick.” Kingsbury stated.
This became a huge deal due to the fact that the Cardinals do indeed have the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. ESPN’s Adam Schefter did throw out a scenario where Arizona could select Murray and trade Josh Rosen, stating that it’s not “implausible,” as Jordan Reid of Cover 1 revealed.
For good measure, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport did toss some cold water on that by stating he spoke to a Cardinals source who said that trading Rosen was “ludicrous” and “not happening.”