Getty Oklahoma Sooner QB Kyler Murray
While the 2019 NFL Draft chatter around Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Kyler Murray continues to pick up steam, there was some cold water thrown on it Tuesday. Although Murray may have plenty of talent and project as an exciting young talent at the next level, it seems scouts may not be entirely on board with the Heisman Trophy winner.
According to NFL Network’s James Palmer, analyst Charley Casserly spoke about the comments made by scouts on Murray, and they weren’t good. According to his report, Murray is a poor leader, has bad study habits and his board work is even worse.
This is gold. @CharleyCasserly is cooking on @nflnetwork. Said the comments he heard about Kyler Murray were the worst he’s ever heard at the combine on a highly rated QB. He’s been doing this a while.
Leadership: Not good.
Study habits: Not good.
Board work: Below not good.
The NFL Media’s official Twitter released the full comments from Casserly shortly after.
Full comments from @CharleyCasserly on Kyler Murray here:
While the quarterback didn’t throw at the NFL combine, he did speak with a number of teams throughout the week. Murray measured 5’10 1/8″ tall and weighed 207 pounds. This means he’s slightly taller than some expected and has bulked up since the college football season ended.
Regardless of all those things, the fact that these comments have been made about him after the combine is far less than ideal. Obviously, it doesn’t mean that every team thinks it or that each aspect of it will prove to be true at the NFL level, but it’s worth noting.
Kyler Murray NFL Draft Profile
Murray was exceptional during the 2018 season with Oklahoma, throwing for 4,361 yards, 42 touchdowns and seven interceptions while completing 69 percent of his passes. For good measure, he tacked on 1,001 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns. There’s a lot to like about his upside, but the negatives above seem to stand out at this point.
NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah cited Murray’s arm strength among his best attributes, and he also gets the ball out quickly. It goes without saying that accuracy is a selling point of the likely first-round pick’s game, and he did a great job of avoiding turnovers throughout the year.
The big question surrounding Murray is how both his height and weight will impact him at the NFL level. He was able to consistently compete at a high level in college, but whether his size proves to be an issue in the pros will be a talking point moving forward.
Latest NFL Draft Projections for Kyler Murray
While a number of mock drafts had Murray landing with the Jacksonville Jaguars at No. 7 overall early on, the belief has shifted a bit. Now, it seems that many think the Arizona Cardinals could select the Sooners star with the No. 1 overall pick. NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah is among those who buy into that belief, as he has Murray pegged as Kliff Kingsbury’s new signal-caller.
The same goes for CBS Sports and Tom Fornelli, who projected him to the Cardinals, stating that Murray “was built for Kliff’s system.”
For good measure, not everyone is predicting that the quarterback lands in Arizona. Draft Wire’s Luke Easterling has the Washington Redskins making a move up to select Murray at No. 10 overall. He points to the unknown about Alex Smith’s future and the idea that the Redskins will target a quarterback early.
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