Since he burst onto the scene during his Heisman Trophy campaign at the University of Oklahoma in 2018, one adjective that has rarely, if ever, been assigned to Kyler Murray is ‘boring.’ The pint-sized starting quarterback of the Arizona Cardinals is now entering his seventh NFL season, and he’s treated fans to countless electric plays over the years.
The problem is, it’s easy to count the number of postseason wins Kyler Murray has under his belt. That number is zero. If we’re counting up the postseason appearances Murray has made, we only need to go up to one.
Murray knows that it’s time to get a little more boring in his pursuit of greatness.
“It’s boring, doing the right stuff over and over again,” Murray said recently, per Theo Mackie of the Arizona Republic. “I would say that’s probably the secret. … Don’t get bored doing that.”
This is a message that Cardinals quarterbacks coach Israel Woolfork has tried to impart on Murray since their partnership began in 2023, when Woolfork came to Arizona along with head coach Jonathan Gannon and offensive coordinator Drew Petzing. Specifically, Woolfork has cited Tom Brady and Drew Brees as the guys Murray should be modeling himself after.
“The guys that are the greats do the boring stuff very well,” Woolfork said.
Kyler Murray Learning What He Can and Can’t Get Away With
Unlike both Brees and Brady, Kyler Murray has been blessed with both a cannon of an arm AND breath-taking quickness, and he’s been making career of attempting to make superman plays on a regular basis. At Oklahoma, Murray made these plays with a great deal of regularity. In the NFL, success hasn’t come so often.
“You kinda get away with doing stuff, trying to do too much,” Murray said of his high school and college days. “It doesn’t bite you in the ass like it does in the NFL.”
Over these last two years, Murray has started to learn what he can and can’t get away with. He’s also done a better job of learning not to hold onto the ball too long, and instead make the easy throw rather than the superhero throw. Proof of this… Murray threw to his running backs on 13 percent of his dropbacks in 2023. That number spiked to 23 percent in 2024, a sign that he was more willing than ever to take what the defense was giving him, living to see another play.
“He knows where all his outs are in case things hit the fan,” Woolfork said. “And also, I think his knowledge of defenses has grown. So he’s not up there guessing. He knows exactly what the defense is doing.”
Jonathan Gannon Sees a More Vocal Kyler Murray
In addition to concerns about his size and commitment to making the safe plays, one area that has frequently been called into question regarding Kyler Murray is his ability to lead a football team. Dating back to his time in college, when he briefly appeared to be uncertain about whether to pursue a football or a baseball career, many have wondered if this is the right guy to bet on.
Over the years, as Murray has matured as both a person and a player, these conversations are quieter than they used to be. Sure, the Cardinals have failed to make the Playoffs for three consecutive seasons, but Murray’s approach to the game is changing, and the coaching staff in Arizona has taken note.
More on where JG has seen K1 grow as a leader during their time together:
Cardinals QB Kyler Murray Sheds Light on His ‘Boring’ Pursuit of Greatness