Kyler Murray 2019 NFL Draft Profile

Kyler Murray QB Oklahoma

Kyler Murray is the most electrifying player coming into this draft. Murray is also one of the most dynamic quarterbacks to ever come to the NFL. The only player who can make an argument for that title is Michael Vick when he came out of Virginia Tech.

Murray has been springing up draft boards since the combine. Which is odd because he didn’t participate, he only did interviews and measurements. He should’ve already been high on people’s boards after his Heisman willing campaign last year at Oklahoma. He was the most dynamic player on the field every time he came out of the locker room. Not many quarterbacks can say that.

Statistically he had a historically great season. He became just the second player to ever record 4000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards. He also set the mark for pass efficiency with a rating of 199.2. Which beat Baker Mayfield’s record set last year at 198.9. All of this led to him being the second straight Oklahoma QB to win the Heisman, and we are seeing how the first one is doing in the NFL.

Baker Mayfield and Patrick Mahomes success is one of the reasons why teams are thinking about drafting spread quarterbacks like Murray early in the draft and Murray will follow s path similar to theirs path. But he will make a name for himself and he might just exceed what the other two have done so far.

By the Numbers

In Lincoln Riley’s part air raid, part spread offense, Kyler Murray flourished. In his one season at the helm of this offense, Murray threw for 4,361 yards and 42 touchdowns. Those numbers are both in the top 3 of all quarterbacks last season. He put up these numbers with only throwing 7 interceptions. In comparison, Baker Mayfield threw for 4,627 with 43 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. Not much of a gap for someone who was mainly regarded for his arm.

Murray’s passing stats would be enough for almost any team to take him in the first round. But he can do more than throw.

He also ran the ball 140 times last year. Racking up 1,001 yards and 12 touchdowns. His rushing yards were enough to put him in the top five for quarterbacks. Also, he had over 300 more rushing yards than Michael Vick had in his last year of college.

Strengths

-Speed- most of the time at OU he was the second fastest player on the field, just behind Marquise Hollywood Brown. It is not a stretch to say he’ll be at least one of the fastest players on the field in the NFL. The league hasn’t seen a guy with that speed under center, or behind center since Mike Vick

-Agility- whether he was cutting through small holes in the backfield or juking out corners in the open field, defenses all last year struggled bringing him down.

-Arm Strength- not many people talk about his arm because his running ability is so polarizing, but he has a canon for an arm. He can sling it around the field with incredible strength and power. It’s almost like he plays baseball too.

-Play making ability- His speed and agility combine to make plays out of nothing. Last year there were many examples where it looked like he might be trapped in for a sack, but he would find a way to get out of the pocket and scamper ahead for a first down.

Weaknesses

-Height- this has been one of the most talked about questions this offseason. How can someone that short play quarterback in the NFL? Well Russell Wilson and Drew Brees seem to be doing alright in their careers, so this weakness might not even really matter.

-Accuracy- A few times throughout the season Murray tried to fit touch passes into tough windows and that didn’t work out too well. If there is one thing he needs to work on before taking the reins of an NFL franchise, it would be his accuracy and his ability to not throw it as hard as he can every time. Even though his accuracy is still not considered to be much worse than any other quarterback in this draft.

-Scrambles too much- During the Red River Rivalry game in October, Murray kept trying to scramble quickly. One of those times he tried to put his hand out to keep his balance, but he ended up just putting the ball on the turf and Texas took over with good field position, when Murray could’ve just thrown it away. He needs to be able to just take an incompletion and go on to the next play. Which he was getting better at later in the season.

Ratings

Football IQ- 9/10 – Throughout his only year starting at Oklahoma, he showed the ability to make good decisions. He only made a couple questionable decisions during the entire year. 

Speed- 10/10 – As I said earlier, he is usually the fastest player on the field. That gives me enough confidence to give him this rating even though we haven’t seen him run the 40-yard dash. 

Agility- 9/10 – His ability to get out of tough situations and the ability to get by defenders was shown in every game last year. He is agile enough to slip past almost any defender. 

Arm Strength- 9/10 – Whenever he throws the ball, it jumps out of his hand. He can also sling it far downfield when he needs to. 

Accuracy- 8/10 – He is a very accurate quarterback the majority of the time, but the few missed throws he had this season were costly for the Sooners. 

NFL Comparison

Michael Vick – I know Michael Vick is not in the NFL now, but he’s the closest comparison to Kyler. There isn’t a quarterback that has his speed in the NFL right now. The closest would be Lamar Jackson, but Kyler has a better arm than Jackson did coming out of college. I think Vick is just the only quarterback that had this mix of insane speed and arm ability. 

Overall

Murray is the best player in this class in my opinion because he has the arm to make any throw and he has the athleticism to make any play. Wherever he goes, he will give them a whole new offensive look and the team with the #1 pick, the Arizona Cardinals, needs to think about that for a while. Especially since Kliff Kingsbury, the Cardinals new coach, is very high on him.