NASHVILLE - With the first pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, the Arizona Cardinals selected Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray, the team’s second straight year drafting a quarterback in the first round.
After the Cardinals hired head coach Kliff Kingsbury this offseason, who’s expected to bring a high-powered, air raid-style offense to the Cardinals, attention immediately shifted to Murray as a possible favorite for the Cardinals at No. 1 overall. This despite the fact the team traded up in the 2018 NFL Draft to select UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen in the first round.
Murray had an incredible season at Oklahoma in 2018, in which he won the Heisman Trophy after carrying the Sooners to the National Championship. Pro Football Focus gave Murray the top quarterback grade in 2018 and ranked him the second-best player in college football with a 94.8 grade. He had the highest average yards per pass attempt in college football with 11.6 and his adjusted completion percentage was 78.9. He threw for more than 4,000 yards, had 42 passing touchdowns and just seven interceptions.
The 5-foot-10 Murray rushed for more than 1,000 yards on 140 attempts, averaging more than seven yards per carry. In addition, he had 12 rushing touchdowns.
It’s the second year in a row an Oklahoma quarterback was taken No. 1 overall (Baker Mayfield, Cleveland Browns) and Murray is the seventh quarterback taken No. 1 overall in the last 10 years (Matthew Stafford, Sam Bradford, Cam Newton, Andrew Luck, Jameis Winston, Jared Goff, Mayfield).
Murray joins Rosen (2018), Matt Leinart (2006) as the only quarterbacks drafted by the franchise since it’s move to Arizona after the 1987 season.
Murray will most likely take over an offense that finished dead last in most offensive categories in 2018, a big change from his No. 1-ranked offense at Oklahoma last season, which led the NCAA in yards per game (570) and yards per play (8.60).
Now that the Cardinals have drafted Murray, the next development will be what the team does with Rosen, whether they decide to trade him away or keep him on the team. Something that could potentially be decided on draft night.
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