Kyler, the Heisman-winning quarterback from Oklahoma, remains the biggest question of this year’s draft. His future landing spot remains completely unknown. And although Murray will certainly be picked in the first round, the question of when remains to be seen.
Untraditional Quarterback
Murray might be the hardest quarterback some scouts have ever been asked to evaluate.
His decision-making and judgement can be so blatantly wrong at times, yet he will still make a play or get a completion.
He is the farthest from traditional one could find, yet the most successful out of his class.
The Positives of Kyler
The Oklahoma quarterback can only be described as a paradox.
Some parts of his game should make him the undisputed QB1 of the class, yet other parts defiantly scream risk. Murray’s strong suits are listed below:
- Fantastic runner, potentially one of the faster QBs to ever enter the NFL
- Incredible arm strength
- Great touch and anticipation
- Ability to extend the play with his feet, evades pass rushers with ease
- Quick release
- Tremendous poise
- Elite physical skills
- Has displayed pin-point accuracy on several occasions
- Relatively good ball security
- Relatively good pre-snap adjustments
The Negatives of Kyler
The issues in his game glaring, just like his strengths. His strengths and weaknesses pop right off the screen.
Kyler’s biggest struggles are listed below:
- Untraditional, not sure what offense he could fit into
- Sometimes looks confused or lost out on football field, seems unprepared for certain defense schemes at the college level
- Only a one year starter
- Sloppy mechanics
- Overthrown footballs a problem at times
- Sometimes relies too much on his legs and playmaking ability, struggles to understand his limits at times
- Stares down receivers
- Mechanics and attention to detail do not appear strong
- Makes some completions that would not happen at a Pro level
- High risk and big investment for a Pro team
- Durability for a player of his size and potential work load might be a problem at Pro level
Most television personalities are saying that Kyler will be a top ten pick, however, I personally would not take that so seriously.
What makes him such a risk for a pro squad?
The biggest concern out of that whole list for NFL teams will be the “High risk and big investment for a Pro team” point, but not his size. The size argument on him being able to see over his line will be something that will be heard more but will not hold much of a solid argument.
One throw that Kyler consistently impressed on this year was a short shallow cross, which is a difficult throw for shorter quarterbacks.
Kyler’s height will not be the issue for pro teams, however the time, energy, and resources that a team would have to put into a boom or bust product like Kyler are incredible.
Luckily for Murray, more pro teams are starting to adopt some college concepts in their offenses, but that may not be enough.
An offense would have to fully commit to Kyler, and have the resources to build around him. The first mistake for a pro team would be plugging him into an already established offense.
Just throwing Murray into a system of such nature would fail him from the start and basically cripple an extremely bright future.
Kyler + Patriots = Potential disaster
Patriots fans might want Kyler Murray, but he just simply would not work at this time.
Murray’s career being put on hold for Brady would be bad for both the Patriots and Kyler.
The Patriots would be benching one of the faster quarterbacks to ever enter the draft. That speed would only last at that level for so long.
The potential of Murray turning to baseball if put on hold would be very high, which the last thing the Patriots would need is a John Elway-like situation.
The Patriots also have too many pressing needs that taking a risk like Murray would be way to dangerous and could cost jobs.
Patriots would not be able to invest in Kyler becuase of Brady’s longevity and while McDaniels could potentially make Kyler work in New England, Brady gets in the way.
Kyler can work for other squads, but not the Patriots
Kyler might slide farther than the TV personalities think due to his high risk and the big investment required.
While Kyler might be a top ten talent, many pro scouts do not know that Kyler is a trendsetter or a game changer.
The boom or bust product out of Oklahoma seems to have a lot of promise, and could potentially get over some of his negatives with the right team and supporting cast. The right team could turn Kyler into a pro bowl caliber quarterback.
Unfortunately for hopeful Patriot fans, your team will likely not be one to swoop in and take on this extremely risky and expensive project.