NFL Draft Diamonds Film Breakdown: Kyler Murray, QB, Oklahoma
QB Prospect: Kyler Murray, QB, Oklahoma by Steve Hamner
Breakdown: Everyone knows the incredible dynamic athlete that Murray is. Everyone knows the incredible stats he put up during his Heisman winning season. Everyone knows the decision he has to make in regards to his baseball and football career. With the obvious reasons of what makes Murray great out of the way, let’s take a quick second to break down his game.
Murray is an elite athlete with a strong arm, quick release, ability to throw the football from multiple arm slot positions, and accurate against zone and man coverage. If you take time to go back and re-watch several of his games, you will see that he can make any throw on the football field. Here are three of his NFL throws from the previous season.
1st Throw: This throw shows his ability to throw a deep comeback from one hash to the opposite side of the field. This is an NFL throw against man to man coverage. Deep comebacks and outs from the opposite hash are considered the toughest throws in football.
2nd Throw: This throw shows his accuracy and ball placement ability between a cornerback and a safety. This throw would be considered a “2” ball. A “2” ball is thrown when you need to get it over a defender, but still have a decent amount of velocity on it so the up top defender doesn’t’ get there in time.
3rd Throw: This is an impressive showcase of his arm talent, being able to throw the ball 55 yards in the air on the run. Not to mention it was accurate.
While Murray is not your typical NFL sized QB, I do not think his smaller size will affect his play and I don’t think teams should pass on him due to it. As long as he doesn’t take big hits consistently, his size shouldn’t matter. He did a good job this year at Oklahoma avoiding big hits. Also, the success of shorter quarterbacks in the NFL lately may encourage teams to not put so much stock into height as they once did.
The few times Murray struggled this year was when pressure got to him quick and the coverage was tight, when he had to throw it before he wanted to, and when he threw late over the middle. Several of his interceptions this year were thrown later over the middle. The game against Alabama was the most contested throws he had to make all year. He did struggle at times through-out the game, but also made some good throws against the tight coverage as well. Like most great quarterbacks, he is able to bounce back from a bad play. He is always a threat to score on any play and on any down and distance.
If I was an NFL team looking for a quarterback, Murray would be my first option. In my opinion, he should be the first quarterback taken in the draft. If a quarterback succeeds in the NFL, it is largely due to being in the right system with the right group of players around you. If a team is willing to build around Murray, I think his potential and ability would make it a successful decision.
Pros:
- Incredible athleticism
- Strong arm
- Can throw from multiple arm slot positions
- Rarely makes back to back mistakes
- Always a threat of a big play (arm or legs)
- Winner
Cons/Question Marks:
- Size may keep some teams away (I do not think it is an issue)
- His mistakes and off target throws were largely due to pressure, forced him to get rid of it before he wanted to
- Will he be as accurate when most throws are highly contested in the NFL?
- With his running assumingly decreased in the NFL, will that affect his throwing game opening up?
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