Big Red
Well-known member
- Mar 16, 2019
- 1,355
- 0
Murray spoke excitedly about the Cardinals and the pairing with coach Kliff Kingsbury, an offensive guru who has long clamored for the dual-threat quarterback to be his maestro. Kingsbury unsuccessfully tried recruiting Murray to Texas Tech but now gets him in the NFL.
"He’s a dynamic talent, a unique talent that I don’t know if anyone has seen," Kingsbury said.
Murray declined to say if there will be a no-baseball clause in his contract but did not talk like a player who has any plans to leave the gridiron.
“My only future is in football right now,” Murray said.
The pick of the 5-foot-10 Murray was the latest salvo in an evolving NFL, one that is putting less emphasis on height and more on playmaking ability. As recently as a half-decade ago, Murray may have gone down the baseball path because of a hesitancy from NFL evaluators to give him a chance at quarterback.
But college teams started giving smaller signal-callers a shot in spread offenses, and players like Russell Wilson and Baker Mayfield showed that their success could translate to the NFL.
Murray is the shortest quarterback ever taken in the first round, and despite that, the natural athleticsm turned him into a must-have for the Cardinals, even after they took quarterback Josh Rosen with the No. 10 overall pick a season ago.
Murray has known nothing but success since childhood, running circles around opponents in football and dominating on the diamond. In the midst of a chaotic night, he took a fleeting moment to recall the path here.
“I was trying to put myself back in my little kid body, to just think back about everything that has taken place over the years, all the football I’ve played,” Murray said. “It’s crazy.”
The focus will now turn to the future, and if the bold draft choice will breathe new life into the Cardinals. Murray gambled on himself, risking injury to keep his NFL dream alive. Now it’s the Cardinals betting big that his talent is transcendent.
“I’ve seen guys who have thrown it like him, I’ve seen guys who have run it like him," General Manager Steve Keim said. "But I can tell you I haven’t seen anybody who can do the combination that he brings to the table. The ability to throw the football with timing, accuracy and touch, and to be able to run the football, extend plays and create like he does."
Continue reading...