Oklahoma QB Kyler Murray chooses NFL path over MLB
Feb 11, 2019, 11:36 AM
Oakland A’s draft pick and Oklahoma QB prospect Kyler Murray announced Monday he will commit to a football career in preparation for the 2019 NFL Draft.
The Heisman winner made the news public on Twitter.
“Moving forward, I am firmly and fully committing my life and time to becoming an NFL quarterback,” his statement read. “Football has been my love and passion my entire life. I was raised to play QB, and I very much look forward to dedicating 100% of myself to being the best QB possible and winning NFL championships.”
— Kyler Murray (@TheKylerMurray) February 11, 2019
Murray has already begun training in preparation for April’s NFL Draft, his statement said.
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If selected in the first 32 picks, Murray would become the first player taken in the first round of both the MLB and NFL drafts, according to NFL research.
The 5-foot-10 Murray was the ninth overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft. He initially planned on a baseball career, but a potential football career called after he threw for 42 touchdowns to seven interceptions as a junior this season at Oklahoma.
The news of his commitment to the NFL could have implications for the Arizona Cardinals, who have the first and 33rd picks in the draft.
Part of that is because they have been linked to Murray in the pre-draft process. But it could also involve Arizona if another team falls in love with the quarterback to the point where the Cardinals could get involved in a trade.
In October, first-year Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury suggested as Texas Tech’s head coach that he would take Murray first overall in the upcoming draft. Additionally, Murray began his college career at Texas A&M — there and in the past three years at Oklahoma he played in variations of the Air Raid offense run by Kingsbury.
Arizona taking Murray first would be considered a reach. Even taking him at No. 33 if he fell would be a surprise considering the Cardinals already have Josh Rosen at quarterback.
Because of Murray’s height and slight build, there is some apprehension from NFL evaluators about his long-term success in football. Nonetheless, he’s considered a talented thrower.
ESPN’s Todd McShay, in the 2.0 version of his mock draft before Murray’s announcement, had the Oklahoma product going 13th overall to the Miami Dolphins. Murray was the second quarterback off the board following Ohio State signal-caller Dwayne Haskins; McShay has Haskins going No. 6 to the New York Giants.
