Blake Shelton likes to take credit for Cardinals drafting QB Kyler Murray

From the early returns, the Arizona Cardinals hit a home run in selecting quarterback Kyler Murray with the first overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.

General manager Steve Keim and his staff did their due diligence with the pick, not shying away from the signal caller’s stature and valuing his winning nature.

But there’s one man not in the Cardinals organization who believes he is the backbone to Murray being in an Arizona uniform: country music singer Blake Shelton.

The country star joined NFL Network’s Good Morning Football on Tuesday and explained how he was the one behind Murray going No. 1.

(Part 2) The man. The myth. The legend. @blakeshelton joined #GMFB today.

We talk all things @AZCardinals, including @K1, the “Hail Murray”, @KliffKingsbury and more! pic.twitter.com/9KxuTmy5Um

— GMFB (@gmfb) November 17, 2020

“I feel partly responsible sometimes for Steve Keim because he’s been on tour with me several times now and he’s become a friend over the years,” Shelton said. “I had been drinking after a show in Pittsburgh last year and it was just before the draft. Man, I got on him hard.

“I was like, ‘Man, what are you doing? You have the No. 1 draft pick and you’re not going to take Kyler Murray? You’re going to be the guy that goes down in history that didn’t take Kyler Murray. Like what are you doing?’ And of course I like to convince myself that that conversation is the reason that he chose Kyler Murray.”

And let’s not forget his draft day tweet that involved Keim’s neck and a guitar if the GM went a different route other than the QB.

Getting excited about the draft tonight!! Steve Keim I will personally wrap my guitar around your neck if don’t take my boy @TheKylerMurray!!! #arizonacardinals @AZCardinals

— Blake Shelton (@blakeshelton) April 25, 2019

Just like that, the writing was on the wall.

Shelton added that part of his pitch to Keim revolved around the Cardinals’ lack of publicity on TV shows like GMFB. He said taking Murray would change that.

He definitely wasn’t wrong on that front.

Leading the Cardinals to 6-3 through 10 weeks of play in his second season, Murray has been a walking highlight reel in the air and on the ground, totaling 27 touchdowns and 2,979 yards.

Throw in Murray’s Hail Mary touchdown to DeAndre Hopkins last week and the hype train is full steam ahead.

Luckily, Keim kept his neck guitar-free, while Shelton has gotten to sit back and enjoy the spoils of his Arizona’s draft choice.

Who knows, maybe Shelton could put his abilities to good use and sign on as a draft consultant.

Follow @AZSports