NFL Draft 2019: Arizona Cardinals full mock draft
By Joe Romano
Round 1 – Pick 1
Kyler Murray, QB, Oklahoma
All reports out of Arizona is that this pick is a lock to happen. The Cardinals are smitten wit Murray throughout the process and plan on making him the future of the franchise. This all comes a year after the team spent capital to move up and draft Josh Rosen at the same position. Not only is this unprecedented in seeing a team move on from first round pick quarterback the following year but Murray himself is a rarity. He will become the shortest quarterback in NFL history selected in the first round.
On the field Murray gives new coach Kliff Kingsbury a dynamic dual threat quarterback to run his up-tempo Air Raid style offense. If it looks anything like the scheme he ran at Texas Tech the offense will be predicated by quick decisions from the quarterback, complex route trees and combinations and heavy usage of quick tempo. That is in-line with what Murray ran at Oklahoma and allows him to utilize his improvisational skills as much as anyone, the skill that truly makes him an elite prospect.
Murray gets accolades for his legs but he is no slouch throwing the ball. There is common misconception that he is a player that operates outside of structure a la Johnny Manziel. In fact, Murray threw from the pocket over 90 percent of the time in college. He’s got a rocket arm with accuracy to all levels of the field.
Kingsbury will limit the amount of times he has to make multiple progressive reads early on. If it all comes together and his size does not limit his durability, Murray has Michael Vick potential. He’ll need better pieces around him to succeed than what he will start off with but this is a long-term play by Arizona and a risky gamble.