I wouldn't touch this guy with a 10 foot pole.

Way too much of a flight risk to baseball.

(01-15-2019, 10:25 PM)Crazyjdawg Wrote: I wouldn't touch this guy with a 10 foot pole.

Way too much of a flight risk to baseball.

See that's the thing, he won't be. His agent will tell the teams he is willing to play for where he will play and for what salary (draft slot). If a team drafts hims assume his agent has talked to them and assured them they made the cut. Now a team could draft him with the intention of trading him to one of these "approved" teams, but it's risky because they hold little leverage. 

Sounds like a headache for such a high risk/high reward player.

(01-16-2019, 09:48 AM)Big Boss Wrote: Sounds like a headache for such a high risk/high reward player.

The last two people to pull such stunts worked out pretty well. 

https://theathletic.com/771068/2019/01/16/bengals-draft-report-kyler-murrays-coolness-amid-chaos-sets-him-apart/

Bengals Draft Report: Kyler Murray's coolness amid chaos sets him apart


In a quick swing of plans, Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray declared himself eligible for the 2019 NFL Draft after a Heisman-winning year that saw the young quarterback break NCAA records. Murray, after being selected ninth overall in the MLB Draft by the Oakland A’s, is leaving runners stranded on third base after seeing his NFL stock hit its high mark. He’s now seen as an NFL first-round pick and is likely to make more money with a football career and suddenly, this quarterback class isn’t so weak.

The third quarterback in our Bengals draft report series, Murray is going to ace the criteria we’ve laid out for finding a potential upgrade at the game’s most important position. He’s stylistically built for where it feels like the NFL game is going, but it will be his build that gets questioned the most. He’s listed at 5-foot-10 and 195 pounds which will fall below the standard requirements you look for at quarterback. Will teams be able to overlook size and focus on ability after learning their lessons with Russell Wilson? I don’t think every team will, but it only takes one and Murray’s ability will interest many.

(Comments on Andy Dalton from the previous Bengals Draft Report quarterback articles are in italic.)

Pocket Management

One of the areas where Andy Dalton has struggled the most and limited the potential of the offense is his lack of comfort when the pocket breaks down. Dalton doesn’t slide, step up, maneuver or manage a crumbling pocket the way the elite quarterbacks do. The Bengals understood this and built a quick passing game around it. They also magnified this issue when they allowed their offensive line to deteriorate.

A quarterback prospect able to navigate an imperfect pocket, keep his eyes up, remain a passer and even be able to remain accurate when his lower body gets compromised due to traffic around him would represent a potential upgrade.

Because of Murray’s height, the next question will be – can he throw from the pocket? The answer will be a resounding YES. Murray, coming from the same system that just produced Baker Mayfield, is asked to read the field and make throws from the pocket routinely. Sure, Oklahoma took advantage of his rare athleticism and rolled the quarterback out, moved the pocket and created better passing lanes for him, but Murray showed the ability to read the field, move within the pocket, create his own passing lanes and deliver the football over a large offensive line.

Murray typically remains calm when pressured, quickly evades the rush, resets his feet in a flash and goes about his business. He doesn’t look to run instantly unless the coverage allows it. You’ll often see Murray evacuate a collapsing pocket, move to a safer spot and then rescan the field. He will make your offensive line look better with his ability to escape pressure and keep the offense on time.

My issue with Murray in the pocket comes from his comfort with throwing off-balance and on the move. Because of that, he will still try to push the ball downfield as the rush gets to him. His feet may not be set and he won’t get as accurate of a throw as you’d like. This leads to poor passes and bad decisions and it’s something coaches will want to work on with him.



Arm strength & deep accuracy

I know that accuracy, intelligence and anticipation can be much more valuable than a strong arm, but if you don’t want to feel limited and would like your quarterback to push the ball downfield, he’s going to need a strong arm and/or deep accuracy. Dalton’s arm strength improved over the first few seasons of his career and he ended up with an average arm. Yet, he still doesn’t push the ball downfield or test tight windows enough. Maybe he knows he can’t hit every window accurately, but that’s something we’d like in a quarterback prospect as we go forward.

Arm strength is Murray’s second-best trait. He has a lightning-quick release and has a whip that generates maximum velocity out of the little body. There are times it looks like the ball just teleports from his hand to the receiver and that speed creates separation and opportunities after the catch. When throwing off-platform, Murray may lose some strength and accuracy, but it doesn’t completely kill the ball like some quarterbacks.

His deep accuracy, timing and anticipation are just OK. This is the area where you’d like to see a more consistent passer as Murray had outstanding receivers and they often had to adjust to a pass that wasn’t placed in the ideal spot. The arm strength is evident, so maybe there’s drastic improvement in his future.



Off Script

It took until the first half of this past season for me to feel Dalton could consistently create a positive out of a broken play. Much of that could be attributed to the signing of Alex Van Pelt as the quarterbacks coach, but as the season wore on, Dalton started to come back to what we’ve known over his career. He’s a guy that’s very good when things go as expected and he’s kept clean. Dalton is quick, accurate and on time within the system. He becomes flustered, hurried and can panic at times when things break down and go off script.

This is an area where I believe the next generation of quarterbacks will separate themselves. You feel as if most starting quarterbacks can produce at a good level with the league average passer rating hovering at an all-time high of 93. NFL teams have moved their games closer to the collegiate style, so quarterbacks are making the transition easier and the rules of the game continue to make the passing opportunities even more lucrative. The difference from there will be – which passers can create outside of the structure of the offense and which cannot?

I saved Murray’s best trait for last and it’s the reason to get excited about him. Murray’s mobility is evident as he ran for 1,000 yards and scored 12 touchdowns on the ground this past season, but when you watch the tape, you see top-end speed, agility, acceleration and elusiveness. Murray often looks like he’s toying with defenders and he quickly stops, starts and steps around defenders before strolling out of bounds without being hit.

It’s not just his running ability, Murray goes off-script very well. He will remain a passer until it becomes more advantageous to run when the pocket breaks down and he’s forced to move. Keeping his eyes up and scanning the field, it’s not uncommon to see Murray direct his receivers, move defenders and push the ball downfield. You’ll rarely catch him panicking due to pressure or misreading the defense. This is where Murray will make his money and his name in the NFL. His ability to stay calm, move around, find open targets, create chaos for the defense and big plays for the offense makes Murray the most fun quarterback prospect in this class. If you’re looking for a Patrick Mahomes, he’s going to make some teams very excited.



Conclusion

With Kyler Murray, there’s more than enough red flags to scare teams and fans. From his height and bulk, one-year starting experience and bouts of inaccuracy, Murray won’t be for everyone. Like Dwayne Haskins, the limited experience could suggest many of his flaws are fixable, but could also become major issues as NFL defenses use his weaknesses against him. The reason I like Murray more is that he works at his best when things are difficult. Throw a blitz or coverage that he doesn’t expect and you turn Murray into a natural playmaker off-script. If defenses want to drop everyone into coverage, spy the quarterback and control the rush lanes as Texas did, Murray will sit in the pocket and find an open receiver. The Alabama game showed how most defenses will attack Murray – win at the line of scrimmage and spy the quarterback. Even then, Murray ran for 100 yards and scored three touchdowns. Still, most of his mistakes are correctable if they’re not a vision problem. You’ll need a coordinator that knows how to move the pocket, widen passing lanes and let Murray create when necessary.
The production was on another level with Murray and indicates he could be a superstar in the NFL. His 11.6 yards per pass was the best all time and when you add in the 69 percent completion rate and 42 passing touchdowns to just seven interceptions, Murray’s entire body or work was jaw-dropping.

If you’re worried that Murray may defect and choose baseball again, the Oakland A’s must report for camp on Feb. 15. If Murray doesn’t report, everyone can breathe and feel much more comfortable in selecting the 2018 Heisman Trophy winner.