Kyler Murray No. 1 Overall NFL Draft Pick, Arizona Cardinals
Arizona general manager Steve Keim did not want to look at tape of Kyler Murray. The Cardinals traded up in last year’s draft to take Josh Rosen, so it’s not like they needed another quarterback.
Ever diligent, Keim forced himself to watch the reigning Heisman Trophy winner. What he saw made it impossible to look away.
“The more and more we dug in, the more it became crystal clear Kyler Murray was the pick,” Keim said Thursday night after the Cardinals took Murray with the No. 1 overall pick of the draft. “I’ve been doing this 20 years and I’ve seen guys who can throw like him, guys who can run it like him. I can tell you I’ve never seen the combination he brings to the table.”
Though small for a quarterback at 5-foot-10, Murray is strong-armed and shifty, with an ability to feel pressure and avoid big hits. He threw for 4,361 yards and 42 touchdowns with 11 interceptions at Oklahoma last season, adding 1,001 yards and 12 more touchdowns on the ground.
A backup to Baker Mayfield in 2017, he followed in the footsteps of his former teammate by winning the Heisman Trophy and being taken with the No. 1 overall pick a year later. Mayfield, now with the Cleveland Browns, quickly congratulated his successor in Norman.
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