From 247 Sports:
For the past few months, it has seemed like a foregone conclusion that the Arizona Cardinals will select Kyler Murray with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2019 NFL Draft, but it may not be quite the lock that it once appeared.
CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco reported Sunday that the Cardinals’ ownership floated the idea of drafting Murray in an attempt to generate excitement among the fanbase, which in turn would help sell more tickets. But after not getting the desired reaction, Prisco says the Cardinals are no longer planning to select the Heisman Trophy winner with the top pick.
“The ownership pushed for Kyler Murray. That much I know; I was told that,” Prisco said on CBS Sports HQ. “And the reason they did is they were having a hard time selling tickets. Well they put it out there and Arizona was lukewarm to it. So now all of a sudden, they’re pulling back, from what I’ve been told.
“They’re going to go in a different direction. They’re not going to draft Kyler Murray.”
Even if the Cardinals do decide to go in a different direction with the No. 1 overall pick, ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay doesn’t believe the former OU star will fall very far on draft night.
“Kyler Murray—you know Jon [Gruden], we know Jon very well,” McShay said this week. “[David] Carr might not be his guy. I think Kyler would be very intriguing there, and if he gets past four, you know there are a lot of other teams, 10, 11 with Denver, Cincinnati, 13 with Miami, 15 with Washington.
“Potentially moving up, the Bucs would love it at number five to make a trade because at six I know they want to go defensive lineman. I know Dave Gettleman wants to build his roster. How do you not take Kyler Murray at six if he lasts there? To me, if he doesn’t go four, in my opinion Kyler goes six to the New York Giants.”
Murray, who is looking to become the first athlete in history to be picked in the first round of both the MLB and NFL Drafts, is coming off one of the most prolific seasons in college football history, which culminated in him becoming Oklahoma’s seventh Heisman winner.
In 14 games, he completed 260 of 377 passes (69.0 pct.) for 4,361 yards with 42 touchdowns and just seven interceptions while rushing for 1,001 yards and 12 touchdowns on 140 carries, setting the FBS record for yards per pass attempt (11.6) while ranking second all-time in passing efficiency (199.2 rating). He guided Oklahoma to its fourth consecutive Big 12 title and second straight trip to the College Football Playoff.
Murray accounted for a school-record 5,362 yards of total offense, plus 54 touchdowns. That school record is better than Baker Mayfield’s last year with one fewer game. Until he did so this year, no player in FBS history had ever averaged at least 300 passing yards and 60 rushing yards per game for an entire season. Murray finished with 311.5 and 71.5, respectively.
After playing his final game on Dec. 29, Murray had two weeks to decide whether to enter the NFL Draft before the Jan. 14 underclassman deadline. On Jan. 13, he met with an A’s contingent in Dallas that included vice president of baseball operations Billy Beane and general manager David Forst, who made a last-minute attempt to convince him to pursue his baseball career instead.
