Kyler Murray's teammates are already comparing him to Patrick Mahomes
- By Ryan Wilson
- May 30, 2019 at 11:03 am ET • 2 min read
It's been a month since the
Cardinalsselected Kyler Murray with the No. 1 overall pick -- and a year since they traded up to No. 10 to take Josh Rosen, who has since been traded to the
Dolphins -- and somehow the already lofty expectations have grown for the NFL's shortest quarterback.
The Heisman Trophy winner and former Oklahoma standout is already drawing comparisons to one of the NFL's best young talents: 2018 MVP Patrick Mahomes.
Specifically, Murray's teammates knew he could run -- he rushed for over 1,000 yards last season for the Sooners -- but it's his arm that has left them wide-eyed.
You could compare it to that (Murray and Mahomes' arm strength). It's very unique, for sure," said wide receiver Christian Kirk, who played one year with Murray in college, via the
Arizona Republic's Bob McManaman. "I've talked about it before. Obviously, everyone knows what he can do with his legs, but what he's able to do with his arm and just the way it comes off his hand. It's never a duck; it's always a spiral. It's just so quick coming off his hands and the ball is usually never late and it's usually never under-thrown."
Just to be clear: Murray's arm is as good as Mahomes?
"Yeah," added tight end Ricky Seals-Jones. "Kyler's a different guy, man. He's got it all. He can spin it. It's going to be fun to watch and it's going to be fun being out there making plays for him."
Running back David Johnson called it "a good comparison," and first-year coach Kliff Kingsbury, who coached Mahomes for three seasons at Texas Tech, didn't seem surprised that Murray and Mahomes were mentioned in the same breath, in part because both are wildly athletic, but also because both have baseball backgrounds.
"It's just a quick, efficient release," Kingsbury said of Murray. "He can drop it down. Pat [Mahomes] was the same way and is the same way. They can drop it down and not lose accuracy, not lose touch. They're so used to throwing from different platforms, different angles in baseball and it just translates over to football for them."
Meanwhile, Murray continues to grow into his role as face of the franchise.
"I mean, he obviously won MVP," Murray said of Mahomes and the comparisons. "I respect his game a lot, obviously. I think for me, it's just working to be myself and just be the best me I can be. But no, I take it as a compliment."
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