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The Cardinals’ offense is clicking with Kyler Murray running the ball. Will that continue in Week 3 against the winless Detroit Lions?
Arizona Republic
Normally, most NFL coaches and talent evaluators would agree it takes two years to determine if a young quarterback is the real thing or not. But these are not normal times, especially considering the accelerated ascensions made by the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes, the Ravens’ Lamar Jackson and yes, the Cardinals’ Kyler Murray.
Like the first two before him, Murray is off to a blazing second-year season that could ultimately result in a playoff appearance and a crowning as league Most Valuable Player. If it happens, it would mark the first time in NFL history that three quarterbacks age 24 or younger won the award in succession.
“We’ll see how the rest of the season goes but yeah, clearly, Kyler Murray, I mean right now, he and Russell Wilson are probably the front-runners for the MVP,” Brian Billick, the former Super Bowl-winning coach with the Ravens and current analyst for the NFL Network, told The Arizona Republic.
According to Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, Murray is “the most dynamic player in the National Football League right now.” Of course, it’s only been a year and a half since Murray dropped baseball for football, measured in at 5 feet, 10 and 1/8th inches tall at the scouting combine, and was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 draft.
And yet as he gets ready for only his 19th regular-season NFL game on Sunday when the Cardinals (2-0) meet the Lions (0-2) at State Farm Stadium, Murray is already regularly getting compared to some of the sport’s best dual-threat quarterbacks in history like Michael Vick, Steve Young and Wilson, not to mention rising stars such as Mahomes and Jackson.
“When you compare him to other great quarterbacks, I don’t think there’s anybody truly like him,” Fitzgerald said. “He’s in a class of his own.”
Murray may, indeed, be unique. Though he has made jaws drop around the league the past two weeks with his electrifying speed and amazing start-and-stop mobility — which makes defenders look like a cat trying to catch a laser dot — he’s always had that uncanny elusiveness in his arsenal.
But it’s what he can also do with his arm, accuracy and touch that ultimately could separate him from any other quarterback. Murray will tell you that’s his favorite part of his game, but it seemed to get overlooked by many scouts, in part, because of the exhilarating things he could do with his legs, like his three long touchdown scrambles so far in 2020.
“Just over the time I’ve been doing this, it’s just amazing to me the difference in the mobile quarterbacks,” Cardinals General Manager Steve Keim told The Republic. “Not just that they can run and that they are guys that can be game-changers with their feet, but also excellent accuracy, touch and the ability to throw with anticipation. That’s what surprised me with Kyler coming out.
“I could sit here and see how dynamic he was with the ball in his hands, but what I did not realize, prior to the evaluation, was how good of a natural pure passer he was. Quick release, tremendous velocity, can place the ball in tight windows. All of those things, so when you have both of those attributes, it’s a real weapon.”
Survivable success
Billick has spent the past two years tracking the quarterbacks from the 2018 NFL draft to help teams better identify the future success of franchise-type players. His research has culminated in a new book due out this week called The Q Factor: The Elusive Search for the Next Great NFL Quarterback.
If he were including Murray in his work, Billick said the Cardinals’ QB would “clearly be on the plus side.” The question on Murray prior to the draft, Billick said, was “could he survive at that level?”
“Going in, could he be Patrick Mahomes and get it done from the pocket? Or is he strictly a run-around-the-edge guy?” Billick said. “But there’s no question. What we’re seeing this year is the maturation of a guy who can not only do it outside the pocket, but he’s showing he can be that pocked guy as well.
“You can’t succeed in the NFL with an athlete that can throw. But if you have a thrower, a quarterback that’s an athlete? Yes. And he’s in that latter category.”
In Murray’s eyes, he hasn’t even scratched the surface of his full potential. That will probably come in another year or two. But once he gets there, it’s reasonable to wonder how long can do it. Will his same speed and mobility still be there in eight, nine, 10 years? If he happens to lose a step or two, can he still be as dangerously effective by relying mostly on his arm and football IQ?
“I think the sky’s the limit,” Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury said. “You can see in our division a guy who’s playing as good as anybody in Russell Wilson. He’s not the fastest guy, but he picks his moments and he’s elusive still and he’s a tremendous thrower.
“You have to remember the game is going to slow down for Kyler each week and each year dramatically. I just think like you said, he’s one of the better throwers in the league and that’s not going to go away anytime soon. We’ve just got to keep working on the mental side of it, we’ve got to stay on it, try to work to get better every day and we’ll see where this goes. But I don’t see him losing the elusiveness totally anytime soon.”
Neither does Murray, 23, who refuses to put any limitations on his NFL career.
“I’ve played this game my whole life,” he said. “I’m not really thinking about the future, but I’d like to play this game as long as I can. I think protecting myself, doing whatever is necessary off the field and trying to stay healthy each and every day. Obviously, it’s a physical game, but I’d love to play this game for as long as I can.”
What will Murray’s game look like the longer he plays it? It’s anyone’s guess, really. By the time he’s in his 10th NFL season, he’ll be 31 and probably still have years left on a super mega-rich contract extension. He may have already delivered on his promise of bringing multiple Super Bowl championships home to Arizona, too.
“Like with all guys, once their skills diminish a little bit over time, they sort of slow down with their feet,” Keim said when asked how he thinks Murray will look like in 2028. “But at the same time, you would think the fact that he will have seen everything, he’ll play a little faster with his mind. That’s no knock on him now.”
More: Cardinals vs. Lions: TV, radio, streaming information for Week 3 NFL game
The RGIII effect
If there’s anything that could possibly derail Kyler Murray’s pro football career, most experts agree, it would be a devastating injury like the one former Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III experienced to his right knee as a rookie in 2012.
Though he would win Offensive Rookie of the Year honors that year, just as Murray did this past season, Griffin took a nasty shot to his knee during a Week 14 game against the Ravens and for some reason, stayed in the game. When he re-injured it during a wild card loss to the Seahawks, he needed major reconstructive surgery and was never the same again.
“It isn’t a problem until it is,” Billick said, referring to something similar possibly happening to Murray. “It’s just a matter at this level and the size and speed of the athletes, you hope it never happens. But all it takes is that one hit. Now in fairness, you can say that about any quarterback. All it takes is that one hit.
“It’s just that obviously, in his style of play, you’re going to expose yourself to it. The more he runs, the higher that odds there is going to be that hit that takes him down.”
Despite being sacked a league high-tying 48 times as a rookie, Murray only took 16 direct hits. He hasn’t been hit hard once in 2020 despite passing 78 times for 516 yards and running 21 times for 158 yards and thus becoming the first quarterback in the Super Bowl era to pass for 500-plus yards and rush for 150-plus yards through the first two games of a season.
No defender was able to even get close to Murray during his three touchdown runs. Former NFL safety Ryan Clark, appearing on ESPN’s “Get Up” last week, called Murray “a true master of deception.” Referencing Washington safety Troy Apke getting burned on both of Murray’s TD runs last Sunday, Clark said, “He was by himself in the wide-open field and he couldn’t put his hands on him in a phone booth.”
Unlike last year when Murray only ran for four touchdowns, he seems to be sniffing the end zone now as a runner every time the Cardinals cross the opponent’s 20-yard line. If he sees an opening, Murray said he’s going to try to exploit it, adding, “That’s the dynamic we have in this offense because I’m able to move. It’s a blessing to be able to move fast.”
It’s just not the speed, though. It’s the deke moves and fakes, the stutter steps and ability to also safely slide at a moment’s notice to draw 15-yard, unnecessary-roughness penalties. Would-be tacklers must remain cautious because of that, “but if you slack off a little bit, he’ll run right past you,” Fitzgerald said, smiling.
As teammate Devon Kennard, the Cardinals’ outside linebacker who spent the past two seasons in Detroit, said, “I don’t think anybody wants Kyler in the open field right now, seeing what he’s doing even to defensive backs. There’s not many people who want that smoke. I definitely don’t. I’m glad he’s on my team.”
Lions coach Matt Patricia just shakes his head when asked about Murray.
“Somehow, I think this guy got faster, quicker and more explosive in the offseason,” Patricia said. “It’s just amazing to watch him in open space. … He can just burst and explode. Within two steps, he’s at full speed.”
Murray’s game might change over time. The NFL will probably look a little different as well. Whether it’s 10 years from now or 12 or 13 or even longer, Billick points to the Seahawks’ Wilson and said he’s convinced the Cardinals’ franchise quarterback will always be dynamic.
“As long as he develops and continues to develop as that pocket passer, I do,” Billick said. “There’s always going to be that other (mobility) element and certainly it will diminish to a certain degree. But he will compensate for it with the other things, so there’s reason to think he can’t be a great one for a long, long time.”
Republic sports columnist Kent Somers contributed to this report.
More: Murray is a star and deserves to be treated like it on TV.
Have an opinion on the Arizona Cardinals? Reach McManaman at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @azbobbymac. Listen to him live on Fox Sports 910-AM every Tuesday afternoon at 3:30 on Calling All Sports with Roc and Manuch and every Wednesday night from 7-9 on The Freaks with Kenny and Crash.
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