Cardinals eye quarterback Murray with NFL Draft top pick

NEW YORK -- Quarterback Kyler Murray, the Heisman Trophy winner as American football's top collegiate player, is expected to be selected Thursday by the Arizona Cardinals with the top pick in the NFL Draft.

The three-day event to allocate new talent to NFL clubs begins Thursday night in Nashville, Tennessee, with the Cardinals selecting first thanks to last season's NFL-worst 3-13 record.

While the Cardinals have been silent about their plans, quarterbacks have been selected with the number one pick in 15 of the past 21 NFL Drafts and Murray has the talent to entice Arizona to continue that trend.

Murray, whose maternal grandmother was born in South Korea, completed 260 of 377 passes for 4,361 yards and 42 touchdowns with only seven interceptions last season for Oklahoma, which reached the national championship playoffs.

He also ran 140 times for 1,001 yards and 12 touchdowns, bringing the run-pass threat that has made several NFL quarterbacks a tough challenge for defensive units in recent years.

Murray, 21, was also a college baseball star outfielder for the Sooners baseball team who announced in February he was giving up any ideas of a baseball career to focus on his NFL effort.

The Oakland A's had taken Murray with the ninth pick in last year's Major League Baseball Draft but he walked away from their offer of $4.33 million (3.84 million euros) for the chance at more than $30 million as a top NFL Draft pick.

"Football has been my love and passion my entire life," Murray tweeted. "I was raised to play QB, and I very much look forward to dedicating 100% of myself to being the best QB possible and winning NFL championships."

Murray's draft status has been dogged by questions over whether he is physically big enough to forge a successful career in the NFL.

At 5ft 10in (1.77m), Murray is relatively short for a quarterback, a factor which has reportedly weighed on some teams deliberations.

"I've never been the biggest guy on the field, I'm always the smallest guy on the field," said Murray. "I've said it multiple times: I feel I'm the most impactful guy on the field and the best player on the field at all times.

"That's just the confidence I have in myself and my teammates have in me. I've always had to play at this height. Everybody's trying to make it out to be something, but at the same time, I just go out there and play the game I love."

Should the Cardinals select someone else, the other highest-regarded prospects are defensive tackle Quinnen Williams of Alabama and defensive end Nick Bosa of Ohio State.

Bosa's preparations for the draft meanwhile has been the subject of a social media controversy, with the defender wiping his Twitter account of a series of posts which criticised former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick and others which praised President Donald Trump.

The San Francisco 49ers are set to select second overall, followed in order by the New York Jets, Oakland Raiders, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New York Giants, Jacksonville Jaguars, Detroit Lions, Buffalo Bills and Denver Broncos.

The reigning Super Bowl champion New England Patriots receive the 32nd and last pick in the first round.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Murray opts into NFL Draft but baseball remains an option

NEW YORK -- Two-sport star Kyler Murray said Monday he has submitted his name for this year's NFL Draft but a Major League Baseball career still remains an option for the 21-year-old Texan.

Murray won the Heisman Trophy as American football's top college player this past season as quarterback for Oklahoma University after having been selected ninth overall by the Oakland Athletics in last year's Major League Baseball Draft for his skills as an outfielder.

Murray announced on Twitter he has filed paperwork before a midnight deadline to be eligible for this year's NFL Draft, ending his collegiate eligibility, but that only delays the choice he must make.

The Athletics open pre-season training camp on February 15 while the NFL Scouting Combine to analyze prime draft prospects is February 26 and Murray will likely require time for workouts to produce peak efforts at whichever sport he selects.

Keeping his NFL options open would buy time for Murray to explore his value for NFL clubs to better decide whether he would prefer years with a 162-game baseball campaign or a more punishing but potentially more lucrative 16-game NFL season.

It's all in the family for Murray, whose maternal grandmother is from South Korea. He's the son of a former college quarterback and the nephew of a former Major League Baseball player.

At 5-foot-10 (1.78m), Murray would be the shortest NFL quarterback since Doug Flutie in 2005. But Murray comes off a season where he threw for 4,361 yards and 42 touchdowns while rushing for 1,001 yards and 12 touchdowns.

For Oklahoma's baseball squad, Murray batted .296 with 10 home runs and 47 runs batted in with 13 doubles and 28 walks.

Murray was signed to a minor-league baseball contract by Oakland last year, a $4.66 million bonus deal that allowed him to play last year at Oklahoma.

The A's reportedly spoke last weekend with Murray and would have to make some changes to his contract to allow him to leave training camp for the NFL scouting combine workouts.

Murray's representatives have indicated no plans to attempt a two-career NFL-MLB double, a feat most notably done by Bo Jackson from 1987-1990 with the NFL Los Angeles Raiders and MLB Kansas City Royals until a hip injury suffered in an NFL playoff game ended his gridiron days.

Murray would likely begin his baseball career in lower-level developmental leagues before working his way into the major leagues while he potentially could jump directly into a key role for an NFL team.

source: news.abs-cbn.com