There’s been a lot of talk recently about Kyler Murray’s decision to enter the NFL Draft. The Oklahoma quarterback was very impressive during the college season and helped his team to a playoff appearance while winning the Heisman Trophy, and because of those performances, some have theorized that Murray could be the player that the New York Giants should take with the sixth overall pick.
There’s one problem with that. Taking Murray that high would be overvaluing him, and missing out on a chance to add more value to another part of the team. Murray’s college performances have given him some hype after declaring for the draft, but NFL scouts are generally looking for a certain kind of player when they evaluate quarterbacks and Murray doesn’t necessarily fit that mold.
Realistically, it looks more like he’ll be a late first round pick, or will fall into the second round. Just being drafted in the first round isn’t a guarantee for him. Outside of top ranked quarterback Dwayne Haskins, others such as Drew Lock and Ryan Finley will most likely be drafted before Murray is, because they don’t have the same injury concerns that the 5’11” Murray has to deal with.
Coming from a college with an exotic offense like Oklahoma doesn’t increase a prospect’s value in the eyes of scouts, either. There’s typically plenty of quarterbacks each year that have amazing numbers in air raid or spread systems that are passed over for more fundamentally solid players with less flashy statlines, after all.
If the Giants want to draft Kyler Murray, they shouldn’t do it with the sixth overall pick. They’ll have their chance later, when they pick in the second round. A trade into the later part of the first round is even a possibility, and it would be a mistake to spend a top ten pick on a player that could be obtained later.
There’s been plenty of talk about Murray going in the top ten, and that will only increase as the draft nears. But while small quarterbacks can win in the NFL, few GMs want to be the ones to take a risk on drafting one. The Giants front office is likely no exception to that.