Cardinals can not pass and will not make quarterback Kyler Murray first in 2019 NFL Draft | Bleacher's report

The Arizona Cardinals do not deceive anyone by saying they do not know where the organization is with the first overall pick.

"We are not finished with this process," said general manager Steve Keim, for Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. "We have not made a decision on the first overall choice, and in my opinion there are a number of players and the opinion of our scouts, and that of our coaches, who deserve to be recognized. to be the first general choice. "

Quarterback Kyler Murray of Oklahoma is the right choice. Any other option is wrong because a company does not forward the caller a projected franchise if the position is not settled. And the position is not settled in Arizona, although Josh Rosen is the 10th pick of last year. Rosen is a talented young option, but Murray is a superior prospect with better connections to the current diet setup.

At Keim's point, yes, a number of players deserve to be considered. Nick Bosa of the State of Ohio, Quinnen Williams of Alabama and Josh Allen of Kentucky are potential defensive cornerstones. Cardinals scheduled visits with Bosa and Williams, according to the NFL network Tom Pelissero.

Of course, the team met with Murray and his agent, Erik Burkhardt, last week, by ESPN Adam Schefter. Keim is opposed to the report, as the presence of the agent apparently indicates that the Cardinals are already sold as winner of the Heisman Trophy, first choice and willing to negotiate. The Director General called the report "false", per Darren Urban the official website of the team.

"The fact that I do not know what we are doing but that everyone knows it is worrying," Keim said. Kyle Odegard from the Cardinals website.

Keim may not know who will sit once on the iron throne Game of thrones is coming to an end, but he certainly has some idea of ​​what he plans to do with the first selection. The game is useless. Other organizations already have an idea of ​​what Arizona is doing, especially after Murray canceled a pre-planned tour this week with the Washington Redskins, according to the NFL network. Steve Wyche.

A year ago, quarterback Baker Mayfield told his agent, "I will not leave later than [the fifth overall pick]. "

The Cleveland Browns made Mayfield the first pick in the 2018 draft.

Washington is currently the 15th overall and Murray is arguably the most talented in the repechage class. His ascent is parallel to that of Mayfield. None of the former quarterbacks of Oklahoma was seen as the No. 1 overall in the season despite the seasons when he won the Heisman Trophy. Both are considered outliers because of their size. However, evaluators could only deny their skills after a thorough review.

Public perception did not necessarily reflect team team realities–That's exactly why it's easy to call Keim for his prior falsity. Browns general manager John Dorsey knew exactly who he wanted with the first overall pick six months before Cleveland made his selection.

"On the record, he knew it in October," said Albert Breer of the MMQB, during an appearance at 92.3 Fans Bull and fox (via Matthew Florjancic from WKYC). "He knew in October that Baker Mayfield was going to be the best player in the draft next year, which interests me because I do not think many people have seen it this way.

"I think a lot of people still looked at him curiously:" Is this guy a product of the Oklahoma system and air raid? Is it too short? " All these questions were there, and I thought it was interesting, because Dorsey was so convinced that the guy was present, and we now see that this belief was fairly well founded. "

Clearly, the situation is a little different, as Murray's hype is based on a major factor: the hiring of Kliff Kingsbury as the new Cardinals head coach.

"Kyler is a monster," said the former Texas Tech coach six months ago, according to the KAMC Eric Kelly. "… I'm just thinking of his world and what he can do on the football field.

"I've never seen him make a bad exit, not one, which, in the quarter, is impossible to do, but he did, I would take him with the first pick in the repechage if I could. "

Keim could not have been sold on the star of both sports as early in the process as he had no way of knowing that Kingsbury would become the next head coach of the team after only one year of Steve Wilks. In addition, Murray did not specify his intention to focus on football before February.

But the idea that a general manager does not know what he plans to do a week before the project, even though it weighs all the options, is nonsense. Keim should listen to other franchises interested in the first choice. It's part of the job. However, no offer could prevent a team from acquiring a changing quarterback perspective.

Murray also deserves the selection. His status is not simply based on Kingsbury's wishes and plan. This is not a case where a team falls in love with a prospect and discovers it. Murray is the complete package, even though it is smaller than the ideal.

The 5 "10", 207 pound signaler delivers the ball accurately to all three levels of the field, always working beyond his first reading and excels from the pocket.

The first team, the American, finished first in the draft class with a 96.6-yard rating on over 10-yard passes on the ground. Focus on professional football. His accuracy has actually gone from 59.8% for throws of more than 10 yards to 61.4% for throws over 20 yards, according to PFF.

The idea that Murray is another athletic athlete, the first quarter is ridiculously misinformed. According to Pro Football Focus & # 39; Sam Monson, the 1,000-yard rider finished first in the country with 12.3 yards per pass and 138.6 for the quarter when he was working from the pocket. His adjusted completion percentage of 75.7 s is ranked seventh overall.

Like any quarterback under 6 "4", Murray must find throwing lanes. "In Oklahoma, he played behind a huge front with four blockers who should be drafted next weekend. 39, have managed five of Murray's passes, tied at least four quarterbacks, by NFL Search.

This pattern has less weight after the success encountered by Mayfield as a rookie and by the Kingsbury experience as a follower of an air raid. Still, Murray received a score of 90 for his death of PFF when he worked beyond his initial reading. The undersized shooter displays an innate feeling of working the pocket and creating downstream opportunities.

Once his ability to pitch raw and his dynamism as a runner were taken into account, all indications are that Murray is an elite talent, even though the Cardinals have not sat at the top of the table. order.

But they do it.

It can be argued that Arizona does not have a quality list and should not waste another premium choice in a quarterback perspective. Rosen is beaten as a rookie player because he did not have the talent to simplify his life, but that does not apply to Murray because he does not have the talent to simplify his life. is not that a distributor; he's a playmaker in both phases.

In addition, the Cardinals have approached the off season aggressively, adding Right tackle Marcus Gilbert, guard J.R. Sweezy, tight end Charles Clay and wide receivers Kevin White and Damiere Byrd as well as many free defensemen. The list as a whole is much improved.

The months of preparation do not go away once the team is in a quarter turn. Arizona is already sold on Murray as a future quarterback of his franchise.

"I've heard from the combine, resolutely, firmly, that they were all in Kyler Murray," CBS Sports & # 39; Jason La Canfora reported earlier this week.

Murray does not miss any significant area, making it an absolutely ideal choice for Cardinals, even if they are not willing to admit it publicly … for the moment.

Brent Sobleski covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @brentsobleski.