The decision to declare for the NFL Draft that Kyler Murray is expected to make helps the New York Giants immensely.
The Oakland Athletics are getting burned on their recent first-round draft pick, but that will help the New York Giants in the upcoming NFL draft. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the A’s expect Kyler Murray to enter the NFL draft rather than join the team in Spring Training.
Murray, the Heisman Trophy winner, projects to be a high pick should he pursue his NFL dreams. The last time a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback wasn’t drafted in the first round in their eventual draft year was Jason White, who won the trophy in 2003.
Murray’s decision makes the top of the draft very interesting, which has a direct influence on the Giants. The team needs to find a successor for Eli Manning, as it’s unlikely they think Kyle Lauletta is the answer since they didn’t give him the chance they should have at the end of the season.
There is a reason Lauletta fell to the fourth round. As a result, the team is still searching for their long-term quarterback. The Giants seem to be in luck as none of the five teams ahead of them in the draft need a quarterback (although the Oakland Raiders could move on from Derek Carr).
However, with teams like the Jacksonville Jaguars and Miami Dolphins seemingly ready to move on from their quarterbacks, it’s likely that the Giants would have had to move up if they fell in love with Dwayne Haskins or Murray.
With a second quarterback in the mix, it’s possible that the Giants would have more competition to move up, but the reality is that the quarterback is an extremely valuable commodity and if another team loved Haskins they’d push to leap ahead of the Giants anyway.
With two quarterbacks, the chances of the Giants drafting their future at the position increase significantly. They were already set to have competition for Haskins, but some teams could see Murray as the answer instead of Haskins, leaving a greater chance that Haskins is there for the Giants to snag.
Another wild card is what the Arizona Cardinals do with the first pick. Brand new head coach Kliff Kingsbury has said that he would draft Murray first overall if he ever had the opportunity, and the Cardinals have the first pick in the draft.
Kliff Kingsbury with some high praise for OU QB Kyler Murray:
"Kyler is a freak…..I would take him with the first pick of the draft if I could." pic.twitter.com/aYYamjMu7o
— Eric Kelly (@EricKellyTV) October 28, 2018
The team drafted Josh Rosen with the 10th pick last season, and it’s unlikely that they would trade him. However, the quarterback is a very important position and Rosen was the last of the four top-tier quarterbacks drafted. Essentially, he was who was left for the Cardinals.
If Kingsbury truly believes that Murray is the quarterback he needs, it’s not absolutely crazy to think they could entertain offers for Rosen. Sitting with the first pick puts them in a position of strength, as they can take the exact player that they want regardless of what any other team does.
The last thing the Cardinals want to do (if they truly believe in Murray) is pass on him because they have Rosen and regret it 10 years down the road. The question, should Rosen be available, is would Dave Gettleman be willing to trade the sixth overall pick for him?
He did pass on him for Saquon Barkley, but has repeatedly stated that the decision was because of how good Barkley is as opposed to any issues he had with Rosen or any other quarterback. General managers are reluctant to trade top-10 picks, but this would not be a normal trade.
Instead of looking at this as a trade, this would be essentially “drafting” Rosen with the sixth pick. Rosen had a rough rookie season, putting up only 5.8 yards per attempt and 11 touchdowns to 14 interceptions.
However, he had a putrid offensive line and his only real weapon was an aging Larry Fitzgerald. He wasn’t put in a position to succeed, and his failure shouldn’t be too surprising. He will improve with better blocking and more talent.
It’s unlikely that the Cardinals will trade him, but it’s not impossible. Never say never in the NFL, and Gettleman should be looking at all paths to help the Giants.
Kyler Murray’s expected decision gives the Giants more options. That’s a gift in a draft that is devoid of quarterback talent.
