Now that Kyler Murray is officially signed, 4 years with a little more than $35 million guaranteed, he can participate in rookie mini camp for the Arizona Cardinals.
Murray will try to begin to answer questions about whether he can live up to the expectations of being a first overall pick.
There will be challenges. Every rookie QB has a steep learning curve adjusting to the NFL’s level of sophistication and speed. NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah recently told me that he believes one of Murray’s biggest challenges will be facing teams that have more talent than his. Per Jeremiah, Murray has had a talent advantage around him on every team he’s been on since high school and that will not be the case, at least initially, with the Arizona Cardinals.
But there’s one area that is going to give Kyler Murray and the Cardinals a huge advantage from Day 1. Its Kyler Murray’s secret weapon and there’s nothing the NFL can do about it.
Kyler Murray is impossible to replicate for any opponent leading up to the game.
There are no other athletes in the NFL at QB who possess his combination of speed, elusiveness and arm talent.
You could put your best athlete on the scout team to run QB but they won’t be able to prepare you for Murray’s ability to throw the ball in tight windows from different angles.
You could put your most accurate passer on the scout team and they won’t be able to get a taste for Kyler’s ability to extend the pocket, extend the play and make people miss.
In a league obsessed with information and preparation, there’s not amount of information that can prepare a team for his skill set and no way to adequately prepare for it on the field.
It doesn’t mean Murray is guaranteed to succeed but it gives Murray an edge and in the NFL any edge can be the difference between a W and a L.