Kyler Murray’s Combine interviews draw some negative reviews

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One of the big questions between now and the draft is whether the Cardinals are going to draft quarterback Kyler Murray with the first overall pick of the draft and Murray’s relationship with Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury is seen as one of the chief reasons why the team might go that way.

If the Cardinals do go that route, they’ll likely trade 2018 first-round pick Josh Rosen to clear the position for Murray. Former NFL General Manager Charley Casserly said on NFL Network Tuesday that he’s heard from teams that Arizona is shopping Rosen and added that’s a good thing for Murray because of the feedback he’s heard about Murray’s Combine interviews.

“He better hope Kingsbury takes him No. 1 because this was not good,” Casserly said. “These were worst comments I ever got on a high-rated quarterback and I’ve been doing this a long time. . . . Leadership — not good. Study habits — not good. The board work — below not good. Not good at all in any of those areas, raising major concerns about what this guy is going to do.”

Casserly noted that the idea is that Murray will “run offenses” like Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield, but that the same concerns didn’t exist about those quarterbacks after they met teams at the Combine. Other concerns did exist, though, and all of them were blasted out at one point or another in the pre-draft process.

That’s the nature of draft season and there will be plenty more to come about Murray and all of the other top prospects before the first round gets underway in Nashville. In the end, it just takes one team to see a player as everything they want and, if they’re right, all the chatter will remain nothing more than noise.

28 responses to “Kyler Murray’s Combine interviews draw some negative reviews

  1. I always thought it was a terrible idea for him to have his only contribution to the Combine be interviews. Every single one he did prior to the combine was cringe-worthy that either made him look like a complete moron, or a puppet for his father.

  2. From the interviews that I have seen, he doesn’t have much a personality. I guess it doesn’t matter until it does. Being the face of a franchise is more than just performing on the field.

  3. It sure does seem like Murray is going out of his way to sabotage his NFL chances. Either that or he wants to go to a specific team that does NOT pick early.

  4. Could be from the Raiders or any other team that wants him to drop to #2. If Bosa goes first everyone knows the 49ers will trade out to the highest bidder.

  5. I doubt Murray would sabotage his own interviews. It’s human nature to try and do well–ala mahomes trying to be Allen iverson on the court. Maybe the guy doesn’t do well interviews. Maybe he can’t diagram a play, but his instincts help him process where to throw. He has a lot of yards showing that he knows how to do something right on that football field. What is the correlation between success in the interview and actual football success. Anyone have the analytics on that.

  6. I have to think most of the other QBs had a major leg up on him in draft prep, considering a month ago he was still a baseball player. Not sure if the bad interviews say much about him or just how far behind he was in prep.

  7. Teams benefit from anonymous negative chatter more than positive. They want to either scare away other teams or lay out their reasons for passing on a guy who might make them regret it. The positive chatter about a player from teams will mostly come after the draft, by the team who drafted him.

  8. So, he had to have heard all the comments after that radio interview on The Dan Patrick Show. Common sense would suggest he would make damn sure he didn’t come accross the same way going into the Combine interviews. Preparation for this stuff isn’t hard because all the teams ask pretty much the same stuff. These interviews ARE IMPORTANT tollisonsmith! He may be great running from college defenders, but if he really is a mental midget, why give the reigns of your franchise to him?

  9. He seems like a pretty nice guy, but, the “interview”, if you can call it that, that Murray did with Dan Patrick told me all I need to know about whether this cat is cut out to be a Franchise QB… Hard pass.

  10. RussianBreadMaker says:
    March 5, 2019 at 4:52 pm
    From the interviews that I have seen, he doesn’t have much a personality. I guess it doesn’t matter until it does. Being the face of a franchise is more than just performing on the field.
    —–
    Seriously? Yes you want someone at QB who isn’t getting in trouble off the field but at the end of the day every player is judged and given a long or short leash base on his on field performance.

  11. Wrong. It does matter. It matters with quarterbacks. Most quarterbacks are the faces of their franchises (in Dallas, it’s the owner, for some bizarre reason, but anyway). Quarterbacks are the leaders on their teams, or at very least, the leaders of their offenses: Troy AIkman was a strong leader. Elway, Marino, Young, Montana, Moon, Bradshaw, and more recently, Peyton, Brady, and even Big Ben, before the last month.

    How about these guys: Jeff George (could throw it a country mile but had no personality and no apparent leadership skills whatsoever), Ryan Leaf (same thing, flamed out MUCH quicker), Todd Marinovich, E.J. Manuel, Jamarcus Russell, etc., the list goes on.

    Here’s one nobody ever says: TONY ROMO. Yes, he’s great at commentary, great and entertaining. But he wasn’t a leader. He threw for bookoodles of yards and touchdowns — and picks — and the Cowboys won exactly nothing in his years as a starter. They had no leadership, none. People compare him to Mayfield. But I’ve heard guys talk about wanting to play with him and for him, guys that respect him, in spite of the arrogance. Mayfield seems to be a leader, with ability.

    If Murray doesn’t have it, It matters. And it will matter in his case.

  12. Some of the same opinions have been said about high quarterbacks of the draft, and they turned out be strong and solid QBS. Hopefully the Cardinals wont be tricked and take Murray at one.

  13. Charlie Casserly is typically a reliable non biased talent evaluator. Some players just don’t have the ability to effectively communicate verbally , may be a maturity thing or character issue. All it takes is one coach/ team to love him and it appears the Cards are showing the love. Poor Rosen, he needs to get away from Arizona and give it a go with another team; maybe Miami! Still think Murray is the next over hyped , peaked in college, Johnny Football II!

  14. He already has one major character flaw, he is quitter. He didn’t like how Sumlin wasn’t going to make him the starting QB at Texas A&M, it didn’t go his way so he quit and moved to another school. He flat out lied to Billy Beane and A’s about playing baseball. What happens when a team drafts him and he becomes the number inactive QB for the 1st year, does he quit and try the A’s again. To me his overall skill is not enough to make up for being a quitter, is he another AB. He is also trying to convince teams that even though he doesn’t measure up to most NFL perceived QB traits (height, weight, hand size) that what he lacks won’t be a factor in using a 1st round draft pick on him. There will be plenty of smoke screen on everything about him from Arizona drafting him or convincing another team he is worth trading up, it is always a 50/50 shot on any 1st round draft pick.

  15. Do they think he’s the next Drew Brees? Seems like this guys height or lack of is almost working in his favor right now.

  16. I get it when it’s some never been there (ahem) journalist but Charley Casserly is a front office lifer. He’s either carrying some team’s water on this one or he’s a willing dupe, neither is a good look.

  17. bobmillion says:
    March 5, 2019 at 6:03 pm
    He already has one major character flaw, he is quitter. He didn’t like how Sumlin wasn’t going to make him the starting QB at Texas A&M, it didn’t go his way so he quit and moved to another school.
    ===========================

    Not to defend Murray as I have no dog in this fight, but the same could be said about Mayfield who left Texas Tech or any other QB who transfers.

  18. bobmillion says:
    March 5, 2019 at 6:03 pm
    He already has one major character flaw, he is quitter. He didn’t like how Sumlin wasn’t going to make him the starting QB at Texas A&M, it didn’t go his way so he quit and moved to another school.
    _______________________________

    Jalen Hurts just left Alabama for OU because Saban dumped him for Tua. So in your economy Jalen’s a quitter with a flawed character? Players enter the transfer portal all the time, QB’s included, to get on the field. Otherwise they’ll never be seen by scouts. Garden variety hater…

  19. “He already has one major character flaw, he is quitter. He didn’t like how Sumlin wasn’t going to make him the starting QB at Texas A&M, it didn’t go his way so he quit and moved to another school. He flat out lied to Billy Beane and A’s about playing baseball. ”
    ________________

    Transferring isn’t exactly quitting. It’s moving on to what you hope is a better environment. And the Heisman Trophy shows he made the right call. (As does the fact Sumlin got canned. Because trying to impress NFL scouts while you’re trying to fit in with a coach who didn’t recruit you isn’t always an easy task.)

    And no NFL team is going to say “Boy, I sure wish this guy had abandoned football to keep his (supposed) promise to a baseball executive.” It’s a business: Beane would have traded the kid in an instant had he gotten an offer he couldn’t refuse so Murray potentially misleading him doesn’t mean a thing.

  20. If you saw the Dan Patrick interview then you know full well the influence his father has on him. That influence didn’t just disappear because his Dad was not in the combine interviews. It makes perfect sense that pops would direct him to discourage teams that he isn’t interested in. He prob has one or two possible destinations in mind and if he can’t broker those, he walks back to the A’s. And if that’s true he’s no worse than Eli or Elway who strong armed their way to their ideal destination.

  21. @granadafan,

    Kingsbury didn’t want Mayfield at Texas Tech. That is the reason the NCAA passed the rule to give players who were “ran off” from a program another year of eligibility, AKA the Baker Maxfield rule.

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