INDIANAPOLIS – In the measurement heard around the NFL world, or at least all around the NFL’s scouting combine in a matter of minutes, Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray came in at 5 feet, 10⅛ inches tall and weighed 207 pounds.
The Heisman Trophy winner’s physical dimensions have been one of the hottest topics around the annual gathering of the NFL draft’s top prospects. Murray’s combination of high-end performance in the passing game, electric running style and overall athleticism makes him one of the most intriguing prospects for a quarterback-starved league.
His height would also make him one of the shortest starting quarterbacks in league history.
Editor’s Picks
2019 NFL combine preview: Kiper, McShay answer biggest draft questions
NFL experts predict: Kyler Murray’s perfect fit in 2019 draft
Two quarterbacks Murray has been compared to in terms of size are the Saints’ Drew Brees and Seahawks’ Russell Wilson. Brees was 6-0¼ and 213 pounds at the 2001 scouting combine, while Wilson was 5-10⅝ and 204 pounds at the 2012 combine. Wilson is the only starting quarterback in the NFL under 6 feet tall.
Other quarterbacks at the combine had more prototypical size. Ohio State’s Dwayne Haskins measured 6-3⅜ and 231 pounds; Missouri’s Drew Lock was 6-3¾, 228 pounds; and Duke’s Daniel Jones was 6-5⅛, 221 pounds.
On Wednesday at the combine, Denver Broncos president of football operations/general manager John Elway said he believes Murray has the ability to be a “great player” in the NFL.
“He’s a great athlete and has had a great career,” Elway said. “The one year he played at Oklahoma was great there and shows he’s a great athlete. Obviously the size is always the question, but we’ve seen guys that have had success in the league that are not necessarily the prototypes as far as when it comes to height. He’s got the ability to be a great player.”
In his one full season as a starter at Oklahoma, Murray finished with 4,361 yards passing, 42 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He had 1,001 rushing yards with 12 touchdowns, averaging 7.2 yards per carry.
Murray has said he is committed to football even though he has a contract with the Oakland Athletics that includes a $4.66 million signing bonus. The A’s selected Murray with the ninth pick in the 2018 MLB draft.
“I think [height] has been proved to not be as much of a factor maybe as it was years ago,” Oakland Raiders coach Jon Gruden said Thursday morning, adding that he didn’t know if height had a “true impact” on “the position for the performance” of a quarterback. Oakland has the fourth pick in the draft.
Elway added that any quarterback’s height could be an issue if he was asked to play under center a great deal instead of being in the shotgun, so any team that would select Murray, or a player like him, would have to consider putting him in the shotgun all or most of the time.
“I will say this, having played the position: When you’re shorter and you’re in shotgun, it doesn’t have nearly the effect because you see much better out of shotgun,” Elway said. “So if you’re in shotgun and starting in shotgun and that’s the only place you’ve ever been, you can see the field much better from shotgun. So really, the height from shotgun doesn’t matter nearly as much as it does if you’re coming out from underneath center all the time, because by the time you get back there, the pocket a lot of times is caving on you. That’s where height does matter a little bit more.”
Murray is not expected to throw at the combine, but there has been no confirmation from his camp. He is expected to throw at Oklahoma’s pro day.
