Kyler Murray hasn't even officially made a decision about whether he wants to play in the NFL, but speculation is already starting to heat up tying him to the Cardinals.
For starters, a video from October has started to bubble up recently. The video is an interview with Kliff Kingsbury where the then-Texas Tech head coach talks about his upcoming matchup against Oklahoma. He gushes over Murray and said, "I would take him with the first pick of the draft if I could."
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Kliff Kingsbury with some high praise for OU QB Kyler Murray:
— Eric Kelly (@EricKellyTV) October 28, 2018
"Kyler is a freak.....I would take him with the first pick of the draft if I could." pic.twitter.com/aYYamjMu7o
Kingsbury was just named Cardinals head coach, and of course, the Cardinals have the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft. So if Murray does declare, as the San Francisco Chronicle reported he will, then Kingsbury will get his chance to do what he said he wanted to do.
“Kyler, I mean, he’s a freak, man,” Kingsbury said. "Kyler is a freak. I’ve followed him since he was a sophomore in high school. Just think the world of him and what he can do on a football field. I’ve never seen one better in high school and he’s starting to show it now at the college level. I don’t have enough good things to say about him. He’s phenomenal."
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Kingsbury added he's "never seen [Murray] have a poor outing."
Kingsbury, of course, inherits Josh Rosen, who was the 10th overall pick in last year's draft. It'd seem kind of crazy to take quarterbacks in the top 10 in back-to-back drafts, but ESPN's Adam Schefter said on "Get Up" Thursday morning it's "not implausible."
"If you're the Arizona Cardinals and you like Kyler Murray that much, it's hard to imagine going No. 1 overall, but maybe there's a scenario that you get him and then you auction off Josh Rosen," Schefter said.
It's important to point out that Schefter is not technically reporting on anything here; he's just offering up his opinion based on the knowledge he has. But it is interesting nonetheless, especially when you pair it with what Kingsbury said in October.
As Schefter notes, however, we're still very early in the process. We'll know more as the NFL Combine and draft come closer, but don't be surprised if Murray becomes a first-round pick in both the MLB and NFL Draft.
UPDATE: NFL Network reports the idea of trading Rosen isn't a possibility.
Checked with a high-ranking #AZCardinals source, who called this notion of trading QB Josh Rosen: “Ludicrous. Not happening.” https://t.co/n3IccAgR6V
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 10, 2019
