Arizona Cardinals: Evaluating the pros and cons of Kyler Murray

Con: His build

Did you really think this wouldn’t be one of his cons? I’ve never seen a player more scrutinized for his height and weight than Kyler Murray.

At 5-10, and 207-lbs, Murray will be one of the smallest quarterbacks in NFL history. Only one former player with a similar height, Doug Flutie at 5-10, has found success similar success in the NFL, and that was marginal.

But, the game has changed since the days of Doug Flutie. NFL team are transitioning to offenses that feature quarterbacks take snaps out of the shotgun — which doesn’t stress the need for height. Star quarterbacks Drew Brees, Russell Wilson, and Baker Mayfield have all thrived in the league despite being less than or around six feet tall.

Quarterbacks can cope with being shorter in the NFL; they just need to work harder at it as they might need to find lanes to throw and could need shifting pockets to do so. But, it’s entirely possible, and that’s why Murray’s concerns aren’t just about his height, instead it’s his weight.

His small build scares the NFL more than his height. While he measured at 207 lbs at the 2019 NFL Combine, his playing weight is estimated to be at around 190-lbs, give or take five. For him to have a long NFL shelf life, Murray will need to add at minimum 10-15-lbs to his playing weight.

And for comparison’s sake, Wilson is 5-11, 215-lbs, Mayfield is 6-1, 215-lbs, and Brees is 6 flat, 209-lbs.