Kyler Murray can blame himself for the pressure he faced in 2020
It hasn’t been easy for Kyler Murray to pass the ball during his tenure with the Arizona Cardinals.
Since being selected first overall by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2019 NFL Draft, Kyler Murray has been sacked a total of 75 times in 32 games, an average of 2.3 per contest. But it hasn’t always been his fault.
All Cardinals fans know how abysmal the offensive line was in Murray’s rookie season, surrendering 48 sacks when he dropped back to pass.
While this number significantly decreased in 2020 to 27 times, it still stings. It turns out that Murray created a lot of his own problems when it came to getting sacked.
How much of the pressure Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray faced in 2020 was his fault?
Brad Congelio, a Ph.D. professor who teaches Sports Analytics at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania, shared a tweet the other day that will catch your eye.
Some QBs create pressure by holding onto the ball too long, etc. Here is a graph that shows which QBs are most responsible for creating their own pressure.
— Brad Congelio 🏈📊🧑💻 (@BradCongelio) June 16, 2021
Mahomes self-inflicted nearly 30% of all the pressure he saw in the 2020 season.@adamteicher @ByNateTaylor pic.twitter.com/q3PBn6iYE3
It was a post that displayed how much of the percentage of pressure was created by each NFL team’s quarterback in 2020.
While Murray didn’t take the top spot, he was the fifth-most responsible for the pressure that he faced in games last year. In the graph above, you’ll see that the types of quarterbacks who are ahead of him all share a similar quality.
The ability to scramble and throw on the run is the common theme here. Deshaun Watson, Patrick Mahomes, and Lamar Jackson are all known for their improv skills when they decide to pull the ball down and run.
With the upgrades on Arizona’s offensive line that have taken place this offseason with Rodney Hudson and Brian Winters coming over in free agency, this number should definitely decrease in 2021.
On top of the fact that Murray recently shared that he considers his legs a “luxury” and doesn’t want to be a main factor in the Cardinals’ rushing attack.
The only way this will stay the same or go even higher is if Arizona’s running game and the all-in bet on Chase Edmonds to finally become a lead back doesn’t pay off. No one knows if he and James Conner will stay healthy for the entire year.
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I’d make a joke about Eno Benjamin getting reps, but it wouldn’t see the field or this article.