TEMPE, ARIZONA – APRIL 26: Quarterback Kyler Murray of the Arizona Cardinals poses during a press conference at the Dignity Health Arizona Cardinals Training Center on April 26, 2019 in Tempe, Arizona. Murray was the first pick overall by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2019 NFL Draft. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
The Cardinals have every right to be excited about Kyler Murray’s future, but calling him the next Patrick Mahomes is a really bad idea.
It’s not unusual for an NFL franchise to get excited about a rookie quarterback drafted in the first round. That’s just the case with the Cardinals and Kyler Murray. That doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to compare him favorably to last year’s MVP.
Unfortunately, that’s also just what the Cardinals are doing. No member of Arizona’s team seems to be hesitating over the idea of comparing Murray to Chiefs’ signal caller Patrick Mahomes. That’s setting the former Oklahoma star up for disaster.
Running back David Johnson acknowledges that any comparisons between Murray and Mahomes are “high praise” but he isn’t backing off that kind of compliment.
It’s one thing for a teammate to hype Murray up so much, but it’s even worse for his head coach to engage in such lofty comparisons.
Kliff Kingsbury believes that the experience both Mahomes and Murray have on the baseball diamond gives them a unique advantage in the NFL. Specifically, he argues that it allows both signal callers to throw the ball from a diverse set of arm angles.
That’s certainly something Mahomes did for the Chiefs last season, and it’s also something that you can see on Murray’s tape from Oklahoma.
Even if Kingsbury is right, it’s foolish to heap such pressures on the rookie quarterback. He already shoulders the expectations of being the franchise’s offensive savior. Everyone in the organization should be working hard to keep expectations for his rookie campaign in check.
Comparing him to Mahomes is the exact opposite of that. It’s very possible the Cardinals are putting so much pressure on Murray that he might crack when he sees real adversity during the regular season.
Of course, none of that seems to be Kingsbury’s style. A great deal of his attraction as a coach is a result of his confidence in his ability to orchestrate an innovative offense capable of bringing opponents to their collective knees.
He’ll need Murray to play at a high level to accomplish that lofty goal. Pumping the rookie quarterback back up too much at this point in the preseason may prevent that from happening in 2019.