When quarterback Kyler Murray sprouted from under 5'10" in August to over 5'10" in February, eyebrows were raised. I joked that maybe he spent 48 hours in a zero-gravity chamber before coming to the Combine.
In the eyes of some, maybe it wasn’t a joke.
“I think that his height was inflated,’” an unnamed scout told Dan Patrick on Tuesday, and Dan relayed the story on the Wednesday edition of his show. “‘Maybe it’s the tin-foil hat theory. I just don’t see it. If he refuses to be measured at the Pro Day, that will be telling.’”
It’s definitely a tin-foil hat theory, but with so much gold riding on individual draft position, who knows that prospects may do to warp reality? As to Murray’s weight, Chris Simms suggested last week that Murray possibly opted not to work out at the Combine because he focused on packing on as many pounds as possible, and that Murray will turn his attention to shedding the weight and running as fast as possible at his Pro Day workout.
Regardless, the Murray situation is an example of extreme analysis and suspicion and skullduggery, in every direction. Ultimately, all that matters is whether the kid can play. As we said throughout Combine week on PFT Live, the risk of drafting Kyler Murray and having him become a bust is outweighed by the risk of passing on the NFL’s next phenomenon.
