Ask Farrell: Should Murray be the first QB taken in the NFL Draft?
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When Dwayne Haskins declared earlier this month for the NFL Draft, the Ohio State quarterback shot up the charts and is now the perennial favorite to be the first player at his position to be drafted.
Haskins completed 70 percent of his passes this season for 4,831 yards with 50 touchdowns and eight interceptions, leading the Buckeyes to a win over Washington in the Rose Bowl.
The New York Giants with the sixth overall pick and the Jacksonville Jaguars at seven seem to be the most realistic options to take a quarterback early in the first round.
It’s still incredibly early before the combine, pro days and team interviews, but Haskins seems to have the edge over Missouri's Drew Lock, Duke’s Daniel Jones and others in a quarterback draft that looks weak at the top.
But what happens to the quarterback draft board now that Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray has decided to enter the NFL Draft?
The Heisman Trophy winner threw for 4,361 yards with 42 touchdowns and seven picks this season and he also rushed for 1,001 yards and 12 scores this season leading the Sooners to the College Football Playoff.
Murray is undersized, a prolific stat-sheet stuffer and a big-time winner who transferred to Oklahoma and shined in Norman. In many ways, he could take the same path to the NFL that Baker Mayfield did as the No. 1 overall pick. Mayfield has been a star this season taking over the starting job for the Cleveland Browns and that might intrigue NFL teams on Murray as well.
We ask Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell If Murray decides to pursue pro football, should he be drafted as the first quarterback or would Haskins - or possibly someone else - top Farrell’s draft board?
FARRELL'S TAKE
“I’d take Murray as the first quarterback despite the questions about his size because of the way things are going in the NFL. Size doesn’t matter nearly as much as it used to at the NFL level and it’s not a great quarterback class overall so Murray would be worth the risk.
"I like Haskins, but I’m not sold on his long-term projection as an NFL star where Murray is worth the boom-or-bust gamble. He’s so quick and elusive that he can avoid the pass rush well at the next level and he’s already shown he can throw from the pocket. He’s a better pure passer than Haskins and his athleticism makes him hard to pass up.
"Quarterbacks like Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees and now Mayfield have excelled without great size and while Murray may be much smaller than they are, he has potential star power.”
