Tier 1 votes: 1 | Tier 2: 19 |Tier 3: 25 | Tier 4: 5 | 2019 Tier: N/A
Very few quarterbacks coming off their rookie seasons have polled as well as Murray polled this year. Coaches and evaluators tend to use the fourth tier liberally for players with short track records. That contributed to artificially low ratings for Mahomes and Jackson entering their second seasons. Unlike those two, Murray started all 16 games as a rookie. Reviews were favorable.
“His movement and escapability drives defenses crazy and he throws the ball deep extremely well,” an offensive coordinator said
Murray is one of 17 quarterbacks drafted since 2013 to appear in Quarterback Tiers coming off their rookie seasons. Of those, only Prescott (2.52) and Baker Mayfield (2.53) polled higher than the 2.68 average for Murray this year. Murray, Prescott and Mayfield all ranked 14th at this stage.
“I like him because he is competitive, he is super accurate, he can run,” another offensive coordinator said. “The only problem for me, and I know this doesn’t skew into your quarterback evaluation, is that he is good when he runs the football, but when he does that too much, he can’t last.”
A defensive coordinator thought Murray would become more difficult to defend if he increased his willingness to take a few hits running the ball. Of course, that defensive coordinator would surely love for his linebackers and safeties to get in a few hard shots on the NFL’s smallest starting quarterback. Multiple defensive coaches used the phrase “pain in the ass” to describe what they thought Murray would become. There were some comparisons to Wilson, although the general feel was that Murray would always be the better runner, Wilson the better passer.
“I think the kid is going to be really good,” a defensive coach said. “He knows when to run, he knows when to pass, he does not turn the ball over much and that little joker can throw. They are going to be better. I’m not ready to give the kid Tier 2 yet, but I think he is a legitimate starter and he will jump fast.”
