By Frank Schwab,Yahoo Sports
Kyler Murray is going to be the most interesting person in the 2019 NFL draft, and he’ll be the rookie with the most eyes on him this season.
It’s fascinating to project where the Oklahoma quarterback will go in the draft. The Arizona Cardinals say they’re good with Josh Rosen, which would indicate they aren’t taking Murray first overall, but who knows. We have a lot of time remaining until the draft.
[Batter up: Join or create a 2019 Yahoo Fantasy Baseball league for free today]
BetOnline has put up odds (via OddsShark) for where Murray will go in the draft, listing 10 teams. While odds generally aren’t meant to be predictive — they’re designed to entice bettors to put money down — it’s still fun to look at what at least one sportsbook thinks of Murray’s eventual destination.
The five teams who are lingering to get Kyler Murray
It might be incorrect to limit the potential landing spots to 10 teams. Someone could surprise us. But we’ll stick to the 10 that BetOnline posted, and list them in three categories.
The first category is the outside shots. Here are the five teams listed with more than 10-1 odds:
Buccaneers +1200
Redskins +1200
Bengals +1400
Broncos +1400
Steelers +1400
The most interesting team on this list is the Steelers. Ben Roethlisberger didn’t take kindly to the team drafting Mason Rudolph last season, and he probably wouldn’t be any happier if the Steelers drafted Murray. The Steelers do need to figure out their future quarterback situation at some point. It would probably take a big jump up in a trade to get Murray, though.
The Buccaneers would make some serious waves taking Murray fifth overall, considering they still have Jameis Winston. The Broncos might need to move up a bit from No. 10, but a trade for Joe Flacco shouldn’t preclude them from looking into a quarterback of the future. The Bengals say they like Andy Dalton but it would be hard to pass Murray’s upside. And the Redskins have to be worried about Alex Smith’s future.
An interesting list, and you can see why any of those teams would at least consider Murray.
Four teams who make a lot of sense to land Murray
Now the odds shrink a bit as we have four serious contenders for Murray:
Cardinals +500
Giants +500
Jaguars +500
Raiders +600
Nobody seems to believe the Cardinals aren’t locked in on Rosen as their answer, despite drafting him 10th overall a year ago. The Giants need to find a replacement for Eli Manning eventually. Everyone still wants to push Derek Carr out the door in Oakland (or Santa Clara, or Birmingham, or Tucson, or wherever the Raiders are going to play) despite Carr being pretty good in the second half.
The team that might make the most sense is the Jaguars, who will have a new quarterback. If it’s not Nick Foles or Teddy Bridgewater, perhaps they make a play for Murray.
There’s one clear favorite for Murray
BetOnline has one favorite far ahead of everyone else for Murray …
Dolphins +150
It makes sense. The Dolphins reportedly don’t want to move forward with Ryan Tannehill. The Miami media believes they’ll be tanking for a shot at Tua Tagovailoa in 2020, but what if Murray is a possibility now? They’d have to consider it, if they think Murray has the ability to be a top-level starter in the NFL. The Dolphins might need to move up from No. 13 in the first round if they want to land Murray, though Murray’s draft stock is far from set with the combine still a couple weeks away. If he slips to No. 13, it might be tough for the Dolphins to pass.
