❚ Will Kyler Murray create a surge to move up?
Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray is among nearly 350 draft prospects heading to the NFL combine this month. While the 49ers don’t need a quarterback, another player in the mix at the position might make the No. 2 overall pick in the draft more enticing.
The tape on Murray is extremely impressive, and he comes from a program that churned out Baker Mayfield, an undersized Heisman winner who just set the NFL rookie record for touchdown passes.
Several factors like size and quantifiable athleticism will be determined at the combine and could make or break Murray’s place on draft boards of quarterback-needy teams.
Let’s fast-forward to a universe where Murray measures out at 5-9, 180 pounds and dominates his workouts. That puts him in a very shallow group of quarterbacks who could realistically go in the top 10.
With seven teams in the top 15 that could conceivably draft a quarterback, the race to move up to select one could get messy, especially if a team sees Murray as the next Mayfield, who went first overall in the 2018 draft.
The Cardinals aren’t likely to take a quarterback with the top pick, but the 49ers at No. 2 could become a popular destination for a team looking to jump ahead of all other takers to select a quarterback.
This could wind up being the case regardless of what Murray does at the combine. The NFL is a quarterback-driven league where teams will risk setting their franchise back half a decade if it means drafting a franchise quarterback.
Murray’s presence at the combine will only generate more buzz for what has been widely regarded as a lackluster quarterback class.
He could really set the hype train in motion for this year’s first-year signal-callers if he lights it up in Indianapolis.
The 49ers might not want to field offers for the No. 2 pick. However, it’d be wise to keep an eye on Murray’s combine showing because it might be the first step toward a team putting forth an offer San Francisco can’t refuse.