Oakland Raiders: Don’t buy into Kyler Murray speculation

Oakland Raiders head coach Jon Gruden praised Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray, but don’t put him on the Silver and Black’s draft board yet.

Last year at the NFL Scouting Combine, Oakland Raiders head coach Jon Gruden made a comment about “trying to throw the game back to 1998,” which made its rounds through the social webs.

This year at the 2019 Senior Bowl, he talked about Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray in a positive light. Now, there’s widespread speculation about what it means for the 2019 NFL Draft.

In short, Gruden’s comments translate to nothing in terms of the Raiders’ draft plans at quarterback. Let’s take a look at what he said during a media press conference in Mobile, AL (h/t Pro Football Talk’s Michael David Smith):

"I used to think that a lot, until I saw Drew Brees twice a year in Tampa, then I met Russell Wilson coming out of N.C. State, and now I’m watching this kid, Murray, coming out of Oklahoma and I’m putting away all the prototypes I once had. I used to have a prototype for hand size, height, arm strength, all that stuff."

Gruden praised the 2018 Heisman Trophy winner, but it seems as though Murray simply reminded him that a prospect coming into the league as a quarterback at a height under six feet tall has a chance to succeed in the NFL, despite its rare occurrence. He lumped the Oklahoma product in the same sentence with Brees and Wilson because they are positive examples of shorter signal-callers playing at a high level.

Secondly, don’t underestimate the Raiders head coach hyping up Murray with the hope that another team may be willing to trade up for him. We’re at a period when teams will try to leverage their draft position for more assets.

Gruden also spoke positively about the quarterbacks on his Senior Bowl roster, specifically Drew Lock, Trace McSorley and Ryan Finley.

Sure, Gruden has an affinity for quarterbacks, but it’s a reach to say Oakland would draft Murray in April. It’s possible he could land with a team in the first round. Unless Oakland plans to trade Derek Carr, why would the Raiders select a quarterback with a top-32 pick? Secondly, the Silver and Black have way too many holes across the roster to throw away a pick on a signal-caller if he’s just going to sit behind Carr.

Finally, general manager Mike Mayock talked about adding pieces to the roster to help Carr as opposed to replacing him Thursday. We’re still about three months away from the 2019 draft. It would likely take a blockbuster trade and an impressive showing at the combine to hear Murray’s name at No. 4 overall to the Raiders, which seems highly unlikely.