Will Kyler Murray repeat Baker Mayfield’s Rookie Performance?

In the last draft, the Browns made a bold decision to draft Baker Mayfield #1 overall over the likes of Saquon Barkley, Sam Darnold, and Bradley Chubb. Baker did not disappoint during the season, dropping 27 touchdowns and 3,725 passing yards in just 14 games in the season. Mayfield also changed the vibe in Cleveland, winning 6 games for the team for the first time in the last 3 years from a quarterback out of Cleveland. In the 2019 NFL Draft, Kyler Murray was drafted #1 overall. Baker and Kyler had very similar resumes going into the draft. Both quarterbacks began their college career as a backup for a Texas team, Baker with Texas Tech and Murray with Texas A&M. After limited time in their first years at college, both transferred to Oklahoma where they were exceptional. Baker in his 2017 collegiate season won the Heisman trophy, while Kyler brought the Heisman back to Oklahoma again after his remarkable 2018 campaign. Now, both are #1 overall picks. The big question is now, will Kyler continue to follow in Baker’s footsteps? Personally, I believe that Kyler will. With a new head coach in Kliff Kingsbury, a fresh start will be taken in Arizona, and a fresh start should begin with a new QB. The QB for the job is Kyler Murray. Murray will already have a top 5 running back in the league in David Johnson on his offense when healthy, and he will have the offensive threats of Larry Fitzgerald and Hakeem Butler, an upcoming rookie from Iowa State with high expectations. With Kyler’s allusiveness, his playstyle should work remarkably with the Cardinals, as he can scramble, buy time, and pass to any of his three quality targets going into the season. The only problem on the offensive side for the Cardinals will be the offensive line; however, I believe that Kyler’s speed and his ability to create plays out of nothing should overcome this problem. Now, in order to win games, the Cardinals defense will need to step up and help Kyler Murray and the Cardinals win those close games. Although the Cardinals will not win as many games this year as the Browns did last year, I believe that Kyler Murray will perform just as well as Baker Mayfield did for the Browns in his rookie campaign.