It’s that time of the year when much of the NFL talk is about the draft. It is about which college star will end up in which of the 32 teams playing in the NFL
Right now much speculation concerns Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray, 21, who was recently named last season’s Heisman Trophy winner.
The word is out that Murray is more than likely to be the first pick of first-picker Arizona Cardinals. The street-wise sources of this expectation are both numerous and respected.
Tony Pauline of Draft Analyst is one who believes this to be the case. So too does FanDuel, the current market leader of New Jersey’s 13 online sportsbooks.
Under NFL ‘specials’, FanDuel is offering futures bets on three different draft possibilities for Murray.
The first is ‘which team will draft Murray?’ The leading odds FanDuel gives on this are:
+100 Arizona Cardinals,
+400 Miami Dolphins and
+450 Oakland Raiders.
What will Murray’s draft position be?
The second betting option is what will ‘Kyler Murray’s draft position be?’ Here the leading odds are:
1st to 6th -1000
7th to 14th +500
15th plus +1200.
The third betting option is “who will be the No 1 draft pick for 2019?” Again Murray is the FanDuel favorite (-110). However, this time he shares it with Nick Bosa, a 21-year-old defensive end from Ohio State.
Murray and Bosa are followed by Quinnen Williams, a 21-year-old Defensive tackle from Alabama State at +450. Dwayne Haskins, the 21-year-old Ohio quarterback is next best at +1400.
A month or so back, the odds on Murray being picked as the first draft by Cardinals was as high as +2000. In the era of towering Tom Brady, there was talk that Murray’s size (5ft 10in, 200lbs) would count against him.
All that seems to have gone out of the window however and the odds on Arizona signing him have strengthened. The question is why – and part of the answer may have something to do with Kliff Kingsbury.
Kingsbury has always believed in Murray. He was deeply impressed by Murray’s talent and commitment even before he became head coach of the Cardinals. He called Murray a ‘freak’ he wouldn’t hesitate to pick in the draft if ever given the chance.
Well, he has since become Cardinals’ head coach and with the first pick in the draft, that chance has come.
