For weeks 2018 Heisman Trophy holder Kyler Murray has looked set to be Arizona’s first pick in the 2019 draft.
And why not? The Oklahoma quarterback has just come out of an absolutely stunning season of College football. He passed for 4,361 yards, rushed for 1,001 and made 54 touchdown passes for the Sooners.
With the draft looming up for its Thursday start, he remained the huge favorite of New Jersey’s bookmakers on Tuesday.
Play Sugarhouse had him at -590 (1-6) to be the draft’s first pick with Nick Bosa in second place at +450 (9-2). FanDuel was similar to Murray at -600 and Bosa at +370.
In a long list of other draft odds being offered by FanDuel, Cardinals were favored to grab Murray with their first pick. They were followed by Oakland Raiders at +500, Miami Dolphins at +700 and New York Giants at +900.
If you have not yet placed your draft bets as so many New Jersey punters will be doing, be wary. Rumors and suggestion are being made that Cardinals may no longer see Murray as their No 1 pick.
Jeremiah plants first seeds of doubt
It all started a week back when Networks Daniel Jeremiah tweeted he was only 60% certain of a Murray-Arizona tie up.
CBS’ Pete Prisco was next to suspect Cardinals may no longer be considering Murray as their top draft pick.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport got the rumor mill spinning faster when he declared that Arizonan was still in two minds about Murray. And Peter King of NBC didn’t help when he claimed Arizona insiders were pushing for Bosa as first pick.
What lies behind these suggestions by four of the NFL’s most clued up media men?
One school of thought is that Arizona has not yet found a suitable trade deal for their current starting quarterback, Josh Rosen. There are people at the club’s front desk, it seems, who feel Rosen should be given more time.
In the meantime, other rumors drifting about indicate that Cardinals have been getting feel-out calls about possibly trading up. So yes, holding off from placing a wager right now might be a good idea.
Arizona’s GM, Steve Keim, it’s head coach Kliff Kingsbury and owner Michel Bidwell have still to meet and make a final decision. Perhaps we may all be a little wiser after that.