You could make the argument that none of the teams picking in the top five of the NFL Draft need a quarterback, yet it is starting to sound like there’s a legitimate chance two of them could want Kyler Murray.
Many people believe Murray will not make it past No. 1, as Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury is said to be high on him and already telling people Murray is their guy. But if the Cardinals go in another direction, the next two teams picking — the San Francisco 49ers and New York Jets — are not taking a quarterback. So what about the Oakland Raiders at No. 4?
Peter King of NBC Sports listed several things he learned at the Scouting Combine over the weekend about Murray’s situation, and one of them is that Jon Gruden “loves” the former Oklahoma star.
“He and GM Mike Mayock have gone out of their way to say multiple times that Derek Carr is their quarterback. Maybe they’re rock-solid on Carr, and maybe it’ll be a moot point if the Cardinals stay at number one,” King wrote. “But with all their draft loot in the next two drafts (five first-round picks), and with Gruden’s crush on Murray, the Raiders bear watching.”
Gruden was openly critical of Carr at times last season, though the Raiders seemed to commit to him as their starter again recently. While there are probably some within the Raiders organization that want to see things through with Carr, it’s noteworthy that neither Gruden nor Mayock were with the team when he was drafted.
It has already been suggested that the Raiders should move on from Carr and take Murray, and Carr openly fought back against that talk. Still, most people would not be shocked if it happened.
