Would Denver Broncos move Kyler Murray up their board now?

Would the Denver Broncos move Kyler Murray up their draft board after his 2019 Scouting Combine measurements?

Denver Broncos general manager John Elway talked about Heisman-winning quarterback Kyler Murray, among a number of other topics, at the 2019 NFL Scouting Combine.

Elway’s comments about Murray seemed to indicate, if even indirectly, that the Oklahoma star might not be a fit for what the Broncos are going to do offensively because of his limitations from under center (due to his height) and offensive scheme fit.

Here is what he said when he spoke to the media.

"“He’s a great athlete and has had a great career. The one year he played at Oklahoma was great there and shows he’s a great athlete. Obviously, the size is always the question, but we’ve seen guys that have had success in the league that are not necessarily the prototypes as far as when it comes to height. He’s got the ability to be a great player.I will say this, having played the position: when you’re shorter and you’re in shotgun, it doesn’t have nearly the effect because you see much better out of shotgun. So, if you’re in shotgun and starting in shotgun and that’s the only place you’ve ever been, you can see the field much better from shotgun. So, really, the height from shotgun doesn’t matter nearly as much if it does if you’re coming out from underneath center all the time because by the time you get back there the pocket a lot of times is caving on you. That’s where height does matter a little bit more. But if you’re playing in shotgun every down like a lot of these guys, then the height, to me, does not have nearly the impact that it normally would if you’re coming out from underneath.”John Elway (quotes via Broncos PR)"

The San Francisco 49ers, where new Broncos offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello coached quarterbacks in 2018, were second in the NFL last year (Rams) with 56 percent of their snaps coming from under center.

That doesn’t necessarily mean the Broncos will lead the league in snaps under center in 2019, but it seems to indicate they will be among the league leaders there. If Elway thinks the quarterback is that negatively affected by taking snaps from under center at a shorter height, then the answer to the question in this headline is, unfortunately, that the Broncos are not likely to consider drafting Kyler Murray in the first round.

That’s unfortunate because Murray might be the best playmaker in the entire class.

Murray had a very good weigh-in at the 2019 NFL Scouting Combine, checking in at 5-foot-10 1/8, 207 pounds, with 9.5-inch hands.

Those are great numbers for him considering many were worried he was going to check in closer to 5-foot-9 or even under.

His numbers at the Combine this year are closer to Russell Wilson’s when he was coming out of Wisconsin than anyone anticipated.

Though Murray’s size is still not ideal, it’s no longer such a major outlier that teams won’t consider him in the top 10 of the NFL Draft. I happen to think he’s a lock to go first overall, probably to the Arizona Cardinals, but that remains to be seen at this point.

What seems to be the unfortunate reality is that Murray will not be high on the Broncos’ draft board despite his measurement unless John Elway was playing some serious misdirection.

That’s been known to happen at the combine in the past.

Unless Elway was lying through his teeth, though, it seems like the Broncos are not a team to watch in the Kyler Murray sweepstakes. Their focus in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft is likely going to be on Drew Lock or the best defensive player on their board.