Kyler Murray was always going to be the biggest story of the
NFL scouting combine.
Well, biggest or smallest.
Murray should exhale and interested teams, including the Cardinals, sitting with the No. 1 pick, can look more closely at the Heisman Trophy winner, who is not quite as short as some feared.
The intriguing quarterback, who turned down baseball for an NFL shot, measured in at 5-10 1/8 and 207 pounds, when most had predicted a shorter height.
At Oklahoma, Murray was listed at 5-10 and 195, but so often colleges inflate numbers to make their players look more attractive for professional opportunities. At the poking-and-prodding-and-measuring combine, Murray was expected to be closer to 5-9, which would have stacked the odds against him.
Still, he would be the shortest quarterback taken in the first round, should that happen. Previously, Johnny Manziel held the title at 5-11 3/4.
The NFL has taken a kinder eye to undersized quarterbacks, as the position is protected by the rules more than ever and the evolution is leading to more athletic types and less pocket-passers. Baker Mayfield had a record-setting rookie season last year with the Browns, and his combine height was 6-feet, 5/8 inches. Russell Wilson, the model for short quarterbacks, had measured at 5-10 5/8.