Kyler Murray reportedly over 200 pounds

The Jacksonville Jaguars will undoubtedly be looking for a new quarterback this offseason, be it via NFL free agency or the 2019 NFL Draft. I tend to think the Jaguars will end up upgrading in the first round of the NFL Draft and one of the players they could be considering apparently has put on some weight ahead of the NFL Combine.

According to Peter King, Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray has bulked up to just over 200 pounds in his preparation for the NFL combine this weekend.

One bit of Murray news before we move on. The new Mike Mayock at NFL Network, Daniel Jeremiah—talk about big shoes to fill—told me over the weekend that he heard Murray has bulked up to 203 pounds from his OU playing weight of 190. And calling around over the weekend, I heard it was 206. That is significant. Here’s why: Talking to NFL people about Murray, as I wrote last week, there was worry that Murray had more of a Mookie Betts build in college than a Russell Wilson physique. Meaning Murray was not only small, but also slight. If Murray has spent the past five or six weeks bulking up, that would play in his favor at the combine and in completing scouting reports on a complex prospect, because teams want to see a thicker player than Murray was at OU. Theoretically, it would mean he’d be more equipped to withstand the pounding he’ll obviously have to face in the NFL.

There have been a lot of concerns over Kyler Murray’s size leading up to his draft evaluation, but personally I think too many people focused on his height rather than his size. Murray is an accomplished baseball player and has played behind an NFL sized offensive line without issue. The former is important because he’s adept at throwing from multiple angles and launch points, given that’s something often done while playing high level baseball.

The big concern was always going to be his weight, as the other shorter quarterbacks people often compare him to are usually built more like a running back. The concern for Murray was he’d be around the 180-pound mark and wrong or not, that’s a no-go for NFL teams.

I do think Murray will be a good player in the NFL and despite the consistent mocking him to the Jaguars, I just have a hard time seeing Tom Coughlin pick a 5-foot-9, barely 200-pound quarterback in the Top 10.