NFC Notes: Kyler Murray, Cardinals, Rams

Kyler Murray

Bucky Brooks of NFL.com believes the Cardinals should still consider trading QB Josh Rosen away and drafting Kyler Murray.

Brooks mentions that Cardinals HC Kliff Kingsbury‘s prior comments about Murray shouldn’t be discounted.

“Kyler, I mean, he’s a freak, man,” Kingsbury said in October, via KLBK-TV. “… Kyler is a freak. I’ve followed him since he was a sophomore in high school. Just think the world of him and what he can do on a football field. I’ve never seen one better in high school and he’s starting to show it now at the college level. I don’t have enough good things to say about him. He’s phenomenal.

“… I would take him with the first pick of the draft if I could.”

• Brooks writes that it’s easy to see why Kingsbury raved about Murray’s talent, given that he flashes explosive athleticism and dynamic playmaking ability with A-plus arm talent.
• Brooks adds that it’s easy to envision Murray thriving in a rhythm offense like Kingsbury’s version of the Air Raid.
• It’s worth mentioning that Kingsbury has said they plan to build around Rosen as their starting quarterback moving forward. 

Cardinals

• C.J. Holmes of The Athletic writes that Cardinals’ new OL coach Sean Kugler will largely be responsible for correcting Arizona’s offensive line issues.
• Holmes points out that Kugler helped Broncos RB Phillip Lindsay post a 1,034 rushing yards while coaching Denver’s offensive line last season.
• Cardinals HC Kliff Kingsbury said earlier this month that Johnson needs to get carries and will have a “major role” in the offense: “We’ve got to get him his touches and get him going and make him comfortable in what we do. He’s going to have a major role. There’s no doubt.”
• Despite having an Air Raid offense, Kugler said the Cardinals will surprise people by how much they run the ball: “I think people are going to be surprised by the amount that we do run the ball; it’s a big part of this offense in addition to the screen game. It’s not just throwing it every down, and there’s going to be a lot of physicality in this offense.”

Rams

Patriots LB Kyle Van Noy said the Rams didn’t try “one wrinkle” in terms of their offensive scheme during the Super Bowl. 

“I couldn’t believe that either,” Van Noy said, via the Pardon My Take podcast. “They really didn’t do not one wrinkle. I was like, ‘What the hell?’ They’ve got so many good players, they’ve got so many things they’ve done all year, and the one play they gave us which was a wrinkle was the [Brandin] Cooks screen that hit for a little bit. And that was it.”