Kyler Murray Favored To Be First-Round Pick In 2019 NFL Draft, Choose Football Over Baseball

Few college athletes, if any, had a better 2018 than Kyler Murray. The 21-year-old was selected ninth overall in the 2018 MLB Draft by the Oakland Athletics and given a $4.66 million signing bonus. A few months later, he led Oklahoma to the College Football Playoffs as the Sooners’ starting quarterback and won the Heisman Trophy award.

Now that the calendar has turned to 2019, Murray has a major decision to make. Will he stick with baseball or choose professional football after performing like the top player in the country.

The San Francisco Chronicle has reported that Oakland expects Murray to enter the 2019 NFL Draft. The draft is set for April 25, but Murray will have to decide if he’s reporting to A’s camp or participating in the NFL scouting combine in February.

Before the college football season started, Murray was expected to head to the minor leagues and start his journey toward becoming an MLB player. That has since changed, and a source tells The Chronicle that Murray is leaning toward the NFL.

If Murray chooses football, he’ll have to give his signing bonus back to the Athletics.

Murray’s decision might ultimately depend on his draft projection. As a potential second or third-round pick, sticking with Oakland might be the safer route. But going in the first round of the NFL Draft would guarantee Murray a lot more money than what he would make with the A’s, at least over the next few years.

Lamar Jackson was taken with the last pick in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft. The quarterback landed a four-year, $9.4 million contract, $7.575 million of which was guaranteed.

It’s too early to tell exactly where Murray might be taken in the NFL Draft. He hasn't gotten the same hype as prospects like Sam Darnold or Josh Rosen, who were being touted as high first-round picks for much of the 2017 college football season.

The latest odds, however, suggest that Murray is likely to be taken in the first round. Bovada.lv has made him a 1/2 favorite to come off the board within the top 32 picks. He’s also got 1/2 odds to throw an NFL touchdown pass and 3/2 odds to hit an MLB home run one day.

Bovada has listed the odds of Murray not being a first-round pick at 3/2.

The lack of hype surrounding the 2019 quarterback class has helped Murray’s draft projections. Oregon’s Justin Herbert was thought to be a top draft pick, but he opted to return to school for another season. Murray and Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins could compete to be the first quarterback taken in April.

Multiple ESPN NFL insiders have indicated that Murray has a good chance to be a first-round selection. New Arizona Cardinals’ head coach Kliff Kingsbury said just a few months ago that he would take Murray with the No.1 overall pick if given the opportunity.