This overreaction isn’t really based on anything we saw in the preseason—in news that should surprise exactly no one, Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray wasn’t out there much in games that didn’t count.

In fact, Murray didn’t take a single snap in the preseason.

Now, that doesn’t mean that Murray isn’t ready for his sixth season—Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon told Adam Schein on Mad Dog Sports Radio the 27-year-old is healthy and in a great place headed into the 2024 campaign.

“Physically and mentally, I mean, he looks damn good.
He looks damn good,” Gannon said. “You know, ’cause you gotta think,
he played really good football for us; he had never taken a snap in this
offense until Atlanta (in Week 10), you know what I mean, his first game back.
I mean, he had a couple weeks of practice leading up to that, but no offseason
program, no training camp. No however many games we played without him. Couple
weeks of practice and then, you’re going, ‘Let’s play football.’ So, I think from
a mental and physical standpoint, right now where he’s at, to even when he got
back last year or even where he finished last year, I think he’s leaps and
bounds ahead.”

No, Murray being drafted as a top-five fantasy quarterback in some drafts is all about his scrambling ability. Fantasy managers love quarterbacks who can pick up yardage with their legs, and those same managers remember Murray’s 819-yard, 11-score 2020 season.

However, Murray’s rushing numbers fell precipitously the following season, and he hasn’t averaged even 40 rushing yards a game since.

As a low-end QB1, Murray had value. But given the questions
surrounding the Arizona offense in 2024, this is drafting him at his ceiling—and
then some.