TAMPA — Some say Kyler Murray isn’t just too short to play quarterback in the NFL. He’s way too short. But no matter how small Murray measures at the NFL combine on the final day of February — 5-9, 5-8 3/4 — his mere presence in the draft couldn’t be bigger for the Bucs.When the Oklahoma quarterback announced that he would fully commit to an NFL career and at least put on hold his interest in playing for the Oakland A’s, it may have been met with skepticism in some draft rooms.But the Bucs are not only happy Murray chose the NFL, they hope he becomes this year’s Baker Mayfield.Tampa Bay holds the No. 5 overall pick. Since they are firmly committed to Jameis Winston, they are rooting for Murray to generate lots of interest from quarterback-needy teams that are currently picking behind them — teams like the New York Giants (sixth), Jacksonville (7th), Miami (13th) and Washington (15th).Heck, maybe even Detroit (eighth) and Cincinnati (11th) could be in the market for their quarterbacks of the future.And the good news is that Murray isn’t alone. Ohio State’s Dwayne Haskins, Missouri’s Drew Lock and Duke’s Daniel Jones all will get first-round consideration.The Bucs biggest needs are on defense, which was historically awful last season. Only the Raiders (29.2 points per game) allowed more points than the Bucs (29).Obviously, any quarterback who is worthy of a top five pick creates an opportunity for a better player to be pushed down to the Bucs, who also could find their phone ringing when they are on the clock.Murray is intent on proving “to NFL decision-makers that I’m the franchise quarterback in this draft.’’ He went onto say that “I was born to play quarterback.’’Murray is listed at 5-10, 195-pounds. His new football agent, Erik Burkhardt, says Murray has bulked up to 205 pounds.This much is predictable: he’s going to create the biggest buzz at the NFL combine. His 40-yard dash time could be below the 4.4 range and his arm is strong and accurate. Burkhardt called NFL scouts who doubt Murray’s ability to play at the next level because of his size “dinosaurs” and “losers.”Mayfield, who went No. 1 overall to the Browns last season, measured at 6 feet, 0.625 inches. Murray is most often compared to Russell Wilson, who is 5-11. A lot of people doubted that Mayfield would become a top five pick, and even more would’ve told you he wasn’t going No. 1 overall.But all Mayfield did was nearly transform an entire franchise. And if you compare the passing numbers produced by Mayfield and Murray in their final years at Oklahoma, they’re nearly identical. Mayfield passed for 4,627 yards with 43 touchdowns and six interceptions while completing 70.5 percent of his passes. Murray passed for 4,361 yards with 42 touchdowns and seven interceptions while completing 69 percent of his attempts.So here’s what the Bucs are thinking with respect to Murray: It only takes one team. Yes, he could be 5-9 when he is measured. Some chuckled at the notion of Mayfield going in the top 10 and he was selected first overall.They think Murray has top five talent. He’s as good as Mayfield, just smaller. History tells us the value of the quarterback position is so great, that a couple will go early in the draft. Murray just adds more intrigue to that.None of the teams picking ahead of the Bucs in this draft — the Cardinals, 49ers, Jets and Raiders — really need a starting quarterback.So if you are a team that needs one, and you want the top choice, you have to try to get ahead of the Giants at No. 6. It’s a tantalizing trade back scenario that could benefit the Bucs, who would like to stockpile picks in a defense-heavy draft.If Murray’s value were to match that of Mayfield in the draft, it means some better players would be pushed to No. 5. Already, a consensus is building among network draftniks that Ohio State defensive end Nick Bosa, Alabama defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, Kentucky defensive end Josh Allen and maybe LSU cornerback Greedy Williams are among the elite of the elite in this year’s draft.Any of them, would make an instant impact for new Bucs defensive coordinator Todd Bowles.There’s not a more fascinating player in the NFL draft than Murray because of his immense talent and short stature. He could come up big for the Bucs without ever wearing their uniform.Read more:
![Rick Stroud - Bucs Reporter](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 50 50"/%3E "Rick Stroud - Bucs Reporter")