Sooner or later, the New England Patriots are going to have to plan for life after Tom Brady, so why not build the post-Brady era around one of the most electrifying college football players of all time?
Sounds like a good idea, right? NBC’s Peter King certainly believes so.
With 2018 Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray announcing his plan to pursue a career in the NFL rather than Major League Baseball, the idea of the Oklahoma quarterback being drafted as Brady’s potential heir already is being talked about ad nauseam.
In his latest “FMIA” column, King laid out three reasons why he believes the Patriots and Murray are a perfect fit.
“If I’m New England, I’m looking long and hard at Murray, for three reasons: Tom Brady will be 42 the next time he takes a snap, the Patriots have enough currency (six picks in the top 101 of this draft, plus next year’s first-rounder) to move into the top 10 if he slips a bit, and Murray could sit and learn while getting physically prepped to be a long-term quarterback,” King writes.
Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley, who now has coached back-to-back Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks in Baker Mayfield and Murray, believes his pupil will thrive in any situation.
“I got asked the same thing about Baker,” Riley told King when asked about the best situation for Murray. “I really believe Kyler is going to succeed no matter what. In a situation where he’s gonna go in and play, I think he’d be a very similar sparkplug for a place like Baker was. If it’s a place that’s maybe been down a little bit. I think he’s so dynamic that he’s I think going to pick it up and do well. I think he’s also proven that if the situation is … he has to play behind somebody, or have a little time to learn, that he will handle that well and use that to an advantage. Knowing what I know, I don’t have a reservation about either scenario with this kid.”
Murray, who is listed a 5-foot-9 7/8, lit up the college football world this past season, throwing for 4,361 yards and 42 touchdowns while rushing for 1,001 yards and another 12 scores.
Brady will be 42 years old when he takes his next snap and while Patriots fans dread the day No. 12 hangs it up, having Murray there to take up the reins might not be a bad way to move on.
