The Arizona Cardinals have backed themselves into a corner and must draft Kyler Murray

The last several weeks could have been a lot different. Arizona Cardinals General Manager Steve Keim could have changed the conversation and the fans expectations leading up to the NFL Draft on April 25. He could have said: “Josh Rosen is our Quarterback. We plan to keep Josh Rosen.”

Instead, he said that Rosen is our QB — “right now.” That led to a firestorm of speculation that has Josh Rosen traded to nearly every team in the NFL. It has all the experts pointing to Oklahoma Quarterback Kyler Murray as the first pick of the Cardinals. That leads to numerous theories that have kept radio talks shows in business and with high ratings.

But why? Why didn’t Keim just indicate that Rosen is the Cardinals future and they have no plans to move him? This would have led to speculation of what the Cardinals will do with their first pick. The smoke screens could have been about a trade or no trade, about Nick Bosa or Quinnen Williams.

Why does this matter?

It matters to Cardinals fans. In case anyone has not noticed, it is not easy to root for the Cardinals. As the saying goes, if not for bad luck, they would have no luck at all. The year they really stink bad enough to get the first pick, is the year that there is no clear cut star coming out of college. If there was no hype for picking Murray, the Cardinals faithful could have just sat back and said this is another bad break and accepted the goal of piling up on draft picks for someone to get the right to go No.1.

Let’s remember Murray did not become a hot item until the tape measure came out and he was 5 foot 10 and over 200 pounds. It was as if the video of leading his team to the College Football Playoffs and going toe to toe with Alabama only became real if he met the magical height bar set by Russell Wilson.

Where do these rules come from? If he came in at 5 foot 9, would we all have been spared the hype we endured the last several weeks? And why hasn’t Murray’s overall resume been analyzed a little more? He is 21 years old and played just 21 college games. His career stats have 519 pass attempts. For comparison, Washington State quarterback Gardner Minshew had 662 attempts in one season, 2018. Doesn’t game reps still play a part in predicting the future success of a quarterback?

With his athleticism, there seems no doubt that Murray is worth a pick in the same round that has been used for Tim Tebow, Johnny Manziel and Ryan Leaf. But is Murray deserving of the first pick of the first round? Is he worthy of the hype machine that puts him in the same space as Russell Wilson despite 970 less pass attempts in his college career?

In some ways it does not matter. Since Keim wanted to play his poker hand at the expense of Rosen, he picked his path. The talks could have been about what other team was going to pick Murray and if he was worthy of trading up to No.1. The Cardinals could have stated that they have their NFL caliber QB (Rosen) with the ideal height and weight when compared to the standard and hundreds. Instead of taking a pick (Murray) that has the ideal height and weight when compared to just one (Wilson).

If that proclamation happened, everyone would have moved on. Now, it is too late. It has to be Murray. Fans have been fed the Murray hype machine, and anyone else under center this fall will be a letdown. And, for once, the Cardinals control this fate, and don’t have to rely on luck.