-
Josh Weinfuss, ESPN Staff Writer
INDIANAPOLIS — The best is yet to come for Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray, his coach, Jonathan Gannon, said Tuesday at the NFL scouting combine.
Asked about what Murray’s next step is now that he’s healthy and can fully take part in an entire offseason after returning from ACL surgery last November, Gannon said it’s “reps” and “time on task.” Murray showed he was comfortable operating the Cardinals’ offense “at a really high level” during the eight games he played in last season, Gannon added, and he expects to build off that heading into next season.
“[I] think you saw late in the year kind of where we evolved to and we will pick up where we left off and then continue to expand for him what he’s comfortable with,” Gannon said.
Murray, who said after Arizona’s season finale that he wouldn’t take much time off after the season, has been at the Cardinals facility “every day,” Gannon said.
Based on how last season finished for Murray, who led the Cardinals to a 3-5 record after returning to a team that was 1-8 at the time, Gannon believes the “sky’s the limit” for the sixth-year quarterback.
“I don’t think you’ve seen his best ball either,” Gannon said. “And I’m very confident in that because he’s a guy that attacks getting better every day. And it’s a new system for him. It’s new for him and playing the quarterback position — it’s one thing to be a corner playing in a new system, it’s another thing to be a quarterback playing in a new system. So, I thought he handled it extremely well.”
How Murray finished the season gave the Cardinals “a lot of confidence,” general manager Monti Ossenfort said.
“The way the offense hit their stride both running the football, throwing the football and just getting Kyler’s health back to a point where he could use his legs, use his arm, do the things we’re accustomed to seeing,” Ossenfort said.
Ossenfort said Arizona, like it always does, will evaluate all the positions in the draft.
“But knowing that Kyler is where he’s at and not only where he is at, but getting better and seeing him work and progress the way he is, I think it’s an exciting spot to be in,” Ossenfort said.
Whether Murray gets another weapon to throw to next season is yet to be determined, although the Cardinals have been linked to former Ohio State star receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. through multiple mock drafts.
However, the Cardinals — and the 31 other teams — will not have a chance to evaluate Harrison on the field during the combine because he has opted not to participate in any of the on-field drills, according to multiple reports.
“Unfortunately, it is what it is,” Ossenfort said. “I think that’s an individual decision that each person’s going to have to make for themselves.
“For me, more information is the better, but I respect anybody’s decision to choose what they want to do. And I think it’s something that we’ve dealt with here the last few years and I think we’ll continue to deal with it.”
Gannon said the Cardinals still have “a lot of tools to evaluate” players with and will utilize all of them to evaluate Harrison even without a combine workout.
