Ask a scout, coach or player to compare No. 1 overall pick Kyler Murray to an NFL QB and one immediate answer generally comes back: Russell Wilson.
Whether it's elusiveness, arm strength, deep-ball precision, baseball background or the obvious height comparison, Wilson is the most common name conjured for Murray. The hype is a lot to live up to considering Wilson's success.
After an offseason of workouts, one man who used to block for the Seattle Seahawks signal-caller agrees with the comparisons between Wilson and Murray.
"I see hundreds of similarities," new Cardinals guard J.R. Sweezy said when asked about the Murray-Wilson comparison, via Josh Weinfuss of ESPN. "I always say, we got to see this guy really play. I think he's going to be just fine. But just to even be compared to Russell Wilson is a huge compliment.
"He's going to back it up. I just love that he's getting compared to him already and everything. He's going to be great."
Murray entered offseason workouts with sky-high expectations after being drafted No. 1 overall into Kliff Kingsbury's system in Arizona. The combination of pass-heavy sets, with Murray's ability to scramble out of pressure, makes a perfect match on paper.
As we hit the summer weeks ahead of training camp, Murray matched the hype, according to teammates.
"Everything that I heard, he's lived up to," guard Justin Pugh said. "And I've heard a lot of good things, so it's been great so far."
Murray's teammates praised him on everything from his playbook acumen, fluidity in the pocket, speed, accuracy and leadership. All traits that Wilson boasted as a young passer.
"He's cool, calm, collected, smooth," Sweezy said of Murray. "Make a mistake, come back, correct it. He's on it, honestly."
It's a good sign that Murray's teammates offer broad, glowing reviews of the rookie quarterback. Opposite or tentative assessments would portend trouble for a rebuilding franchise that dumped one first-round QB to take a swing on Murray.
At the same time, we've only seen football in shorts. Murray will have a lot more to process and prove once the pads come on in training camp and the preseason starts in late July.
"He's shown nothing but great leadership and hard work and doing the right thing," Pugh said. "Once we get the pads on, we'll get a lot more of a feel for each other, and I'm looking forward to that."
