Kyler Murray's preseason debut was as brief as his stint at Texas A&M in college. All eyes were on Murray. Fans wanted to see what the hype was about since the Arizona Cardinals drafted him with the number one overall pick.
On his lone drive, Murray showed the skills that made him the first player taken in this year's draft. Murray's first drive began at his own 2-yard line. It might have rattled other rookies, but not the No. 1 pick.
Murray got the offense together and showed poise as the captain of the offense. The Cardinals' rookie quarterback completed his first pass attempt on a six-yard out to Damiere Byrd.
Right after the completion to Byrd, Murray zipped an eight-yard pass to Trent Sherfield on the right side of the field to move the chains. The rookie signal-caller was getting into a rhythm with the receivers who were on the field.
Murray developed his connection with Sherfield with another eight-yard throw to get the second first down of the drive. Then, a holding penalty momentarily ended the momentum Arizona created on its first possession.
That didn't stop Murray from making a side-arm throw—one which recalled his baseball days—to David Johnson for a 14-yard gain. Rookie head coach Kliff Kingsbury is hoping to get Johnson heavily involved in the passing attack, much as he was just a couple of seasons ago under Bruce Arians.
After completing a pass to Johnson, Murray turned to the 5-foot-9 Byrd again to pick up yet another first down. Despite the holding penalty that set Arizona back 10 yards, Murray remained calm and collected; he was delivering strikes.
On the next play, Murray looked in Larry Fitzgerald's direction for the first time in the game. The veteran wideout was able to get only one yard out of the play. Murray's first incompletion came on the following play when KeeSean Johnson caught a pass out of bounds, having stepped out of bounds prior to catching it. Therefore, the Cardinals were penalized for illegal touching and a loss of a down.
Murray was facing his second third down of the impressive drive. This time he couldn't work his magic to advance the ball downfield.
The rookie's debut ended with Anthony Lanier of the Los Angeles Chargers sacking him for a five-yard loss. His day was over, but the shifty quarterback showed a ton of promise with his command of Kingsbury's new-look offense.
There was a ton of pressure on Murray to perform with all eyes planted on the reigning Heisman Trophy winner. It's safe to say he delivered a solid outing in his debut in an NFL setting.
There were a few question marks surrounding Murray, especially given his lack of size. Of course, at 5-foot-10, Murray is going to have some disadvantages at the quarterback position. Drew Brees and Russell Wilson have their struggles due to their height.
Yet, the elite quarterbacks find ways to overcome their deficiencies to handle certain situations. It may have been a meaningless preseason game, but Murray demonstrated exactly what the fans wanted to see from their rookie.
One of the most impressive aspects of his debut was his ability to throw with velocity from different spots in the pocket. As expected, Murray looked comfortable extending plays with his legs as he did at Oklahoma.
The fans in Arizona should be ecstatic with how Murray handled himself in his first NFL start. The Cardinals will take on the Oakland Raiders in their next preseason bout. Murray will shift his focus to continuing his momentum on August 15.
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