Kyler Murray is the NFL’s most mediocre quarterback

I’ll personal the truth that I tend to defend quarterbacks an excessive amount of. A lot of this is because of the truth that QB success is way extra a product of scheme and match than particular person expertise, so it’s extremely straightforward to see why gamers wrestle after they’re locked on dangerous groups.

Don’t consider it? Then riddle me this: Why are Baker Mayfield, Daniel Jones, and Sam Darnold completely balling out now they’ve discovered without end properties? Conversely, why has Geno Smith became a pumpkin as quickly as he landed in Las Vegas?

Even after we think about that actuality, there’s a breaking level. A second the place you take a look at the instruments, the crew, the system, and it turns into inconceivable to search out any extra excuses why a quarterback is enjoying lackluster soccer. This isn’t the straightforward binary of “elite” or “ass,” however the granular distinction between being a top-15 quarterback, and somebody locked within the 20s — inconsistent on the subject of probably the most fundamental parts of the sport.

Kyler Murray reached that breaking level on Sunday towards the Titans. He cemented himself as a perennially mediocre quarterback who will put collectively respectable stats, however fail within the win column the place it issues most. Positive, we will level to the hilariously dangerous fumble by Emari Demercado as being a real turning level, however the truth the sport was so shut is an indictment of the whole lot Murray has dropped at the quarterback place since arriving in Arizona. All his worst traits, all his dangerous tendencies, and an unshakable feeling that he merely may not care about profitable sufficient to make it occur.

From 10,000 toes it may not have regarded like a nasty recreation by Murray. He went 23-for-31, 220 yards passing with out an interception — and ran in a landing. It’s the type of recreation that lulls you right into a false sense of safety by believing he may truly be good. The difficulty isn’t what Murray is, however what he isn’t.

To name the Titans protection canine excrement could be an insult to the “presents” my Staffordshire Bull Terrier leaves in my again yard. I do know this as a result of I stated it to her face, and he or she wasn’t happy.

There’s not a single defensive metric wherein the Titans haven’t been one of many worst groups within the NFL this season:

While you see this as an opposing quarterback it ought to make you rub your arms collectively in anticipation. As a substitute Murray was incapable of creating explosive performs that led to factors. Maybe the largest indictment of Kyler Murray’s play towards the Titans comes from one other completely hopeless recreation between two groups this weekend which concerned a former No. 1 choose: Miami vs. Carolina.

The Dolphins are equally horrible on protection. They permit extra yards on the bottom than than the Titans, however fewer passing yards — so it’s roughly a wash. Whereas Bryce Younger put the Panthers in gap with a nasty fumble and an interception, he additionally did what Murray couldn’t towards Tennessee, which was throw two high-pressure touchdowns. The primary to Xavier Legette to start the comeback, the second on the finish of the fourth quarter to win the sport. Sprinkle in going 2-for-2 on important fourth down conversions, only for good measure.

Younger was not nice towards the Dolphins, removed from it. That is the bottom potential bar to clear — and Murray ran race-first into it.

The dangerous half is that Murray is getting objectively worse with every passing 12 months. He has struggled since being faraway from Kliff Kingsbury as his offense mastermind, with Murray’s internet yards per passing try at a career-low 4.81 this season. To make issues worse he’s being sacked 9.04% of passing downs, regardless of dealing with the least quantity of stress at any level in his profession, solely being pressured on 14.4% of snaps.

These stress numbers aren’t simply dangerous, they’re abysmal. An NFL quarterback shouldn’t be consuming sacks at that price when seeing that little stress. A QB with Murray’s athleticism must be escaping the sack way more typically, or throwing it away on the very least. It’s indicative of both a complete lack of understanding, or just not caring to combat for the play.

Murray successfully evades stress on simply 5.36% of snaps. Right here’s how that traces up with different NFL quarterbacks this.

Take into account that that is throughout the total NFL. If we have been simply factoring in quarterbacks historically thought to be “athletic” it could look a lot, a lot worse for Kyler Murray.

What we’re seeing proper now as a quarterback who can’t push the ball downfield, regardless of enjoying dangerous defenses and having good safety. He can’t escape the go rush. He can’t be counted on to show a recreation round. There’s nothing inherently required to be “good” on the quarterback place which Murray is excelling at, besides maybe not turning over the ball. Nevertheless, merely no hurting your crew is meaningless whenever you’re not serving to them.

Murray is regressing in a severe means. That is the worst he’s even been, and all the reasons have run out. He has the offensive line, he has the receivers, he’s largely had the working recreation. The remaining is on him, and he stinks — in any other case he wouldn’t lose to a crew just like the Titans.