Why Kyler Murray can dispel a myth about short QBs

So, you think Kyler Murray’s going to struggle in the NFL because he’s short?

Some people think so, based on Murray’s listed 5’10 frame. Being that short puts Murray at risk of having lots of passes batted down at the line of scrimmage, one thought goes. Or maybe he just won’t be able to see over the heads of his offensive linemen.

What happens if he gets drafted by, say, the Jaguars? He’ll see J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney twice a year. Both have 34-inch arms (long, even by NFL standards) and stand over 6’5.

But the fear about Murray’s height doesn’t square with the reality of his game or quarterbacking in general. Consider these numbers from 2018:

Jones is a listed 6’5, Lock 6’4, and Haskins 6’3. Murray, again, is 5’10 (and 1/8!).

For starters, batted passes are most likely to happen on short throws.

The target is closer, so the initial angle of the ball isn’t as high as if you’d need to drive the ball 40 yards in the air, assuming the same velocity for each throw. That’s just geometry:

Just lobbing the ball on every throw could get rid of batting concerns. But in football, there are variables, like 300-pound linemen chasing you and holes in a defense opening and closing quickly. The ball sometimes has to get where it’s going fast, so the throw comes out flat and low.

Of Murray’s five batted passes in 2018, per Pro Football Focus, I’ve grabbed three. All were underneath throws Murray only had to get to travel maybe 10 or 15 yards in the air.

Here’s one against UCLA:

And one against Alabama:

And a different one against UCLA that’s in super slow-mo to illustrate something:

Notice the defensive lineman who blocked this last one. He started moving his hand (white glove on the left) as Murray wound up. He anticipated the throw. Did this pass get blocked because Murray’s short? Or was it blocked because UCLA’s Keisean Lucier-South is 6’4, has really long arms, and knew what was coming? He knocked the pass down with his wrist. If Murray were a few inches taller, the ball probably still would’ve been batted.

On another hand, why didn’t this pass get batted?

Murray had an FAU defensive lineman, who’s at least three inches taller than him, in closer proximity than any those guys who actually batted down his passes.

But Murray was throwing deep — something he’s known to do well — and the launch angle nullified whatever disadvantage might have existed because of his height.

That list doesn’t account for total attempts. But look at Kirk Cousins, who’s listed at 6’3 and had 2.8 percent of his 2018 passes batted. In one game against the Cardinals, he had six. Cousins’ height didn’t help him when a player two inches shorter blocked this short throw:

His height didn’t help him on this short throw, either, after two of his linemen got split:

Height didn’t help Josh Rosen — who’s listed as an inch taller than Cousins, at 6’4 — get this short pass over a defender:

Being 6’5 didn’t help Blake Bortles — who’s routinely on the list of QBs with the most batted balls — when he threw a ball off his own 6’3 lineman’s helmet, leading to a pick:

Some of Bortles’ problems have had to do with inconsistent mechanics and bad throwing platforms. Well, Murray’s a baseball player with picturesque throwing mechanics.

At Oklahoma, Murray played behind an offensive line that averaged 6’4.2 (standard for a college lineman and about an inch shorter than NFL average), so no worries on that front.

There are ways QBs can try to loft passes with touch to get the job done. Murray can do that:

But there are other scenarios that only call for a bullet, when you’re trying to fit the ball into a tight window with a defender bearing down on your target.

If you’re throwing short and a pass rusher is in the lane, the ball’s just going to get tipped sometimes. It’s even less avoidable if a QB is a borderline statue in the pocket, which you might notice is a theme of NFL QBs who have a lot of passes batted.

If you know anything about Murray’s play, he is very much not a statue. He’s known for taking off on some electric runs, but even his movement inside the pocket creates new passing lanes. A 6’1 former teammate of his at Oklahoma can do that, too.

And occasionally, having a slightly lower release point could lead to it.

But expecting Murray to struggle in particular with batted balls is an example of a red herring about QB play that needs to die.