The NFL Draft is drawing near and one-time professional baseball prospect Kyler Murray could make history as the shortest No. 1 pick in league history.
Height is not a requirement to play in the NFL, per se. Although this isn’t the NBA where 7-foot players come off the board in droves, there is a general propensity for NFL general managers to select players who measure up (literally) to a certain physical standard. That’s why the sheer possibility that 5-foot-10 Kyler Murray is being discussed as a potential No. 1 overall pick is completely unprecedented.
Since 2000 there have been 63 players drafted in the first round who stood 5-foot-10 or shorter. Among them include star running backs like 5-foot-9 Emmitt Smith and 5-foot-10 Marshall Faulk. Defensive backs like 5-foot-9 Aaron Glenn and 5-foot-10 DeAngelo Hall were first rounders, too. Speedy athletes from both sides of the ball have been taken that high in drafts, just never a quarterback.
Well, never isn’t quite true. There have been five quarterbacks in NFL Draft history who stood 5-foot-10 or shorter. The most recent, Ted Marchibroda, was drafted in 1953. It’s been more than half a century since then, and the players surrounding the position have only continued to grow in size.
And then there’s Kyler Murray, all 5-foot-10 of his lean, one-time professional baseball aspiring frame. The reigning Heisman Trophy winner has already proven doubters wrong. Can he do it again?
If Kyler Murray is selected with the first overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft he will be the shortest No. 1 pick in league history.
Former Penn State running back Ki-Jana Carter was taken No. 1 overall by the Cincinnati Bengals in 1996. He was 5-foot-10-inches tall, the same height as top picks George Cafego (1940), Bill Dudley (1942) and Boley Dancewicz (1946). To be specific, Oklahoma’s strength staff measured Kyler Murray at 5-foot-9 and 7/8ths-inches, a hair less than 5-foot-10.
Another Lincoln Riley protegé, Baker Mayfield is coming off an impressive rookie season. Murray is certainly talented. If things break the right way, he could have his own, albeit small in stature, piece of history.
**All height information courtesy of Pro Football Reference**