Imagining a world where the Patriots drafted Kyler Murray

Now that Kyler Murray has finally announced that he is choosing to continue forward with a career in professional football, it’s hard not to wonder where he’s going to end up.

A 21-year-old out of the University of Oklahoma, and a two-sport phenom who excelled in both football and baseball, Murray is arguably the most intriguing quarterback entering the 2019 NFL Draft. He capped off his junior year with the Sooners by throwing for over 4,300 yards with 42 touchdowns and just seven interceptions, leading them to a 12-2 season and winning the 2018 Heisman Trophy.

Murray has franchise quarterback written all over him, and some NFL team will make him its quarterback of the future in April.

Chances are it won’t be the New England Patriots. But, just for the sake of offseason discussion and entertainment, let’s imagine that it was.

Let’s imagine that Bill Belichick has his sights set on Murray, and he trades up into the front half of the first round to ensure that he can take him. Or, perhaps due to his size, Murray slides down toward the bottom of the first round (or possibly even out of it — no quarterback under six feet tall has gone in the first round in over 60 years, and Murray is just a mere 5-foot-10), and Belichick is right there to scoop him up.

Kyler Murray to the Patriots? Heck, it would be the most exciting thing to happen in New England since… well, winning the Super Bowl in February. We would have a Heisman-winning quarterback, who made all kinds of headlines in college football last year, backing up Tom Brady in 2019. And whenever Brady does eventually decide to retire, we would already have a quarterback ready to take over who is just as intriguing as Brady himself.

Forget Sam Darnold and Josh Allen, and whatever newbie replaces Ryan Tannehill in Miami. The Patriots would still have the most exciting quarterback in the AFC East.

I don’t have a crystal ball or anything, so I can’t predict how Murray’s career would turn out. But working in New England under Belichick and/or Josh McDaniels, it’s hard to imagine that Murray wouldn’t at least be a pretty solid NFL quarterback.

We’d be going from “Tom Brady and the New England Patriots” to “Kyler Murray and the New England Patriots.” Sounds kind of fun, doesn’t it?

But don’t forget that we’re just using our imaginations here. It doesn’t seem likely that Belichick would target a quarterback like Murray in the draft; Murray is a big name prospect, and Belichick tends to lean toward the quarterbacks that fly under the radar. Hence, Tom Brady getting drafted in the sixth round in 2000.

Also, with Brady still playing at a high enough level to win Super Bowls, the Patriots aren’t necessarily in the market for a successor just yet. It might be another year or two before a legitimate heir to the throne is chosen.

But still, just imagine watching Roger Goodell stroll to the podium and announcing, “The New England Patriots select… Kyler Murray, quarterback, Oklahoma.” You can’t look me in the eye and tell me that wouldn’t be a blast.