I'd love to have Slimm weigh in on this, with respect to Kyler Murray and his height.
With respect to the height thing, once you get beyond a certain line of demarcation, let's call it about 6'2" to 6'1", you're already limited in what you can operate in an NFL offense. I know for a fact that a 6'0" guy like Drew Brees is not being asked to throw quick slants as often, that it's a limitation Sean Payton schemes around due to Drew's height (6002). Once a guy gets lower than 6'3" or 6'4", I don't think he's going to drop balls into the shallow middle the way Tom Brady does, for example.
But my perception is, once you've gone beyond that line, once you've gotten shorter than let's call it 6'2", the marginal differences in height don't make a huge difference, structurally speaking. There will be an association between height and certain things, like field vision, being able to use the pocket, being able to get the ball through passing lanes without a lot of PBUs. But it's just an association. It's not structural certainty. It's in the realm of traits evaluation.
RG3 couldn't see the field from behind his offensive line and would have to get out of the pocket in order to get better vision. Russell Wilson had few problems with that, behind a Wisconsin offensive line that were all 6'4" or 6'5" tall. RG3 was 6023 and Russell Wilson is 5105.
Looking at Kyler Murray, one thing that's always struck me is his willingness and ability to stay in the pocket, using the extra time afforded to him to scan the field and find the right throw. He certainly does run around quite a bit, but he also does lots of damage from inside the pocket.
His offensive line are all 6040 or better, with the exception of Ben Powers who is 6032. So clearly this isn't Murray having the benefit of one of those smaller offensive lines. This is a lot like Russell Wilson playing behind a gigantic Wisconsin offensive line.
Getting the ball through passing lanes is always easier for a guy with very quick, very alive feet, and Kyler Murray has both. I've seen plenty of taller quarterbacks who will never get the ball consistently through the passing lanes because they've got dead feet. They don't have a feel for the passing lanes, don't make last second changes in their launching point.
There's a lot of talk about how great the Oklahoma offensive line are and how much time they give Kyler Murray. It's true. But it's also true that his having so much time is a function of his own abilities. I see a LOT of three-man rush going after him, with defenses keeping a spy floating around at the line of scrimmage to try and bottle him up when he scrambles. That works if you've got a guy willing to bail on the pocket early. It hasn't been working for any defense that has played Kyler Murray, because he's willing to be patient, use the time, and find the right throw, often deep down the field.
In the end, for me, when there's a quarterback in the NFL playing Hall of Fame caliber football at 5105, then I'm not going to start making risk-based value calls about a DYNAMIC quarterback talent like Kyler Murray, just because he's maybe an inch shorter than that. I've already made that mistake with Russell Wilson, who I put in the 2nd round, but really wanted to put at the top of the 1st round if not for the height. I'm not going to make that mistake again.
All elite quarterbacks at the NFL level are exceptions to the rule. They're all lightning bolts from God, as Pat Riley would say. That's why the ones playing at that level look so diverse.
