On Thursday the Arizona Cardinals announced they’d signed Kyler Murray to a contract extension through the 2028 season. In response, I swapped Murray and Lamar Jackson in my Dynasty quarterback rankings for the fifth time in the past 10 months.
The main takeaway from the swap is how close I view Murray and Jackson, but also that Murray does carry slightly less risk than Jackson in Dynasty leagues. They’re separated by less than a point in the trade chart below and the difference between them has been similar for most of the past year. Jackson has shown us more full-season upside, but Murray has been close when he’s been able to stay healthy. Now we know where Murray will be for the next five-plus years and that’s still a bit of a question for Jackson.
While the NFL has evolved over the past decade, the future can still be dicey for run-heavy quarterbacks. Neither Murray nor Jackson necessarily has the build that makes you think they can take a beating over 17 games, but Murray is ahead of Jackson as a passer and now has security in Dynasty if he does miss a year due to injury. Jackson is technically a free agent after this year, though it’s admittedly difficult to imagine a scenario in which the Ravens let him walk.
The other thing that helps Murray’s floor is that he now has Jackson’s former No. 1 wide receiver in Marquise Brown. Jackson still has Mark Andrews, but he’ll have to hope for a breakout from Rashod Bateman if he’s to have two legitimate options in the passing game. For what it’s worth, that’s exactly what I expect from Bateman in 2022.
Speaking of Brown, we could see him move up the trade chart if he’s next for an extension. Like Jackson, he’s currently a free agent in 2023, so getting locked into a long-term deal with his good friend and college quarterback would only help Brown’s long-term floor.
Here is my updated trade chart and top 150: