Draft Q&A with The Sun's Ken Murray
Each Tuesday in the Toy Department we bring you a Q&A with the reporters and writers who are in the field, chasing the news. This week The Baltimore Sun's NFL reporter Ken Murray took time to answer some of our questions. Murray had two stints as Colts beat writer, with The News American in 1981 and The Evening Sun in 1983. He also covered the Baltimore CFL team in 1994 and the Ravens in 2000, and has predominantly covered the NFL during his 25 years at The Sun.
Question: What was the first NFL draft you covered? How did you cover it, and can you compare it to the circus the draft has grown into today?
Murray: My first experience with the draft was in 1979 as a rookie beat reporter covering the Dallas Cowboys for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. It was another lifetime, another world away from the manufactured glitz we endure these days. It was pre-combine, there was no Mel Kiper, no ESPN, no hysteria. I didn’t comb through magazines in the days and weeks before trying to find scouting reports on guys the Cowboys might take. The team was secretive about its plans, but it almost didn’t matter. There was no buzz. And it didn’t help that the Cowboys’ first-round pick was a center from Tennessee, Robert Shaw, who lasted just three seasons before a knee injury ended his career.
Question: The Lions have the No. 1 pick. What are the odds that they blow yet another draft?
Murray: Very high, maybe 4-5. But admittedly, they’re in a bad position. This is one of those drafts when you don’t want the first pick because there is no player worthy of the first pick and the $30 million in guarantees that will be attached to it. Since they need a quarterback, everyone has Matthew Stafford going to Detroit. That has the makings of big-time bust, just because of how terrible the Lions are. They have a chance to get a player who will help more immediately at pick 20, but I expect them to blow that one, too.
Question: Having covered this a few times, have you picked up anything from watching Ozzie Newsome that gives you any clue what the Ravens might do? Does he ever show his hand?
Murray: The first thing I learned is to take everything he and the Ravens say with a grain of salt. The team isn’t about to reveal its intentions to the media. I was intrigued last year how the Ravens put out word they really liked Michigan’s Chad Henne when most of the experts said Joe Flacco was a better quarterback. If a team leads you in one direction, you most often are better off turning around and going in the other direction.
Question: Well, what does your gut tell you? Will they be picking at No. 26 or will they trade the pick away?
Murray: As usual, it depends on who falls. If the right receiver, linebacker or cornerback dropped, I would expect the Ravens to hold. I think there’s a very good chance, however, that they trade back into the top of the second round, get an extra pick and get two good values in the second round. There is bound to be a big receiver available early in the second.
Question: Let's say they don't trade it. In your mock draft, you have both Darrius Heyward-Bey and Hakeem Nicks off the board before the Ravens' No. 26 pick. You have them selecting USC linebacker Rey Maualuga. What do you like about Maualuga?
Murray: Maualuga has the intensity the Ravens crave. He has a big motor, plays hard and fast and blows up people at the line of scrimmage. He’d be perfect inside with the defense the Ravens play. He and Tavares Gooden could have a long run there.
Question: Come Saturday afternoon, do you think the Ravens will essentially be choosing between Maualuga and Illinois cornerback Vontae Davis? Or do you think the Ravens have reached a point where they'll avoid cornerbacks?
Murray: If Maualuga gets that far – and I’m not at all sure he will – they will be fortunate. Vontae Davis, not so much. Being around Vontae a little at the combine, I didn’t think he had a Ravens mentality. He has a rep of being hard to coach and supposedly doesn’t have good work ethic. If the best guy available is Davis, they better bail into the second round, in my opinion. That’s not to say they won’t take another corner, like Darius Butler of UConn, who is a special player, I think.
Question: You were at the combine in Indianapolis. Of the names floated as likely Ravens' targets, did anyone especially impress you?
Murray: I was enthralled with Brandon Pettigrew, the tight end out of Oklahoma State. Massive arm span, tall, powerfully built, huge hands. He didn’t catch a touchdown pass last year – I can’t imagine how that happened – but I think he’d be a terrific red zone target. He averaged almost 13 yards on 112 career catches, with nine TDs. His 40 time at the combine was a slow 4.85, but he can play.
Question: Has your opinion of this draft class changed in the last couple of months?
Murray: Yes, very much so. I don’t see very many players who will come in and have an impact their first year. It looks like a draft where you get solid but unspectacular players to flesh out the roster and improve depth. It’s ripe with potential busts. It also makes a strong case for Roger Goodell’s desire to install a cap on rookie salaries. This is stealing. I expect there will be players taken in the second round and on the second day who will do better than a lot of first-rounders.
Question: What's draft day like for a reporter? With the Ravens picking late and the draft's start time pushed back to 4 p.m., it sounds like a lot of sitting around.
Murray: There would seem to be a lot of dead time for reporters, but really, I don’t see it. I’m constantly looking at the current pick, who’s passed on whom, who’s trading up or back. If you get into the draft – and by draft day, we have an idea of what’s going to happen – it’s a whirlwind of activity.
Photos: Associated Press; Getty Images
