Kyler Murray was barely a blip on the draft radar starting the 2018 season. Now he’s a favorite to be picked No. 1 overall by the Arizona Cardinals.

Few athletes have shifted gears so dramatically as the multitalented Oklahoma Sooners quarterback.

It appeared Murray was headed to a pro baseball career until this past season. He was drafted by the Oakland A’s as the eighth overall pick in 2018 as an outfielder.

His thinking — and the thinking of NFL scouts — changed quickly this past fall when Murray led the University of Oklahoma to the Big 12 title and a berth in the College Football Playoff.

As a junior, he tossed for 4,361 yards and 42 touchdowns this past season and, out of nowhere, won the Heisman Trophy. He further impressed the scouts by passing for 308 yards in Oklahoma’s loss to the University of Alabama in the Orange Bowl. 

A threat running or throwing, Murray rushed for 1,001 yards and another 12 touchdowns in 2018.

In 2017, he backed up Baker Mayfield at quarterback for the Sooners. Mayfield also won the Heisman Trophy and was the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft by the Cleveland Browns.

Murray is short in height — 5-foot-10 — and experience with only one year as a college starter. But he obviously has what NFL teams are looking for. His stock didn’t fall even after declining to participate in individual drills at the Scouting Combine in March. 

A native Texan, Murray hails from an athletic family. His father, Kevin Murray, was quarterback at Texas A&M University from 1983 to 1986. An uncle, Calvin Murray, played Major League Baseball with San Francisco, Texas and the Chicago Cubs.

Murray is a second-generation Korean-American. His maternal grandmother is from South Korea.

The decision to switch from baseball to football comes at a short-term cost. Murray signed with the Oakland Athletics for $4.66 million, a tidy sum he won’t be able to cash. 

The money would have been his if he’d gone ahead and joined the A’s farm system this spring as initially planned. Oakland retains rights to Murray should he return to the baseball diamond.

There’s plenty of money in the NFL, too. Mayfield’s rookie contract with Cleveland last year was good for $32.9 million, including a $22.1 million signing bonus. 

Murray didn’t submit his name for the NFL draft until January, and didn’t announce he was focusing on the NFL until Feb. 11. While many “experts” believe he will be the first person chosen during the NFL draft that starts Thursday, April 25, there are always surprises. 

Cream of the crop: Others expected to be among the first picks are defensive end Nick Bosa from Ohio State University, defensive tackle Quinnen Williams from the University of Alabama, linebacker Josh Allen from the University of Kentucky, defensive tackle Ed Oliver from the University of Houston and defensive end Rahan Gary from the University of Michigan.

Schools like Ohio State and Alabama are used to having their athletes selected near the top. By contrast, the University of Kentucky is much more likely to have a basketball player drafted than a football star.

A second first round possibility for Kentucky is cornerback Lonnie Johnson.   

Eenie, meenie, miney, Mo Alie-Cox: The draft, despite a “look under every rock” concept by scouts, isn’t an exact science. 

Some of the premier college players never make it in the NFL. Then there are those like former Virginia Commonwealth University basketball center Mo Alie-Cox, who landed with the Indianapolis Colts as a free agent after never playing a down on the college gridiron.

A tight end, Alie-Cox caught two touchdown passes from Colts quarterback Andrew Luck in 2018 and emerged as a strong blocker.  

Local kid makes good: Defensive end Clelin Ferrell from national champion Clemson University is likely to hear his name called midway into the NFL’s first round.

Ferrell of Richmond starred at Benedictine College Preparatory School before signing with Clemson. 

Leaving so soon? A record 111 underclassmen are entered in the 2019 draft. Most are juniors or redshirt sophomores. To be eligible for the draft, a candidate must be at least three years removed from high school.

Disappearing HBCUs: Fewer and fewer athletes from historically black colleges and universities are selected in the draft, but there are exceptions.

Hopefuls this go-round include offensive linemen Tytus Howard from Alabama State University, Josh Miles from Morgan State University and defensive end Darryl Johnson from North Carolina A&T State University.

Also on the “maybe” list is Bowie State University quarterback Amir Hall, who passed for 10,198 yards and 94 touchdowns for the Bulldogs.

The last quarterback from an HBCU to be drafted was Alabama State’s Tarvaris Jackson in 2006. He was picked by the Minnesota Vikings with the 64th overall choice.

D.C. impact? The Washington NFL team is in need of quarterback help and the Arizona Cardinals might have one available in Josh Rosen, the Cardinal’s top pick a year ago and 10th overall. Rosen was Arizona’s starter in 2018 with so-so results.

Washington’s quarterback situation was thrown into a tizzy last season when Alex Smith suffered a serious leg injury in the 11th week against the Houston Texans. Don’t be surprised if Washington seeks Rosen in exchange for a draft pick or picks and/or players.

Other college quarterbacks figuring to go in Round One of the draft are the University of Missouri’s Drew Lock, Dwayne Haskins of Ohio State University and Duke University’s Daniel Jones.      

Quarterbacks rule: Since 1998, when Peyton Manning was tapped first overall in the NFL draft by the Indianapolis Colts, the top pick has been a quarterback 15 times.

The last running back drafted as the first pick was Penn State University’s Ki-Jana Carter by the Cincinnati Bengals in 1995. Before Carter, the last ball carrier chosen first was Auburn University’s Bo Jackson by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1986.