Kansas City Chiefs GM has high praise for Aaron Murray

After setting several SEC passing records and a star career at the University of Georgia, Aaron Murray might have waited longer than he would have liked at the 2014 NFL Draft. For the Kansas City Chiefs, it was a prize that he fell to the fifth round.

General manager John Dorsey said he already likes what he sees from Murray in his willingness to learn. 

"He's been around here a few days, just trying to get to know the system," said Dorsey to Alex Marvez in a recent SiriusXM NFL interview. "A wonderful kid. We just signed him today. I don't know if you heard that, but we just got him signed, so we've got one left. But he's been a winner in high school, a winner in college."

Critical to their approach on drafting Murray was the team's research in the SEC. Murray holds several records in college football's elite conference, including career passing yards, touchdowns and total offense, and Dorsey said his interviews with defensive coordinators confirmed his decision.

"As we went along in doing this research, I asked various defensive coordinators around the SEC what they thought about Aaron Murray," said Dorsey. "They all said what a headache he was to defense against because he was the guy toward the end of the game that would lead those drives to try to get Georgia across the finish line. Sometimes they always didn't do it, but he's got a unique trait in terms of trying to push the ball at the end."

Dorsey said that they weren't planning on specifically taking a quarterback, since they "lacked the ammunition" to move up and get any particular player. Instead the board fell to them, and in a deep draft, Murray was there in the fifth round. The decision, according to Dorsey, was a "no-brainer".

"He's incredibly smart," said Dorsey. "One thing I like about him is that he's very competitive. I think the system fits his skill set ideally, and we all know the great job Andy and Doug and Matt Nagy do with the quarterback position. So I'm excited to create some competition. He was the highest rated player on our board at the time of the selection. To me, it was a no-brainer. You can't pass on a guy who has had the collegiate career that he's had."