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The years go by and the Kyler Murray vs Josh Allen comparison continues. That’s only natural, given that they’re two of the best young quarterbacks and that they’ve been dominating the league for quite some time now, at least when it comes to their numbers.
Most NFL comparisons aren’t accurate and, to the naked eye, Murray and Allen may not be similar players. Allen is physically imponent, taller, and stronger, while Murray is slimmer, craftier, faster, and slightly more athletic. But if you take a look at their numbers, they’re not that far off.
Kyler Murray vs Josh Allen comparison
Both are only getting started and hopefully, we’ll have plenty of Kyler vs Allen duels for many years to come. Moreover, just for the sake of the argument, we could fuel the fire and do our very own Kyler Murray vs Josh Allen comparison and break down who’s the best player.
Résumé: Kyler Murray
Even though Kyler Murray is one year younger and has been in the NFL for one fewer season, he still has put together a more impressive résumé thus far. Even in college, he was a Heisman winner, won the Davey O’Brien Award, was named AP College Football Player of the Year, was a first-team All-American, the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year, and first-team All-Big 12. Also, he’s made it to one Pro-Bowl and was the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Allen, on the flip side, has made it to one Pro-Bowl, was a second-team All-Pro, was named Famous Idaho Potato Bowl MVP, and made it to the second-team All-Mountain West when he was playing at Wyoming University.
Better passer: Kyler Murray
Josh Allen has the strongest arm in the league and it’s not even close. The NFL comparisons always put him side by side with Patrick Mahomes but Allen has shown to have an edge in that regard over the past couple of seasons. He’s got a cannon for an arm and is a pass-first kind of player.
Even so, his completion percentage is lower than Kyler’s (62.4% to 67.1%), and so is his rating (92.5 to 94.6). Murray also averages slightly more yards per attempt (7.4 to 7.3) and averages more passing yards per game (249.2 to 229.0)
Better rusher: Kyler Murray
Murray’s ability to run the football is also one of the reasons why he’s one of the best young quarterbacks. While not on the same tier as Lamar Jackson, Murray is still a prolific rusher that can extend plays with his feet with ease. Thus far, he’s logged 1,510 rushing yards to go along with 18 rushing touchdowns.
Josh Allen is also quite a good runner, especially for someone his size. He’s rushed for 1,831 yards and 28 touchdowns throughout his career with 35.9 rushing yards per game.
Leadership and intangibles: Josh Allen
Josh Allen has proven to be a better leader than Kyler Murray thus far.
Murray has struggled in big games more often than not and has shown a tendency to regress during the second half of the season. Also, he’s had more and better weapons than Allen through his young career.
Body and durability: Josh Allen
Josh Allen is tough as nails. He’s the kind of player who’ll take a beating on one play and continue to scramble on the very next play. He’s rarely hurt and is 6’5”, 280 pounds compared to Murray’s 5’10” and 207 pounds.
Murray’s height raised some questions when he first entered the league and has made it tough for him every now and then against dominant pass-rushers.
Overall: Kyler Murray
Truth be told, you couldn’t go wrong either way. But we have to give Kyler Murray a small edge in this battle. He’s the better rusher and a slightly more efficient passer as well, even if his durability and leadership are still some question marks.
Both quarterbacks continue to get better with time and they’re both two of the leading candidates to win MVP in 2021. Hopefully, we’ll get to watch them go against each other in the Super Bowl to settle this debate once and for all.
