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Byron Murphy, IDL, Texas (Junior)

Picture of Rayane M

Rayane M

Back for the 2024 NFL Draft edition, The Trick Play team is once again offering to immerse you in the heart of the event through the scouting reports of Rayane and Valentin. Who will become the next gem of the pro world and who, on the contrary, risks a spectacular flop?
The 2024 NFL Draft starts right now on TTP!

 

Strengths :

  • Plays with good pad level
  • Active Hands
  • Good upper body flexibility
  • Very good punch
  • Powerful player
  • Very solid in run defense

 

Weaknesses :

  • Less explosive than one might think
  • Separation
  • Pass rush
  • Extremely raw
  • Imbalance
  • Play recognition ability
  • Tackling Technique

TTProfil

 
Forming a lethal DT duo for the Longhorns with another big name in this draft, T'Vondre Sweat, Byron Murphy II is drawing a lot of interest, and rightfully so. While, like many of you, I find him to be the more appealing of the pair, we shouldn't ignore the areas he needs to work on. I believe the recent hype surrounding him tends to overshadow these points, which could ultimately be detrimental to Byron. However, we'll come back to these issues later. For now, let's focus on Byron's strengths because there's plenty to talk about.
 
To start, Byron plays with good leverage. While his smaller stature certainly contributes to this, it's important to acknowledge that he makes the effort to stay low and maintain a strong power angle, whereas other players of similar size might tend to get up.

Furthermore, Byron has active hands, which prove to be very effective, especially in pass rush situations. He often tries to swat away blockers' hands or execute a move (often the rip move, which is one of the simplest techniques to learn but not necessarily the most effective).
Also, in terms of his pass rush, Murphy has good upper body flexibility, which could allow him, with continued work, to develop a variety of pass rush techniques and potentially improve his bend more than what he shows at the moment. Overall, his significant power enables him to make plays in pass rush situations and somewhat mask his actual level of pass rush, where Byron still has a significant technical deficit.
 
Indeed, Murphy's power is a defining aspect of his game. He possesses a very strong punch, which often allows him, when he decides to use it, to keep the offensive lineman he faces at a distance, giving him more flexibility in his actions at that moment. However, as we'll see shortly, the issue is that Byron doesn't utilize this powerful punch nearly enough.
 
So, as we've gathered, Byron is a powerful player who particularly shines in run-stopping situations. Despite his size, he exhibits good strength that allows him to effectively control his gap responsibilities, which is highly valuable. Interestingly, Byron might even be more intriguing in run-stopping scenarios than in pass-rushing situations, although there's still room for improvement in both aspects of his game.

To further highlight his strong run-stopping ability, Murphy is particularly effective in plugging gaps and holding his ground against offensive linemen, whether it's on initial impact or when facing double teams. He's like a little tank out there, and his role as a run-stopper is crucial at the next level. In fact, it's telling that he often lined up as a Tech-0 when the Longhorns switched to a 3-4 front, even ahead of bigger players like T'Vondre Sweat. This demonstrates the coaching staff's trust in Murphy's ability to anchor the defense against the run. Despite not being the flashiest player, Murphy consistently rose to the challenge and proved his reliability in this aspect of the game.
 
Here comes the contentious part, and to start off, I'd say that I don't find him as explosive off the line as one might expect. It's a bit disappointing. Even from an athletic standpoint, I'm not amazed by the results of the drills he performed at the Combine. They're solid, but Byron isn't an otherworldly athlete like some we've seen over the years. His drill results align well with what we see on tape, so it's okay. Not worse, not excellent, but solid.

One thing that bothers me a lot about Murphy is the fact that he doesn't extend his arms! Way too little, almost never, does he create separation and instead just rushes into the offensive lineman in front of him. Already not blessed with a good reach, the fact that he doesn't even try to create that separation bothers me a lot. It complicates things for him in run defense, an area where he's already very good, but also complicates his reading of the game. It's a shame.

And let's talk about his reading ability. Byron really has work to do on his game reading, firstly because it's clearly impacted by the fact that he doesn't extend his arms enough to create separation, which forces him to get stuck to his opponent and directly complicates his reading, but also because as soon as he finds himself in a Gap Control situation, he tends to stop his legs to read. Thus, he loses importance in influencing the opponent's game, whether it's a run or a pass. Creating chaos at the line of scrimmage is always beneficial. Byron is more than capable of it, so why restrict himself?
 
Another negative point is the number of missed tackles by Murphy, which in my opinion is too high, especially on plays that occur in the tackle box. Again, I attribute this to not seeing him separate enough by using his powerful punch and keeping his arms extended during reading. It's difficult to secure tackles when you're constantly in contact with the offensive line. Yes, Byron is powerful, but it's time to work on his technique.
Furthermore, Byron often finds himself off balance because he throws himself 100% into his gap, using all his strength and weight. He'll need to work on this aspect, which, by the way, is responsible for his average, if not mediocre, bend. He lunges too much, which prevents him from bending properly and positioning his body correctly without risking losing balance on his own. It's a problem in both run and pass situations.

And now it's time to talk about his ability to rush the QB. On the pass rush side, while the quality of his technical work is still raw and sometimes lacking, Byron shows some nice power on his bull-rush. It's a shame he doesn't try to develop a push-pull move, which would give him another weapon. However, his rip move is dreadful. While Byron does manage to make it somewhat effective thanks to his strength and activity, his rip move is just ugly! There's no extension, he positions his torso poorly, executes the move too high, and stays in contact with the offensive lineman throughout, rendering the rip move ultimately useless. This happens 90% of the time. Occasionally, he executes a rip move well, typically when he uses it right off the snap. Imagine the hand on the ground of the defensive lineman at the start of the play being the hand that goes into the rip move directly. This significantly increases the move's range of motion because it starts from the ground, used much lower, and Murphy creates separation thanks to the explosion from his stance. Ultimately, I find his pass rush somewhat overrated due to the stats and some impressive flashes on certain sacks. But when you look at his overall ability to rush the passer, it's actually quite average. From what I've seen, there's nothing extraordinary about his explosiveness, strength, or technique. There's a lot of work to be done with Murphy, and this brings us to the next point about him.
 
Byron Murphy is still an extremely raw player. Moved around to different positions throughout his career due to his physical limitations, he finally settled into a fixed position with the Longhorns for the past two seasons, playing defensive tackle (DT). The issue is that, inevitably, with so little experience, Byron is still very raw and has a lot to learn. Depending on where he lands in the NFL, there's no guarantee that he'll be given the time to develop, especially given the massive hype surrounding him, with some even projecting him to go in the top 15 of the upcoming draft. He'll need time to develop, that's for sure. A positive aspect for him, though, is that the areas for improvement are extremely visible, suggesting that Byron is far from reaching his ceiling. However, by selecting a DT so early in the draft, there will be an expectation for him to perform at a high level immediately. I'm not convinced that Byron is ready to face some of the challenges he'll encounter in the NFL just yet.
 
 
 

Ultimately, if there's a big hype surrounding Byron Murphy, it's not hard to see why. It's even quite astonishing to realize that it took until the end of the season for the general public to understand that the real strength on the Longhorns' defensive line was actually Murphy rather than Sweat.

Now, I'd prefer to be honest. While Murphy indeed possesses real qualities, it's also important not to overrate him. For example, I've seen his name mentioned as early as the first half of the 1st round, but in my opinion, that's a mistake because Murphy is still very raw and has some limitations in his game. I believe many people might be disappointed with his contribution in pass rush situations, as Murphy heavily relies on power and may face a significant challenge in transitioning to the NFL where offensive linemen are much stronger. However, Murphy still has a real chance to see the field in his rookie year due to his ability to defend the run. I also struggle to see Murphy quickly developing as a defensive end in a 3-4 defensive scheme, although I believe that given enough time, he could effectively do so. On the other hand, I wouldn't be surprised to see him develop well as a 3-technique or even as a 1-technique in a 4-3 defensive front. Additionally, I wouldn't be shocked to see him lined up as a 0-technique in dime packages with 3 defensive linemen in obvious passing situations.

With his strengths and weaknesses, I personally see Byron Murphy as a third-round prospect. Like with most prospects I observe, I wouldn't be surprised if a team falls in love with him and decides to draft him in the second round. However, in my opinion, he's far from being a first-round talent, whether considering his current floor or his potential ceiling. So, for me, Byron Murphy is a third-round pick.

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