2024 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Byron Murphy II

Prospect Summary:

While mammoth nose tackle T’Vondre Sweat received more attention over their time at Texas, Murphy emerged as the better pro prospect. Murphy flashed as a freshman in 2021 with 15 tackles, 3.5 tackles for a loss and two sacks. His sophomore campaign saw him total 26 tackles, a sack and three tackles for a loss. As a junior, Murphy was extremely disruptive and put a ton of pressure on the quarterback. He totaled 29 tackles, 8.5 tackles for a loss and five sacks in 2023. Murphy played a big role in Texas making the National Championship playoff.

NFL evaluators are excited about Murphy’s ability in the pass rush, where he is very dangerous. Murphy is a quick defender at the point of attack and shows the ability to fire his gap to penetrate upfield. With natural pad level, Murphy does a phenomenal job of fighting through guards and making it difficult for them to sustain their blocks. While Murphy lacks some size, he possesses strength in both the upper and lower portions of his body. That allows him to drive block and bull rush through offensive linemen. Murphy uses heavy hands to jolt offensive linemen, demonstrating the power to knock them to the side with an impressive club move. In a one-on-one situation, offensive linemen can really struggle to keep Murphy from breaking into the pocket. Murphy has loose and slippery hips that allow him to change direction to dart past blockers. With his speed off the ball, slippery change of direction, and his leverage, Murphy is difficult to stand up because he just keeps churning up field.

For an interior pass rusher, Murphy is a real threat with special quickness and athleticism. He closes on the quarterback in a hurry and shows good vision, instincts, and awareness to adjust to a moving signal-caller. Thanks to his natural and functional strength, Murphy can push through blocks and can close in an instant on the quarterback. Murphy possesses an impressive set of pass-rushing moves along with being able to win off of sheer power and speed.

Murphy is a solid run defender, too. He has a strong, thick lower body to hold his ground at the line of scrimmage. He fills his gap and can be tough to move. Murphy is able to eat up his block, prevent holes from opening up, and maintain gap integrity. Murphy plays hard and gives a second effort if he’s initially blocked. He also will give an effort to make tackles in the ground game downfield through his steady motor.

Being around 6-foot-1, Murphy lacks some length, which can lead to him getting tied up by offensive linemen. Long interior linemen could give him some problems as a pro.

In the 2024 NFL Draft, Murphy looks like a sure-fire first-round pick. He should be a safe choice to develop into a good pro.