Byron Murphy II (DL) – Texas / Junior
6’1/2”, 297 Lbs. (Combine)
2023 Stats: 14 games, 29 tackles (13 solo/16 assisted), 5 sacks, 8.5 TFL
{Reference: https://texassports.com/sports/football/roster/byron-murphy-ii/12445}
Awards: Big-12 Defensive Lineman of the Year
Measurables (Combine):
| Hand | Arm | Wing |
| 10-1/4″ | 32-3/8″ | 77-1/8″ |
| 40-Dash | 10-Split | Vertical | Broad | 3-Cone | 20-Shuttle | Bench |
| 4.87 sec | 1.69 sec | 33″ | 9’3″ | *** | *** | 28 rep |
RAS: 9.02
Games Watched: 2023 vs. Oklahoma State; 2024 vs. Washington (Sugar Bowl)
PRO’S
Non-stop motor which is what you always like to hear about in a player, explosive burst against OL and quick laterally. Absorbs double-teams VERY well, very good at disengaging, recovering, and shutting down gaps in run game. Excellent at keeping pad-levels low, seemingly always getting lower than opposition, combined with great balance helps him get great leverage. He knows how to use his hands to win — consistently good hand placement and he’s violent with them. With burst, speed, nice rip moves and arm swipes, and violence off the line he’s consistent in pushing the OL back into the QBs face from the interior.
CON’S
Not the biggest iDL — his teammate Sweat is 6’4″ and 362 lbs — but Sweat is more a NT and I believe that Murphy’s size is not a big deal given how well he does everything else…he’s a very advanced defensive lineman coming out of college. Needs to strengthen up though as bigger offensive linemen can give him a hard time and knock him off balance at times. This is seen sometimes too when an offensive linemen gets the first punch on him and stymies his pass rush.
OVERALL
Outstanding DL duo his year coming out of Texas in Murphy and T’Vondre Sweat and both should be gone by the end of the 2nd round. I like both of these players so much that I’d love to see an NFL team draft the two of them within the first two rounds and have their iDL set for the next 10 years. I’m seeing other draftniks starting to consistently rank Murphy higher than Sweat with a supposedly higher ceiling. After diving into both of them I’m going to stick with my original view that Sweat has both the higher floor AND ceiling, but that’s not a knock against Murphy — I’d be VERY happy with him on my team. I just think some (not all, but some) of Murphy’s production is a result of the attention that Sweat demands. The dude Murphy can play, is very polished, love that high-motor, pad-level, leverage, energy, violence, and two-way as an iDL — excellent against the run while also a pocket pusher from the interior. Both are 3-down players so don’t be surprised if both Murphy and Sweat are gone by the end of the 1st.
Completed by: Joe Knows (@JoeJ_Clark), 02/08/24
