Minnesota Vikings cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. has been named a potential breakout player by ESPN’s Bill Barnwell.
Murphy was a second-round pick of the Arizona Cardinals in 2019 and couldn’t quite live up to the potential of his pedigree. He was often hurt, including missing eight games in 2022 because of a back injury.
Barnwell grouped Murphy in the group he called post-hype candidates. Here is how Barnwell described this tier:
These are the players who, for one reason or another, have fallen off the breakout radar and aren’t getting the appropriate level of attention heading into the season. Last year, the classic example of a post-hype breakout would have been Raiders running back Josh Jacobs, who went from playing in the Hall of Fame game and having his fifth-year option declined to leading the league in rushing yards. These players don’t neatly fit into any of the categories above, but they can regain that attention in 2023.
Murphy has played very well thus far during training camp, including locking down Justin Jefferson during drills. This is what Barnwell had to say about Murphy’s potential breakout:
For much of his tenure in Arizona, Murphy was the best cornerback on a team that didn’t have good players at the position. He emerged as a valuable slot cornerback, but he struggled when pushed into a broader role in 2022. His passer rating allowed jumped from 87.6 to 101.1, while the Cardinals were 15 points of QBR better without Murphy on the field. After missing just two games in his first three seasons, he was out for the second half of 2022 with a back injury.
The Vikings needed help everywhere at cornerback, but another factor appealed to them: Murphy’s age. At 25, he was one of the youngest free agents on the open market, and the hope will be that a more modern, dynamic defense under Brian Flores gets the most out of Murphy’s skill set. Flores has typically asked his corners to play man more often than most other coordinators; Murphy will get a chance to prove whether he’s up to the task. On a two-year deal, he could land a much larger contract in free agency in 2025.
The defense that Brian Flores runs will hopefully maximize Murphy’s potential and turn him into the Vikings’ CB1 in 2023 and beyond.
