The Bengals have a need for edge-rushing depth behind Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard, and Murphy can fill that need from multiple gaps. You’d like to see a bit more of a finished picture, but as Cincinnati defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo is one of the best in the business, Murphy’s upside should be sufficiently realized in the Queen City.
Height: 6′ 4⅝” (70th percentile) Weight: 268 (60th)
40-Yard Dash: N/A
10-Yard Split: N/A
Bench Press: 25 reps (65th)
Vertical Jump: N/A
Broad Jump: N/A
3-Cone Drill: N/A
20-Yard Shuttle: N/A
Wingspan: N/A
Arm Length: 33¾” (57th)
Hand Size: 8½” (0)
Bio: Murphy came out of Hillgrove High School in Marietta, Georgia as ESPN’s No. 3 player in the nation, the No. 2 defensive end, and the No. 1 player in the state of Georgia. He was a consensus Freshman All-American, and kept the pace throughout his collegiate career. Over three seasons with the Tigers, Murphy totaled 20 sacks, 10 quarterback hits, 66 quarterback hurries, five batted passes, 63 tackles, 64 stops, and six forced fumbles. He had 1,244 snaps outside the tackles, 180 over the tackles, 117 in the B-gaps, and five in the A-gaps.
Stat to Know: Murphy’s Broken and Missed Tackles Percentage Rate of 5% last season was the lowest among all edge-rushers in the 2023 class.
Strengths: Murphy has excellent speed to the pocket for a player his size; there’s nothing “hybrid” about how well he accelerates when he’s working the arc, and he has the strength and technique to go through multiple blockers to get home.
The Tigers didn’t have Murphy inside the tackles a lot, but I think he can be a credible inside/outside guy at the next level. He presents a nice bull-rush to displace interior offensive linemen, with a good finishing kick to the quarterback.
And as a run defender, Murphy’s speed and strength are pretty much NFL-transferable right now. Just plug him in and go.
Weaknesses: Power is the base of Murphy’s game, but he’ll need to get lower more frequently to maximize it — he loses leverage too often when he shouldn’t because he comes off the snap high.
Murphy is also limited in his technical repertoire — if he can’t get you with the bull-rush or the long-arm, there aren’t a lot of counters and adaptive strategies to use for him to recover if he doesn’t get home on the first try.
Conclusion: Murphy’s instant NFL success will be dependent on which set of schemes he’s in. I think he’ll have a rough go of it for a while as a four-down edge defender. But in the NFL’s increasing use of five-man fronts, he could be beneficial right away as both a big end and a strong-side pass-rusher in sub-fronts. He has enough on the ball to be somewhat productive early on, with the potential for far more if he can get his arms around the refinements that make people at his position truly great.
NFL Comparison: Rashan Gary. The Packers took Gary with the 12th pick in the 2019 draft out of Michigan despite the fact that his pass-rush repertoire was pretty basic at the time (bull-rush and long-arm). They bet on his upside as a bigger guy who could do damage from multiple gaps, and that took hold in Gary’s second, third, and fourth seasons. Murphy presents a similar set of rewards for a patient NFL coaching staff ready to give him the tools he needs to take his basic speed/power profile to the proverbial next level.
