2023 NFL Draft Profile: EDGE Myles Murphy

Clemson’s Myles Murphy started and ended his collegiate career as a player with high promise and potential. Murphy was a five-star recruit out of Powder, Georgia, and contributed immediately upon arrival in Clemson. As a freshman, he registered four sacks and 10.5 tackled for a loss. Murphy took a leap as a sophomore, racking up eight sacks and 14.5 tackles for a loss. His junior campaign last season was still solid, tallying six and a half sacks and 11 tackles for a loss. Murphy received second-team All-ACC honors as a sophomore and first-team All-ACC honors as a junior. Murphy consistently produced throughout his Tigers career, making good on his highly-touted status and putting himself firmly in the first-round conversation of the 2023 NFL Draft.

Strengths

First Step Quickness: The biggest positive that jumps out from Murphy’s tape is his ability to burst upfield off the snap and challenge an offensive tackle’s outside shoulder. Murphy’s measurables might suggest he’s more of a power or bull rusher, but he can really turn the corner. Murphy didn’t test athletically at the combine, but he demonstrates quickness and explosion on the field. His quickness is an asset in the run game as well. He’ll often jump inside of tackles to make plays on inside runs.

Length/Frame: Murphy has pretty close to ideal dimensions for an NFL edge rusher. His height and weight are both prototype, but his length (33 3/4″ arms) is excellent as well. Murphy uses that length well when winning the edge in his pass rush, where he’ll hold tackles at bay with an extended arm while he gets flat to the quarterback. When playing head up with a tackle, he’ll use his length to keep tackles from controlling the rep, allowing him to disengage and either make a play in the run game or pursue a quarterback trying to escape the pocket.

Weaknesses

Pass-Rush Repertoire: Frankly, Murphy is a one-trick pony as a pass rusher at this point. His outside speed rush is effective, and it’s understandable why that would be his go-to move, but it’s essentially his only move. Sometimes Murphy works back inside on a rush, but that’s only after his outside speed rush has failed, rather than a plan of attack. If Murphy doesn’t develop a wider variety of pass rush moves, including a bull rush and a reliable inside counter, it’ll be far too easy for NFL tackles to wash Murphy around the edge.

Playing Zone Reads: There were too many times on tape when Murphy was exploited on zone reads for gashes in the run game. Typically, Murphy will scream into the backfield and make his intention far too obvious. The quarterback will read Murphy and keep the ball if he’s attacking the running back, or hand it off if he’s attacking the quarterback. Once fooled, Murphy can show disappointing effort in getting himself back into the play. He’ll need to learn to surf the line of scrimmage and read those types of option plays better.

Ideal Role

Left End in a 4-3 Scheme: Clemson did drop Murphy into coverage occasionally, so it’s not totally out of the question that a 3-4 team could draft him and make him a standup outside linebacker. But Murphy’s frame and weight make him a classic fit for 4-3 defensive end. He probably shouldn’t be a team’s number-one rusher until he develops a much bigger bag than he has now.

Potential Fits

If Murphy goes in the top half of the first round, the Philadelphia Eagles make a lot of sense as a team that loves to invest in its defensive line and will be looking for a Brandon Graham successor pretty soon. If he slips into the back half of the first round, the Detroit Lions could see him as a long-term bookend to Aidan Hutchinson and the final piece to a young, talented defensive line.

– Ryan Cuneo is the Managing Editor of Full Press Giants. He covers the New York Giants. Like and follow on Follow @ryan_cuneo Follow @FullPressGiants and Facebook.