2024 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Texas DL Byron Murphy II

From now until the 2024 NFL Draft, we will scout and create profiles for as many prospects as possible, examining their strengths, weaknesses, and what they can bring to an NFL franchise. These players could be potential top-10 picks, all the way down to Day 3 selections, and priority undrafted free agents. Today, a scouting report on Texas DL Byron Murphy II.

#90 BYRON MURPHY II/DL TEXAS – 6-1, 308 POUNDS. (JUNIOR)

MEASUREMENTS

THE GOOD

– Squatty body with a great marriage of mass, explosiveness, strength, and leverage for his size
– Three-down, supercharged motor who can play multiple roles on the DL
– Shows significant first-step quickness off the ball to win with speed-to-power
– Powerful upper and lower body explosiveness to uproot OL
– Pad level is superb when taking on or evading blocks
– Fast lateral mover that can allow him to invade running lanes/gaps
– Plays the leverage game very well to get underneath OL and drive them
– Able to displace and withstand double-teams because of leverage, strength, and flexibility
– Balance and recovery to absorb combo blocks
– Quick swim move off first contact works very effectively for him
– Knows how to use push-pull and rip moves effectively when dealing with OL anchoring
– Has a very violent and strong club and cross-chop move
– Processes and reacts quickly to blocking angles, which puts him in a great position for gap integrity
– Can absorb a lot of power to allow others to invade run lanes
– Still room to grow technique-wise for hand fighting
– Great production for the 2023 season in both run defense and pass rushing
– No major injuries
– One penalty over penalty years of play

THE BAD

– Short stature and average arm-length at best allows for OL to greet him first
– Holding the line on double-teams is hard with his athletic limitations
– Can get out of control at times with his energetic approach, which affects his hand-striking accuracy
– Bigger OL can stall his long arm and bull rushes, which causes him to stall out quickly
– Needs to do a better job with hand usage in pass rush sets to set up OL
– Tends to dive at guys’ ankles on running plays, which can lead to missed tackles
– Size/scheme role specific
– Teams may question if he can hold up for all three downs with his size concerns and the energy he exerts

BIO

– Born on 09/08/02 (21 years old)
– Three-year defensive lineman who played in 39 games with 16 starts
– 1,128 snaps (694 as a 3-technique, 408 as a 0-1 tech) according to PFF
– 76 pressures, 70 tackles, 49 run stops, 15 TFLs, 11 missed tackles, eight sacks, 0 PBUs
– 2023 second-team AP All-American
– 2023 Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year
– 2023 first-team All-Big 12 selection in 2023 by the conference’s coaches, AP and Phil Steele
– 2023 second-team Academic All-Big 12 & 2022 first-team Academic All-Big 12
– 2023 #18 on Bruce Feldman’s Freak List via The Athletic (18 MPH on GPS, team-best 455 lb.