How Good Really is Myles Murphy?

Should Clemson’s Myles Murphy be drawing comparisons to last year’s No. 1 pick, Trevon Walker? First Round Mock’s Garrett Hearl reveals the answer to that question.

The former top five recruit is expecting to hear his name called quite early in the 2023 NFL Draft, and for good reason. At an unofficial 6-foot-5 and 275 pounds, Myles Murphy has the ideal physical prowess of a professional edge-defender.

What Will Play for Murphy at the Next Level?

It doesn’t take an expert to look at Myles Murphy and think he is going to be an NFL player.

What Myles Murphy does with his given physical abilities is why teams should look at Murphy as a first-round talent in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Murphy, unofficially 275 pounds, has one of the quickest first-steps off the line in the class from the edge position.

He uses his initial speed very well in both run defense and pass rush situations. Combine that with power and the motor he plays with, and you have a good edge rusher in your hands.

Where Murphy excels is his ability in the run game. For Clemson, Murphy ate up double teams on the edge. Teams wanted to eliminate Murphy in their run game; needless to say, Murphy still got his. The true Junior used his raw power to split double teams and impact the run game. Eventually, teams stopped testing their luck against Murphy.

Seeing this, I feel like this is when we started Murphy’s development really shine.

He was learning to impact the game in different ways.

Clemson sometimes utilized him in defending the flat, and sometimes he was a set as a QB spy. Murphy showed consistent ability to stay disciplined in his role, something you strive to find in an edge defender.

Murphy really has great balance and lower body strength, which is something you cannot teach. This ability allows him to get great push at the line of scrimmage.

Murphy is not someone you can overpower.

Being able to play in any defense will really be something Murphy will be able to use in the pre-draft interviews as to why he should be selected.

Raw Talent is Still Raw

Murphy has the ability, but he still needs some refinement. In pass rush, Murphy has little, if any, bend. With this, you’d think standing him up is the way to beat him.

He’s too strong to be stood up.

The lack of pass rush moves is a concern for Murphy.

He went to the hand swipe move more than any, then turned used his power to finish the play.

To survive in the NFL for a long time, Murphy is going to need to refine his pass rush craft.

Noticeably in the game against Syracuse, Clemson seemed to take Myles Murphy off the field during obvious pass rush scenarios.

Fans should not see their team draft Murphy and think they are getting a double-digit sack player.

Similar to Aidan Hutchinson in the 2022 NFL Draft, Murphy is going to get maybe half of his sacks from the sheer effort he plays with. Nonetheless, Murphy just turned 21 recently, showing reason to not be as concerned of the lack of pass rush finesse as there may be normally.

We will see his official measurables at the NFL Draft Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Grade – Top 20 | Expectation – First Round Top 10

Murphy will be an instant contributor right away on any defense – I could see him leading all rookies in tackles for a loss in his first season.

Murphy’s best football is still ahead of him. The Travon Walker comparisons will be off the charts come draft time – athletic freak taken toward the top, in hopes of being developed; I advise to be careful with that.

• Player Comparison – Cameron Wake (Miami)
• 2021 Game Film Reviewed – Georgia, Pitt
• 2022 Game Film Reviewed – Syracuse, Florida State, Wake Forest, Notre Dame

Garrett Hearl is an aspiring NFL Draft Writer with a unique passion and love for scouting and player evaluation. Continuously wanting to learn more about football than he knew yesterday, he is currently attending Michigan State University where he is working to a degree in Journalism and Sports Journalism. Garrett lives for watching game film, learning more about the game, and is driven by his ultimate goals. Garrett writes for FirstRoundMock.com and he can be found on Twitter @garrett2hearl.