Clemson’s Myles Murphy is the forgotten pass rusher in the 2023 NFL Draft


The 2023 NFL Draft class has been extensively praised for its expertise on the edge rusher place. Among the many most highly-touted prospects on this yr’s extremely deep class is Clemson’s Myles Murphy.

A five-star recruit popping out of highschool, Murphy completed with 18.5 sacks and 36 tackles for a loss over the course of his three seasons with the Tigers. He was a first-team All-ACC defender in 2022, in addition to a second-team All-ACC member in 2021. On a Clemson protection that featured a handful of NFL-caliber defensive linemen, Murphy appeared to be the very best of the bunch.

Myles Murphy’s strengths

One of many quickest edge rushers on this draft, Murphy is fast off the snap and has spectacular straight-line velocity. His athleticism makes him a troublesome defender to dam on exterior velocity rushes. Even with out concrete testing from the mix to go off of, it appears probably he would’ve been among the many prime testers at his place off of his tape alone.

Murphy performs onerous on a constant foundation, thus maximizing his athletic instruments. Whether or not he’s in a stand-up edge function, as a 5-, 3- or 4-tech, he performs very onerous and has a relentless method in the direction of moving into the backfield. Clemson dropped Murphy out in protection generally, and he’s a nimble athlete with free hips and good lateral quickness. This additionally makes him a great pursuit defender in house and a pleasant choice for stunt calls. His sheer pure flexibility permits him to show the nook nicely on the skin, even when his pad stage isn’t good.

Myles Murphy’s weaknesses

Murphy tends to shoot upright off the snap, and he doesn’t do the very best job of retaining his anchor beneath him on the level of assault. This will have an effect on his anchor energy setting the sting in opposition to the run, in addition to his steadiness as soon as engaged with a blocker. It’s clear Murphy has a excessive motor, however he generally maintains a mindset that’s too aggressive. He can stand to work on controlling himself in opposition to play motion and choices, as he’s too fast to chunk on one learn over the opposite too typically. There are some situations during which a scarcity of a transparent plan as a pass-rusher can come again to chunk him.

Myles Murphy highlights

Myles Murphy’s 2023 NFL Mix outcomes

Due to a scarcity of athletic testing on the Mix, Murphy didn’t qualify for a Relative Athletic Rating. Nevertheless, he did measure and put up 25 reps within the bench press.

Although purely off of a dimension and bench press perspective, Mockdraftable’s profile comparisons for Murphy embody the Jaguars’ Josh Allen and Whitney Mercilus.

What others are saying about Myles Murphy

Lance Zierlein of NFL.com had the next to say about Murphy:

Murphy has glorious dimension/traits and has been constantly productive in affect classes for 3 straight years. He performs with a plus motor and good first-step quickness, however his recreation isn’t actually twitchy or explosive. He has ending expertise when he’s contained in the pocket, however he must fluctuate his rush angles and discover an efficient inside counter, as NFL tackles shall be anticipating his long-arm bull-rush method. Murphy’s size and post-up energy may present the scheme and positional versatility that places him on each draft board. The traits and upside are there, however his talent stage wants a lift to push the ceiling larger.


Although nonetheless a piece in progress, Murphy has great athletic instruments with loads of velocity off the sting and suppleness, which makes him a scheme-versatile risk. Physique self-discipline and a pass-rushing plan shall be key for him to unlock his huge potential. His constant manufacturing speaks for itself, although, and he has the instruments to develop right into a high-end edge rusher on the subsequent stage.