Myles Murphy Scouting Report and NFL Draft Profile

Myles Murphy Scouting Report: Clemson, Edge

2023 NFL Draft Measurements

Myles Murphy 40-yard dash: 4.6 (estimate, did not run at Combine)

6’5″ / 268 lbs

Myles Murphy Draft Profile

Myles played his high school football at Hillgrove High School in Marietta, Georgia. This is the same high school that produced NFL talents like Bradley Chubb, Kenyan Drake, and Evan Engram. Murphy was a top-5 national prospect following his senior season before signing with Clemson.

Myles didn’t take long to make an impact upon his arrival. His first season at Clemson he earned Freshman All-American honors from The Athletic, ESPN, Rivals, and the Football Writers Association of America. He continued his high level of play in 2021, once again earning some All-American love (4th team), as well as multiple All-ACC selections from different media outlets. He would top it off in 2022 with 40 tackles (a collegiate career high) and team leading (tied) 6.5 sacks. It was also the first time Murphy didn’t lead the team in tackles for loss, even though he had 11. Once again, he would be named to All-ACC teams by multiple outlets, including first-team by the Associated Press.

He would finish his 3-year collegiate career with 38 games played, including 27 starts. Murphy was credited with 139 tackles (37 for loss), 17.5 sacks, six forced fumbles, and six pass breakups. He is only of only four Clemson players (joining Gaines Adams, Vic Beasley, and Clelin Ferrell) to have multiple seasons forcing multiple fumbles and at least four sacks. He’s also the only player in the country, over the last three seasons, with at least 10 tackles for loss and at least one forced fumble.

Strengths

Active Hands

This was the trait that I came away most impressed with while studying Myles. I feel like most of the edge rushers that I’ve studied for this year’s draft don’t really use their hands. This isn’t the case with Murphy. He displayed an excellent punch and club move, that frees himself from the grips of opposing blockers. He would also pull out a nice rip move from time to time as well. This is a skill that I feel most players coming out of college are lacking. So, it was nice to see someone that has already developed the skill.

Play Strength

I came away impressed with the play strength that Murphy showed on film. He was able to use it to hold his ground in the run game. In the passing attack, he would simply overpower and bully opposing offensive lineman with his bull rush. One play that stands out to me was against North Carolina St., where he put the left tackle on his butt with just one arm. He also managed 25 reps on the bench press during the Combine (the only event that he participated in). That number was good enough to tie for 6th most by defensive ends.

Comfortable in Coverage

I was stunned during the first game of film study when Murphy dropped into coverage. It wasn’t the fact that he did it, more that he looked comfortable doing so. He was surprisingly smooth dropping into his area of responsibility in zone coverage. In man, he was able to matchup and run with tight ends with little issue. This ability will allow him to be an option NFL teams, regardless of whether they run a 3-4 or 4-3 based defense.

Weaknesses

Lack of Rush Moves

When rushing the passer, Myles would primarily depend on either a speed or bull rush. While he did show the ability to pull out other moves, it was a little concerning how little he would use them. I feel like, because he knew that he could potentially overpower blockers, that he didn’t really have a plan on what he wanted to do pre-snap. This is a part of his game that he’ll definitely need to improve upon in order to be productive rushing the passer.

Bend/Flexibility

This was another point of concern that I noticed when watching Murphy rush the quarterback. His lack of bend forces him to have to take a wide route to the quarterback. At the NFL level, opposing tackles are just going to ride him pass the quarterback and take him out of the play all together. Sadly, he didn’t run through any drills at the combine due to an injury. He does plan on doing them during Clemson’s pro day on March 14, so hopefully he can put some of those concerns to rest there.

Myles Murphy Draft Stock

It’s hard, I might even say impossible, to find a mock draft that doesn’t have Murphy selected in the first round at this point. According to NFL Mock Draft Database, Myles is currently ranked as the 12th best overall prospect. All four of ESPN’s draft analysts have Murphy rated as one of their top-3 defensive ends.

Final Thoughts on Myles Murphy

Myles Murphy has a good combination of size, athleticism, and strength. His ability to use his hands to get free of opposing blocks, playing strength, and ability to track the ball throughout the play are going to allow him to immediately make an impact as a rookie. If he can add some more rush moves, other than the speed and bull rush, to his bag of tricks he’ll be able to take himself from solid starter, to Pro Bowl caliber player in no time. He’s right up there with Iowa’s Lukas Van Ness and Texas Tech’s Tyree Wilson to potentially be the first defensive end off the board.