The NFL scouting combine wrapped up this weekend, which can only mean one thing: The 2024 NFL Draft is almost here.
Prospects from all over the country got together to interview with and perform in front of NFL teams to bolster their draft stock and help make their pro football dreams come true. One of those players was Texas defensive tackle Byron Murphy II.
Murphy could be a big addition to teams like the Cincinnati Bengals and the Arizona Cardinals after his performance at the combine was one of the most outstanding in Indianapolis.
Murphy’s box score stats don’t necessarily jump off the stat sheet, but that is the case with many defensive linemen. Still, he plugs up running lanes and makes it difficult for offensive linemen to get downfield to make life easier for their offense.
He’s a big reason why the Texas Longhorns allowed the fourth-fewest rushing yards per game at 80.8. Only Penn State and UCLA were better in that regard.
But the run game isn’t the only area where Murphy can impact a game. Getting pass rush from interior defensive linemen isn’t the main calling card for that position, but Murphy can do that as well.
He posted 5.0 sacks in 2023, which was by far a career-high. He had just 3.0 sacks in the two previous seasons. Murphy is a great player. The Bengals and Cardinals should be ecstatic to get him if he falls that far.
The Cincinnati Bengals are in dire need of an interior defensive lineman. They ranked 25th in the NFL in EPA allowed per rush in 2023. There were only three playoff team that finished worse in that metric than Cincinnati did: the San Francisco 49ers (26th), the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs (28th), and the Philadelphia Eagles (30th).
Not only were the Bengals bad at stopping the run, but they lost their best-run stuffer in the middle of the season to a torn ACL in DJ Reader. Before and after his injury, running backs were routinely churning out big games on the ground against Cincinnati’s defense. Minnesota Vikings running back Ty Chandler had his big breakout game against the Bengals.
He rattled off 132 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries and also added three receptions for 25 yards in that game.
