Gabriel Murphy, Edge UCLA: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Murphy was a three-star recruit from Bishop Lynch High School in Dallas, Texas in the class of 2019

UCLA pass rusher Laiatu Latu drew headlines in 2023, but his teammate Gabriel Murphy also had a dominant season. Murphy has some physical limitations, but his excellent hand usage and upper body twitch make him a borderline top 100 selection in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Visit my Twitter account @Sam_Teets33 for more opinions on prospects, clips, and the latest football content.

Gabriel Murphy, Edge UCLA: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Redshirt junior defensive end from Dallas, Texas

Background: Murphy was a three-star recruit from Bishop Lynch High School in Dallas, Texas in the class of 2019. He was the No. 1,321 recruit according to 247Sports and No. 1,329 for On3.com. Murphy was an unranked three-star recruit for Rivals and an unranked three-star recruit for ESPN with a 73 grade out of 100. He transferred from North Texas to UCLA for the 2022 season. As a high school senior, Murphy produced 89 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, and an interception. As a junior, he totaled 93 tackles, 25 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, a forced fumble, two fumble recoveries, and five passes defensed. Murphy amassed 47 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, a fumble recovery, and four passes defensed as a sophomore. His twin brother (Grayson) is a pass rusher who played with Gabriel at North Texas and also transferred to UCLA.

Injuries & Off-Field: N/A

Awards: 2021 Second Team All-CUSA (PFF), 2022 Second Team All-Pac-12 (PFF), 2023 Honorable Mention All-Pac-12, 2023 First Team All-Pac-12 (Associated Press)

Pros: Special teams experience on the kick return, kick coverage, punt return, punt coverage, and field goal block units, explosive first step, times the snap well, good straight line speed, closing burst, lateral explosiveness, explosive steps to exchange gaps quickly, speed rush up the arc, attacks inside rush lanes, upper body twitch, quick and violent hands to execute pass rush moves, quick hands for swats and swipes, attacks and nullifies the offensive lineman’s hands, powerful club move, extremely polished swim move, club-swim, rip move, club-rip, cross-chop, gets skinny to shoot gaps, excellent speed and burst on stunts, crushes the quarterback with big hits, good hand placement, good core strength, quick hands and elusive upper half help dodge blockers in the run game, multiple quick-twitch run stops vs. Utah (2023), sets feet and tosses lineman blocks aside with two hands, uses the lineman’s forward momentum to shed blocks, feints two-handed punch and retracts hands to draw linemen forward before slipping past them

Cons: Penalized 19 times over the past three years, arms don’t meet NFL thresholds, lean for an edge rusher, limited counters to revive rush after it stalls, benefited from interior alignments against less athletic linemen, hip stiffness, bend is limited, inconsistent bend leads to him being pushed up and around the pocket, limited agility, some issues corralling quarterbacks in the pocket, play strength limits contact balance, trouble playing directly through the frame of offensive linemen, some difficulties breaking strong clamps, non-impact player against double teams, displaced by double teams and combo blocks, sealed inside vs. the run

Overview: Murphy has more than 300 career special teams snaps split across the kick return, kick coverage, punt return, punt coverage, and field goal block units. The Bruins ran a unique defensive front this year, aligning Laiatu Latu and the Murphy Twins in two and three-point stances all across the defensive line. For Murphy, that included snaps as a standup wide-9 and in three and two-point stances at 5-tech, 4-tech, 4i, 3-tech, and even 0-tech. He has an explosive first step and times the snap well to threaten tackles vertically with his speed rush up the arc. Murphy also has good straight line speed and the closing burst to hunt quarterbacks. He takes explosive lateral steps to exchange gaps quickly and attack inside rush lanes. The Texas native displays upper body twitch and quick, violent hands to execute pass rush moves. He uses swats and swipes to attack the offensive lineman’s hands. His pass rush arsenal includes a powerful club move, an extremely polished swim move, rips, cross-chops, club-swims, club-rips, getting skinny to shoot gaps, and using his speed and burst on stunts. Murphy has good hand placement when engaging with offensive linemen and displays his core strength in the run game by setting his feet and using both his arms to toss blockers aside. His quick hands and elusive upper half help him evade blockers. He frequently uses the lineman’s forward momentum to shed blocks. Murphy also feints a two-handed punch to draw a lineman in before retracting his hands and slipping past the blocker. The North Texas transfer has committed 19 penalties over the past three seasons. His arms don’t meet NFL thresholds, and he is lean for an edge rusher. Murphy has limited counters to revive his pass rush after it stalls out. UCLA’s scheme and strong supporting cast helped him face less athletic interior linemen and amass massive pressure totals. Hip stiffness significantly limits Murphy’s bend. His lack of bend leads to him being pushed up and around the pocket. The redshirt junior’s limited agility makes it difficult for him to corral quarterbacks and running backs in the backfield. His play strength makes it difficult to play directly through the offensive lineman’s frame. Murphy has some issues breaking strong clamps but usually separates from blocks in a timely manner. Murphy’s ability to hold the point of attack against the run is questionable. He is displaced by double teams and combo blocks at the point of attack and is sealed inside on outside runs. His ability to slip blocks and batter offensive linemen with an array of powerful clubs and swipes will help him succeed as a penetrating run defender, even if he doesn’t hold the point of attack at a high level.

Overall, Murphy’s explosiveness and twitchy upper body make him effective against the run and pass, but he deals with physical limitations that likely put a cap on his ceiling as a prospect. He is a penetrating run defender who won’t anchor at a high level but can slip blocks to impact the play. UCLA’s pass rushers have some of the most technically advanced hand usage in the draft class.

Role & Scheme Fit: Designated pass rusher in an odd defensive front

Round Projection: Fourth Round – Borderline Top 100

Size: 6'3", 260 lbs. (Unofficial)

Submitted: 01-07-24