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Forum nameOkay Sports
Topic subjectCB Byron Murphy, Washington
Topic URLhttp://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=8&topic_id=2674013&mesg_id=2681403
2681403, CB Byron Murphy, Washington
Posted by will_5198, Sun Dec-09-18 10:09 PM
He's probably the springiest corner in this class. When it comes to chase-and-recover he's as good as anybody -- even in a bad position, he can almost always close the distance.

Smart, too. He plays a variety of coverages and knows how to leverage correctly for each of them, so you can line him up anywhere. Most corners in college will blindly drop to their assigned zone; he actually reads route combos and intersects them. And when he gets there? Phenomenal ball skills (17 passes defended this season). He's a fly-swatter with a fearless radius.

What gives me pause, however, is how much he relies on interference. Washington is a grabby bunch, and I wonder if the lax college rules hide the fact he is not the biggest defender. He'll have to match up with some intimidating dudes at the next level, and the NFL won't let him lasso them downfield like he's used to now.

He'll make or lose a lot of money at the Combine -- if he can't hit his listed height (5'11) and keep his burst with more weight (listed at 182, needs to be closer to 190) he's going to slide. I like him with caveats: he's a hawk when the ball is in the air and has unique body control, but is in for a major style adjustment and his size might expose him.

+ Already an advanced player for his age (redshirt sophomore who has only started 19 games) who sees plays before they develop
+ Ultra-competitive and treats every passing attempt like a personal affront
+ Gluey in man coverage and has the burst to erase his mistakes

- NFL wants 6'0 corners who can body up and block out daylight with their wingspans, he's not it
- For as twitchy as he is, grabs constantly to stay in-phase
- Based on how he adapts to NFL rules, he's in the Tre'Davius White-Jourdan Lewis spectrum (both very similar to him coming out of college)