Analysis of Washington Redskins’ Trent Murphy
By Matthew Laux
After the exciting three day NFL Draft, All Over the Hill will look back upon each pick the Washington Redskins made over the impactful draft. First and foremost we will begin by looking at possibly the riskiest pick in the second round linebacker Trent Murphy. Murphy was selected 47th overall pick while other more flashy, need-filling picks were still on the board.
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Strengths: The soon to be Stanford graduate has shown solid athleticism and an excellent motor leading the NCAA in sacks (15). The newly added Redskin will be expected to fill out his large 6’5’’ frame and to potentially fill the possible void at the outside linebacker position with Brian Orakpo playing on the franchise tag and Ryan Kerrigan a free agent down the line. Although the pick may not have an immediate impact, Murphy’s work ethic, attitude, and determination should produce a solid NFL player.
Weaknesses: Many top draft analysts graded Murphy as a fourth round player, but clearly the Redskins saw otherwise selecting Murphy with the 47th overall pick. Murphy must improve his coverage skills if he hopes to fit in as an outside linebacker in the Redskins 3-4 scheme. Also, Murphy is not the explosive pass rusher that many teams look for but relies on his extra effort to get to the quarterback.
Bottom Line: Murphy was an absolute reach for the Redskins. Washington could have waited much longer to select Murphy and failed to address a need in the secondary before adding a rather unneeded linebacker. Grade= D+