The Chicago Bears, and reportedly every other team was at Clemson this week, not for the Clemson pro day, but for the pro day of one Clemson player. Myles Murphy, who was banged up over the past couple of months finally worked out in front of scouts, and media and his athletic testing finally was revealed.
Did Myles Murphy jump into top ten consideration for Chicago Bears?
Overall, the athletic testing was elite, and sources say that he had a great day doing the drills as well.
Myles Murphy is a DE prospect in the 2023 draft class. He scored an unofficial 9.88 #RAS out of a possible 10.00 after a strong second pro day performance. This ranked 20 out of 1605 DE from 1987 to 2023.
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) April 4, 2023
Assuming official times are close, great score.
https://t.co/gAxdY6lmjT pic.twitter.com/B3up9peyyu
It is worth mentioning that maybe .05 or so can be cut off a time at a pro day compared to the NFL combine. Still, if you add that to his 40, and agility times he is above average in each and elite in the 40.
The reality is that not many people over 260 pounds can run under a 4.6 in the 40. When they do, they get drafted high. Only 13 other players hit this feat, and nine of them went round one. Murphy should make it ten.
The names include Travon Walker, Jadeveon Clowney, Ziggy Ansah, Rashan Gary, Marcus Davenport, Jaelen Phillips, Bud Dupree, Bryan Thomas, and Montez Sweat. That is not bad company to be in.
It is fair that these names are all good, but may not be worthy of top ten picks. They all hit a bar of at least nine sacks once, but none of them consistently strung together a good career. Ironically, the same question with Murphy is whether he can consistently finish, or if he is just a flash player. Three of those players went top ten, three went in the teens, and three went in the 20s. He may be closer to that 15-20 type of player, which is where the majority of these guys find their worth.
Murphy had 42 pressures as a sophomore but dropped back down to 34 this season. On the flip side, Lukas Van Ness went from 28 pressures to 46 the following season. His stock was rising, and when you add that he worked out at the NFL combine, and Murphy did not, you realize why Van Ness may be going ahead of Murphy.
Now that Murphy has less unknown about him, it could be a discussion between the two. Van Ness still tested out to be the better overall athlete, but it is at least close now, and an elite tester vs. an incomplete profile.
They have similar pressure numbers, and both have inconsistent tape, although the flashes are brilliant. The Chicago Bears may consider Van Ness over Murphy, but we should at least consider the reality that some will see them close to each other now that Murphy showed what he can do.