Oklahoma Football: Has Kenneth Murray cemented himself as first-rounder?

After being the leader of Oklahoma football’s defense, has Kenneth Murray locked himself in as one of the top linebackers of the draft?

Oklahoma has not had much good to say about their defense in the past few seasons. Kenneth Murray is one of the exceptions. He was a team captain for the Sooners and was a part of a team that has made three straight playoff appearances.

Murray is exactly what NFL teams are looking for in their linebackers today: athletic, twitchy, speed to roam from sideline to sideline and is a good leader on and off the football field. That will translate to quick on the filed success for whichever team drafts Murray.

The linebacker arrived at Oklahoma as a three-star recruit out of Missouri City, Texas, and instantly was getting playing time on the Sooners’ much-maligned defense. Murray was improving by each game and really started to show how bright his future was in the playoff game against Georgia. In the semifinal against the Dawgs, Murray totaled nine tackles and a sack in the Rose Bowl loss, but showed that he had a bright future as the leader of the defense.

Murray would take a big step forward from a production standpoint during the 2018 season, finishing the year with 155 tackles and four sacks, including a big performance in the Orange Bowl semifinal against Alabama where he had 15 tackles and half a sack. He was not getting the attention that he deserved because Oklahoma had one of the worst defenses in the entire country, but the Sooners total defensive ranks were not an indicator of how talented Murray was.

Oklahoma hired Alex Grinch away from Ohio State to try and fix the defense and he was going to be relying on Murray to help lead that turnaround. Oklahoma’s defense did improve and Murray helped lead the Sooners to yet another playoff appearance. He finished his junior year with 102 tackles, four sacks and four pass deflections and was starting to get recognized as a potential first round pick.

Strengths

Murray has good size for an NFL linebacker at 6-foot-2 and 242 pounds and he showed off his athletic ability at the NFL combine. He ran a 4.52 40-yard dash and also had a 38-inch vertical jump.

This showcase of athleticism is his biggest draw to being a first round pick because NFL teams demand a lot of their linebackers in terms of coverage responsibilities and being able to play in space and cover linebackers and tight ends. He plays fast and gets downhill quickly and I think he is just scratching the surface of his potential.

Weaknesses

Murray is not the best run-stopper and struggles filling his gaps at times and can be out of place. For all of his athletic traits, he never intercepted a pass in his collegiate career and while stats are not always the story, Murray will be expected to be a disruptor and force as the leader of a defense. Murray also played on some truly bad defenses and it is a fair question as to whether some of his stats were padded because he was on the field all the time and the defense had a hard time stopping anyone.

Draft Projection

It’s safe to say Murray is very talented and tested well at the combine and should be a first-round pick. He will have an adjustment period in terms of being able to stop the run and developing better coverage skills and instincts, but Murray has all the tools to be a perennial Pro Bowler. The Raiders, Jaguars, Patriots, Saints and Ravens are teams to watch to take Murray in the first round.

Projection: Late first round