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2020 Draft Profile: Oklahoma LB Kenneth Murray is an athletic linebacker and 'an explosive tackler'

Oklahoma LB Kenneth Murray

2019 stats: 14 games, 102 tackles (69 solo), 4.0 sacks, 17.0 tackles for loss, four passes defended

Height / Weight: 6'2" / 241 lbs

Accolades: Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year (2017), Second-Team All-Big 12 (2018), First-Team All-Big 12 (2019)

2020 NFL Draft prospect rankings: Daniel Jeremiah's Top 50 - #22

Giants current depth at LB: Blake Martinez, David Mayo, Ryan Connelly, Devante Downs, Josiah Tauefa, Nate Harvey, Mark McLaurin, Chris Peace

NFL.com's Daniel Jeremiah: Murray is an off-the-ball, run-and-hit linebacker. He is at his best when he's free to chase and make plays to the perimeter. He closes in a heartbeat and he is an explosive tackler. He struggles when he has to play off blocks and locate the football through the trash inside, as he doesn't use his hands and gets swallowed up. He has had some success dipping and slipping blocks. He is very athletic in coverage versus running backs, easily mirroring them in space. He is also a very dynamic blitzer. Overall, I believe Murray would be best served to play outside and off the ball, where he would be afforded clean sight lines to attack with his speed.

View photos of Oklahoma LB Kenneth Murray.

NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein: Sleek, playmaking linebacker with chiseled frame and long arms. Murray's game is predicated on speed with an ability to fly around from sideline to sideline rolling up tackles. While his twitchy burst allows him to make more plays than the average linebacker, he will overflow to ball-carriers at times. Recognition of play development and ability to take on blocks are both underdeveloped currently, but a move to weak-side linebacker would put him in position to minimize those concerns and maximize his playmaking talent. Murray has hit-or-miss qualities and is more splashy than consistent, but he's immensely talented with the ability to imprint on games on all three downs.

ESPN's Mel Kiper: I said on the podcast recently that I really wanted to move up Murray into my top 25, and he has now made it into both of my early mock drafts. He is a chiseled specimen with great athleticism for his size. Murray can be a little stiff in coverage, but he has excellent diagnostic ability, and he flies to the football. I think he will improve in space with more reps; he was asked to be a tackling machine for the Sooners, who didn't have a ton of other defensive studs. Murray also showed that he can blitz, as he had 8.5 sacks over the past two seasons. He could be a linebacker in a 3-4 or 4-3 defense.

The 2020 Draft Profile series:

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