About Kenneth

Coming out of Missouri City, Texas, Kenneth Murray wasn’t the biggest recruit on any boards ranking outside the top 30 recruits in Texas. He was able to gather plenty of Power 5 offers though, including schools like Michigan, Texas, Ole Miss, and Baylor. Ultimately on Aug 10th, 2016 Kenneth would commit to the University of Oklahoma, becoming an early enrollee at that.

Murray wasted no time making an impact for the Sooners defense. As a freshman he would record 78 total tackles (2nd on the team), nine for loss, one sack and a fumble recovery. Those efforts would earn him Co Big-12 Defensive Freshman of the year, and a spot on USA Today’s Freshman All-American list. The Sooners would go 12-1 before battling Georgia in a 2OT Rose Bowl game, which they would lose 54-48.

As a true sophomore Murray would double his solo tackles (71), and record 155 total tackles, 12.5 for loss, and 4.5 sacks. He would become 2nd in school history for tackles in a game with 28 total tackles vs Army, which was the most recorded in a single game since 2000. Once again Oklahoma finished 12-1, ranked 4th in the nation, and faced Alabama in the Orange Bowl.

2019 saw a tad drop in statical play, but his impact continued to grow the Sooners. We saw Murray record 102 total tackles, 17 for a loss, and four sacks, and his play would earn him his first 1st Team All Big-12 honor. Sadly for him though the Sooners seemed to be cursed in the College Football Playoff, and would end another 12-1 season losing in the Peach Bowl vs LSU. Kenneth announced that he would forgo his senior season with Oklahoma and enter the 2020 NFL Draft on Jan. 2nd, 2020.

The Decision…1 Thessalonians 5:24 #K9 pic.twitter.com/80gOrB0mRS
— K9 (@KennethMurray) January 2, 2020

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths

I love Murray’s ability to true be an all around linebacker, ling up on the edge or as the inside Mike backer. He has amazing lateral speed, and gets sideline to sideline in the blink of an eye. That speed also translates when run support, making all kinds of plays behind the line of scrimmage. He is very smooth in coverage and takes good angles to the ball carrier.

Weaknesses

He definitely could work on breaking off blockers, and working on not letting lineman get to him at the second level. When engaged on a block he doesn’t seem to know how to get off the block, he normally relies on his speed to just get to the ball carrier before he is touched. Sometimes he can get caught guessing too much and wind up on the wrong end of the play, just missing the tackle on the ball.

NFL Draft Projection/NFL Player Comp

NFL Draft Projection

Many teams could use Kenneth Murray’s talents, and now with Luke Kuechly’s early retirement we could add Carolina to that mix as well. With the class being so weak Murray could see himself drafted in the Top 12, or all the way near the end of the 1st round. He is my 17th player overall on my NFL Big Board, and I have him landing with the Las Vegas Raiders at 19th overall in my latest mock draft.

The Raiders have been missing an elite talent in the middle of their defense for years now, and really just any elite talent since Khalil Mack left. Murray brings just that, and will give the Raiders something to bring defensively to Las Vegas. If you add him with their first 1st round pick, and everything else they drafted last year, and now Gruden has a very talented group to coach on defense.

NFL Player Comp

Murray plays with a speed that is very rare for a linebacker. His ability to cover everything inside the hash marks immediately flashes Eric Kendricks in my eyes. Both linebackers are slightly undersized at the position, but his impact is truly felt being able to lockdown an entire half of the football field. In 2015, Kendricks came out and blew up the combine, running a 4.61 and jumping over 38 inches.

I think he is a little bit more polished at this stage in his career than Kendricks was. I would expect Murray to be a little better in run defense, and making tackles closer to the line of scrimmage. Eric is one of the better coverage linebackers in the NFL today, and Murray can be too, but his play making will come more from his ability to get to the ball carrier instantly.