I think he's going to be used as a LB first, but more in a hybrid role. Important for him to be with a creative DC like Wink.
I know what you’re saying about worrying more about what a player can’t do than seeing what they can do, but I don’t think I have a big problem with that, my issue with what I see from Murray isn’t that he can’t do certain things and isn’t complete enough, it’s that he has a fatal flaw for his position. Can’t have LBs that will get dragged, can’t have receivers that drop routine balls, can’t have RBs that fumble often, that kind of thing.
I may have to change my tune on Murray. I’ve watched some of his games more than his highlights and the championship games and I was a bit underwhelmed. I see some of the issues people mentioned and may have to agree with @Sami84 & @allblackraven in that I don’t think I’d take him in the first at all. He’s a low end 2nd round pick who I may drop due to talent at other positions reducing his value. He has phenomenal athleticism but so did Perriman. As for tackling being something that can be fixed, let’s ask Matt Elam that question. This guy reminds me a lot of Elam in that the the tackling could continue to be a problem.
Good thing is smarter people than [hopefully] both of us will be deciding whether this is fixable or not. I’ll trust our coaches to make the right decision either way. To say I’m not concerned is an understatement, but I’m sure every prospect has major concerns and even those without major concerns bust. I’d support the player if we drafted him and could see a reason to have him here; however, I’m not as much on board with him as I initially was.
Eh I wouldn’t compare Elam and Murray’s tackling. I still worry that the tackling is a fatal flaw, but in hindsight, Elam should’ve been undrafted, his tackling was way more suspect, Murray at least sees his target and wraps with authority, he’s just too high. Elam was all shoulders and head down, he had zero form.
I’d probably feel the same way if we drafted him to be honest. I’ll try to overlook those flaws and expect the coaches to fix it. That said, I don’t know if it can be fixed but that’s why those guys get paid. I trust our team until proven otherwise with prospects. It’s why I rarely criticize draft picks except for Correa, whom I really didn’t like nor get.
Oh I know. Elam was a missile and Murray at least wraps up with high form. That said, I also don’t know if that’s correctable. Is there a precedence of this in the NFL where specifically a linebacker whose job is to tackle guys came in with these really high tackles and fixed their issue? Asking honesty not rhetorically.
I think in this day and age it doesn't really make sense anymore to draft (off-ball) linebackers in the 1st round. I just don't see the value, unless it's a generational talent like Kuechly. Our scouting has a great eye to find udfas, if we were really trying to invest then I'd say 3rd round is the earliest.
I disagree. When so much of the nfl is about timing, and catching short and running long, you need guys right there in the middle of the action that can hang, you need someone who can read a qbs eyes and pick up on timing and what offenses are trying to do when they cross your face, you wanna knock timing off, you wanna sniff out those screens that they use to nullify your secondary and pass rush.
Not to get off point, but I have a question regarding Elam, since I wasn't a Raven fan during 2013 offseason, but I recall Elam having a decent season in year one. Isn't this correct?
I’d agree to an extent. I think you still need very strong off-ball LB play to stop these TE and receiving RB. I think you also need one to stop these more mobile QB. I also believe investing a top-10 pick into one is just questionable unless they’re a special talent. Devin White was a first round pick for me and I think he was worth it even if he isn’t a generational talent like Kuechly. Bobby Wagner was a 2nd round pick. He’s crucial to their defense too.
The only thing is Warner proves you don’t need to invest a top pick into an off-ball LB. I agree with his premise of not throwing a high pick on a LB unless they’re very clearly elite; however, I do disagree with the notion of ignoring the position until UDFA. He did say to wait until the 3rd and he’s not necessarily wrong.
Rossi answered this but he didn’t start initially but had to when Huff was Terri-bad. He was decent only in that he wasn’t asked to do much. He had some highlight plays that made you think he could put it together but it was all fool’s gold.
He had a couple highlights but yeah he sucked. Arthur Brown, my man-crush that year, was even worse. If I’m being honest, Brown was worse than Elam and that’s saying something.