Now that the scouting combine is right around the corner, it’s time for Doug Farrar and Luke Easterling to put on their imaginary general manager hats and make some personnel decisions with draft prospects. It’s Either/Or time! Let’s assume that Alabama’s Will Anderson Jr. is off the board, your team needs a top edge-rusher, and you have the choice between TCUs Tyree Wilson, and Clemson’s Myles Murphy. Who do you pick?
Doug: Here’s one of those situations where you have the more developed player in Murphy and the prospect in Wilson who might need a bit more time to put it all together, right? And while edge is another position where I might bet on traits over nuance, I think Murphy is my guy here. Yes, Wilson is an absolute freak at 6-foot-6 and 275 pounds, but he’s got a lot to work on. He’s late off the snap a lot, he doesn’t have a lot of moves, and as much as he does get into the backfield a lot with his amazing athletic gifts, we’ve all seen too many ridiculously gifted edge defenders who need at least a year, if not more, to get that together.
Murphy is also impressively athletic at 6-foot-5 and 275 pounds, he’s already shown a nice array of techniques and counters, and you can kick him inside in the five-man fronts that have become ever more popular in the NFL today. Wilson reminds me of Aldon Smith; Murphy reminds me of Brandon Graham. I just don’t see the dropoff in athletic potential in Murphy’s case to make me think that I MUST go with Wilson over the more sure thing.
Luke: This might be the toughest one, but I’m gonna lean the same way I did in the receiver debate. I think it’s splitting hairs, but I’ll take the guy with the higher upside, and I think that’s Wilson. Murphy is obviously the more pro-ready player, but while I think he can be a great player for a long time, I think Wilson has a better chance of being one of those really rare, special playmakers off the edge. There’s plenty of boom-or-bust here, but go big or go home, right?
