2023 NFL Draft lookahead: Quick notes on Myles Murphy and Bryan Bresee

Dec 9, 2022 - 3:00 PM

The defensive line is becoming arguably the worst position group on the Seattle roster. They have been gashed on the ground and have struggled to get pressure against some of the better offensive lines. Luckily, due to the Russell Wilson trade and the Denver Broncos continued downfall, Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider owns a first-round pick that is likely to settle in the top-6. This might result in them missing out on the top two defensive line prospects in the class in Georgia’s Jalen Carter and Alabama’s Will Anderson. However, there are two more defensive lineman who will likely be taken in the 5-10 range in Clemson’s Myles Murphy and Bryan Bresee. So, what could Seahawks fans expect from either if Seattle was to take one of the two?

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Myles Murphy

Defensive edge - Third year junior - 6 feet 5 inches - 275 pounds

Games watched - 2021 NC State - 2022 Wake Forest, NC State, Florida State

Strengths

• Murphy excels at attacking the outside shoulder of blockers and setting it up early off the snap. He consistently long arms blockers by striking them in the chest with his inside arm, keeping his outside hand free.
• Murphy is a great space eating edge as he looks like he is shot out of a cannon when in a two-point stance taking at max a step and a half to eliminate the space between him and the tackle.
• He has great balance as a pass rusher as at the point of contact he rarely ever gets knocked aside.
• Murphy has great play recognition in the passing game, sniffing out screens very quickly after the snap allowing him to make a play on them far more often than not.
• Murphy looks more than comfortable in coverage as he keeps his eyes on the quarterback throughout the play when in zone, gets some bend in his hips and knees and is very comfortable shuffling.
• Despite playing with a higher pad level in the passing game he does a great job of maintaining leverage in the running game showing an ability to get his pads low especially in short yardage situations.
• When forced to contain the edge Murphy excels by staying patient and working his body and the blocker to get parallel to the line of scrimmage to force any run intended to go into the C gap or wider to instead go into the B or A gap.
• It is almost impossible for a single blocker to move Murphy in the running game, requiring the offense to use two players to try and wash him away from a gap.
• When making a tackle in the open field Murphy excels as he is extremely sticky to ball carriers wrapping them up with perfect form.

Weaknesses

• He needs to work more on getting into his lower half as an edge rusher and convert speed into power when coming off of the edge.
• He can play with too high of a pad level in his rushes, preventing him from gaining leverage on the blocker. Murphy does try to set up blockers at times before the point of contact by stuttering his feet or shimmying his shoulders, but this rarely works and ends up slowing him down instead and getting his body out of sync.
• Murphy does not have any type of counter move to go to when he gets stood up as a blitzer.
• He has the athleticism and play strength to have at least a good bull rush move. However, he needs to work more on getting into his lower half as an edge rusher and convert speed into power when coming off of the edge.

Floor/ceiling

Murphy’s blend of elite athleticism, great edge contain, high end pursuit, strong tackling and elite football intelligence (FBI) gives him the ceiling of being one of the better edge defenders in football and potentially someone who can challenge for a DPOY. However his lack of a counter move, inconsistencies with gaining leverage and a not fully developed pass rushing repertoire gives him the floor of a low-end starter.

Highlights

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Bryan Bresee

Defensive tackle - Third year sophomore - 6 feet 5 inches - 300 pounds

Games watched - 2021 Georgia, NC State - 2022 Syracuse, Wake Forest

Strengths

• His best attribute against the run is his quickness off of the snap which allows him to split late arriving double teams as well as allowing him to consistently defeat reach blocks.
• On running plays run to the C gaps or wider, Bresee is able to get his nose around the football with regularity thanks to his high-end motor and ability to work parallel to the line.
• Bresee is a good tackler, displaying the upper body strength to make one arm tackles in gaps, as well as sticking to ball carries that he meets at or near the line of scrimmage.
• He does display great balance and upper body bend in the running game as even when he is getting moved or stays stationary against blockers, he does not lose his center of gravity on the play and maintains at least average play strength.
• His best attribute against the pass is his advanced hand usage which is how he generated almost all of his pressure. He does a great job of attacking lineman who flash their hands too early by hitting them with a quick and tight swim move with a swipe to their inside shoulder whilst he brings his outside hand over the top of the blocker.
• He also showed off a strong rip move where he was able to utilize his quickness and upper body strength to both beat a blocker to the spot and then rip through their arm, giving him a straight shot at the quarterback.
• Bresee is a weapon on stunts because of how quick his first step is, allowing him to beat blockers to the spot.
• Bresee does have good play recognition in the passing game allowing him to recognize screens quickly and with how good his pursuit and motor are, he is often able to make plays on them from the backside.

Weaknesses

• Bresee does struggle to anchor down against double team blocks as more often than not they are able to clear him out of the area opening up gaping running lanes.
• He does also present his inside shoulder too easily when blocked by one offensive lineman. This allows them to get him parallel to the line of scrimmage creating relatively easy seal blocks and eliminating Bresee from the play entirely.
• Bresee played with a higher pad level against the run which resulted in him struggling to gain leverage on most plays making it difficult for him to move blockers whilst staying engaged in the play.
• He does not have any type of bull rush move as like in the running game he too often played with too high of a pad level preventing him from getting leverage on the blocker.
• Bresee let blockers anchor down far too often against him getting stood up with some regularity when he tried to take blockers on head on with a power move.
• Bresee does not possess any type of counter move meaning when he gets stood up or his initial move is stopped, he is extremely unlikely to get to the quarterback unless the play breaks down.

Floor/ceiling

Bresee’s advanced hands, quick first step, FBI and strong pursuit gives him the ceiling of a 3-down starting defensive lineman, although his lack of a counter, high pad level, struggles against double team blocks and ability to get cleared by solo blocks gives him the floor of a backup lineman with some versatility.

Highlights