In a recent mock draft from Lance Zierlein of NFL.com, he has the Indianapolis Colts bolstering an already strong position group, selecting Texas interior defender Byron Murphy at 15th overall.
Here is what Zierlein had to say about the selection:
“Figuring out the Colts is a challenge in terms of which position they will address here. What we do know is that this Indy regime covets traits and trench warriors. Murphy’s undersized, but the DT might be too talented for Chris Ballard to pass on.”
In terms of positional needs, wide receiver and cornerback are two positions that the Colts should be targeting in the first round, and in Zierlein’s mock draft, both Brian Thomas Jr. from LSU and Terrion Arnold from Alabama were on the board. At edge rusher, another more pressing need than interior defender, Laitu Latu was also available.
Measuring in at 6-0 – 297 pounds, Murphy is considered a top interior defender in this class, and really impressed with his athletic testing, posting a Relative Athletic Score of 9.2, which included a 4.87-second 40-yard dash.
Murphy has played 1,128 snaps in his career, averaging 415 per year over the last two, and lined up regularly in both the A and B gaps.
In 2023, he was one of the more disruptive pass rushers from the interior, totaling 45 pressures, six sacks, and leading all interior linemen in win rate. Against the run, he ranked 41st out of 200 eligible defenders in PFF’s stop rate metric.
In Zierlein’s full scouting report of Murphy, it is mentioned that he can be a three-down defender at the NFL level, either as a nose or a 3-tech, and that coaches will love his high motor and activity.
Now having said all of that, especially with how the board fell in this instance with Arnold, Thomas, and Latu all being available, I don’t know that Murphy would be the pick.
Along with those other positions being more pressing needs, the Colts are in good shape inside, with DeForest Buckner, Grover Stewart and Taven Bryan re-signed, while also adding Raekwon Davis in free agency.
As Zach Hicks of SI’s Fan Nation would point out, it’s worth noting that the earliest that GM Chris Ballard has selected a defensive tackle in the draft during his tenure was in the fourth round.
Last season, the Colts ranked fifth in ESPN’s pass rush win rate and generated the fifth-most sacks. They did, however, rank 22nd in pressure rate, which could tell us that duplicating that sack production in 2024 could be difficult unless they create pressure more consistently.