TouchdownWire came out with every NFL team’s biggest sleeper pick after the 2024 NFL Draft. While the Vikings had some late-round picks that might be able to make an instant impact during their rookie season — most notably Kyhree Jackson from Oregon — Doug Farrar believes Minnesota’s sleeper pick wasn’t an actual pick. That’s because the Vikings’ biggest sleeper might be undrafted free agent Gabriel Murphy out of UCLA.
Murphy is the lone undrafted player on our list, and while the Vikings had some good picks in the third day (most notably Oregon cornerback Khyree Jackson in the fourth round), it’ll be tough for any of those guys to present equivalent value to what UCLA edge-rusher Gabriel Murphy can bring. At 6′ 2⅜” and 247 pounds, Murphy may be a bit undersized for some teams, but he put up eight sacks and 61 total pressures last season, and he absolutely has NFL-ready tape.
Perhaps some evaluators thought that he benefited too much from being Laiatu Latu’s bookend, but when you watch the tape, there are enough examples of Murphy winning against more than one blocker in his way. He’ll make Brian Flores’ blitz packages that much more interesting and effective.
Murphy was widely expected to be drafted during Day 3 of the NFL Draft, but as Farrar mentioned, perhaps his size deterred NFL teams from selecting the Edge rusher. There is no doubt that his college production made Murphy a great late-round candidate because his production shows he is NFL-ready.
Murphy played two seasons with UCLA. He transferred to the Bruins after spending three seasons with North Texas. During his two-year career with UCLA, Murphy had 76 tackles, 20 TFLs, and 9.5 sacks in 26 games. Murphy had a terrific combine and ran a 4.68-second 40-yard dash.
The UDFA will need to show out during training camp in order to carve out a role in the Brian Flores-led defense in 2024.