Tennessee Titans: Grading the 2020 NFL Draft class, pick-by-pick analysis
35. Pick Analysis. Defensive Line. player. 5. Positional Ranking and Analysis. N.C. State. Larrell Murchison
Draft Grade: A-
This pick appears to be an effort to help fill the shoes of perennial Pro Bowler Jurrell Casey, who the Tennessee Titans traded to the Denver Broncos for a seventh-round pick in a salary dump. While Larrell Murchison is nowhere near the same conversation as Casey, he has the potential and the versatility to play a similar role somewhere down the line.
Larrell Murchison is a very raw prospect who has a lot of things that he can improve on, but he shows flashes of great penetration ability that could come in handy on the Tennessee Titans defensive line.
On tape, I saw a player that excelled when he could avoid blocks. With over 32-inch arms, Murchison has great length on the inside and uses it to his advantage, keeping blockers at bay and out of his body.
In doing this, he creates the opportunity for himself to quickly disengage and make a play on the ball carrier. In his two seasons at N.C. State after transferring from a junior college, Murchison totaled 80 tackles, 20 for loss and 11 tackles. He also added four career pass deflections, three fumble recoveries and an interception, impacting the game often and in many different ways.
When a blocker engages him, however, Murchison is not nearly as effective. He is more of a block avoider than a block shedder and could have a more powerful anchor at the point of attack. But as a slasher, Murchison is quick off the ball with a great first step and is explosive enough to fire through gaps and into the backfield.
While Murchison has a long way to go, he was productive against high-level competition in college and offers the desired versatility for a player to try to fill the void left by Jurrell Casey. With his size, length and athleticism, Murchison can really play anywhere from nose to standing edge rusher, just as Casey did.
In the fifth round, the value was there for a pick like this. Murchison is a player that can contribute in spurts right away but really could become a very good player down the road. He could compete for the starting spot across from 2019 first-round pick Jeffery Simmons alongside nose tackle DaQuan Jones and has the potential to be a very good player if he can continue to develop his game as a fifth-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.