Clemson Football: Mocks show varying opinions on Myles Murphy, Bryan Bresee drops

We’ve been tracking the NFL mock drafts over the last 9 or 10 months for multiple Clemson football players and they’ve generally been good news for those that have opted to leave the program early and matriculate to the next level.

As the combine and draft get closer though, we’re starting to read about questions related to the Clemson players, specifically Myles Murphy, Bryan Bresee and Trenton Simpson.

That’s par for the course as the NFL Scouts tear players down and micro-analyze every tiny flaw in what could eventually be a 9-digit investment in a player.

Also, every analyst has their opinion and while it only takes one GM to make the decision to draft a player highly, oftentimes needs are team dependent.  That means, if someone passes on you at No. 4, that doesn’t necessarily mean you aren’t the fourth best available or, on the flip side, that you’ll go fifth or sixth.  You could fall if those teams don’t need an edge rusher, for example.

Two recent mocks caught my attention because of the varying opinions on Murphy.  The concerns expressed aren’t unfamiliar, they’re actually similar to ones I have myself.

ESPNs Matt Miller has Murphy going 8th overall to his home state Atlanta Falcons in his mock posted yesterday and speaks almost exclusively positively about Murphy’s physical ability and traits.

Conversely, Blake Brockermeyer of 247sports has Murphy falling all the way to 29th and the New Orleans Saints, while using the phrase “take a flier”, which implies he’s not worthy of the selection outright.

I find that difficult to believe, as Murphy has skills and abilities you can’t teach and even Brockermeyer admits Murphy is an “extreme talent with elite twitch”.

Those dudes don’t grow on trees.

As for Bresee, Miller has him at No. 37 (second round) to the Seattle Seahawks and mentions his injury history and his 2022 tape not living up to the previous seasons.

Clemson fans are acutely aware of non-football reasons that were obviously a huge factor, but it’s not mentioned in the space allotted to Bresee in the article.

There are varying opinions on Clemson football stars Myles Murphy, Bryan Bresee and Trenton Simpson in the NFL Draft

Needless to say, when Bresee made the decision to turn pro, I don’t think he had pick No. 37 in mind.

Miller also has Trenton Simpson right behind Bresee at No. 38 overall to the Las Vegas Raiders.

The NFL combine for defensive linemen and linebackers is scheduled for early March in Indianapolis.