Running Back

Oklahoma

6-0 213

Draft Board Overall Prospect Rank: #66

Draft Board Overall Running Back Rank: #5

Rating: 75 (Late 2nd)

40 time: 4.38

2/19/11: DeMarco Murray spent his first 2 years at Oklahoma splitting carries with Chris Brown. He was very good as a change of pace speed back rushing for 1766 yards on 306 carries with 24 total touchdowns in those 2 years and after Chris Brown graduated he was expected to take over as the lead back. He even put on 10 pounds to handle the extra work load. However, the weight slowed him down and he got hurt and overall didn’t establish himself as the lead back, with only 8 touchdowns and a 4.1 YPC on 171 carries, 5 fewer than he had the year before.

He came back in 2010 in better shape, increasing his average to 4.3 YPC, pounded it in for 15 rushing touchdowns and, most importantly, rushing 282 times, showing he can handle the load. He doesn’t quite have his 2008 speed, but he’s still a very fast straight line player who should have one of the faster 40 times at the combine, somewhere in the low 4.4s. He also pass catches very well, catching 71 passes this year. Overall he has 143 catches for 1511 yards and 13 touchdowns in his last 3 years.

His weakness is that he doesn’t break a lot of tackles and he’s not a great between the tackles runner, even at his size. His size allows him to be a lead back at the next level, but he tends to shy away from contact and goes down relatively easy. He also runs fairly upright. At the very worst, he’ll be a nice change of pack and 3^rd down back at the next level, but I do think he could end up as a 200+ carry lead back. He also has some experience returning kicks and does a decent job with kickoffs.

NFL Comparison: Matt Forte