The Arizona Cardinals had a tackling problem last year, in that they had a lot of missed tackles. Enter a tackling demon in the later rounds.
Red Murdock played in a lesser conference, but had a ton of tackles the past two seasons. He would become a welcome addition to the Cardinals’ defense and a special teams demon.
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Murdock had 142 total tackles this past season and 156 tackles the season before. Tackling machine who will wrap up and go after ballcarriers.
Set a college football record in forced fumbles with 17. He was ranked #2 in the nation in total tackles with 142. The season before, he had 156 total tackles.
He will pursue sideline-to-sideline even on plays flowing away from his alignment. Impactful player and is a reliable tackler in open space. Murdock will attack downhill with conviction and on running plays, make up his mind, find a hole, and go after the ball carrier. Reliable tackler. Legitimate skill and will play through contact at the point of attack.
If the Cardinals are interested in getting more disciplined on defense with a bit more physical style and harder to exploit underneath, this is exactly what Murdock brings.
LB Khalil “Red” Murdock
Draft projection: Round 7
Cardinals pick: #217
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Specifics:
Career Tackles for Loss: 39.5
Career Pass Defenses: 3
Accolades: Two-time First Team All-MAC, NCAA record: Career forced fumbles-17, NCAA record: Forced fumbles in a single season-7.
Positives:
- Tackling machine
- Sheds blockers with violent hands
- Motor runs hot
- Legitimate skill at forced fumbles
- Gap discipline
- Reads keys quickly and attacks gaps
- Wraps up ballcarriers
- Highly-productive last two years
Negatives:
- Coverage skills against tight ends need work
- Not built for man coverage
- Not a good blitzer
- Doesn’t have fluid hips
- Change of direction needs improvement
- Pass rush technique needs refinement
Expert Draft Site Analysis
Murdock doesn’t overrun the ball or guess his way into trouble; he plays within the structure of the defense and does his job snap after snap. What really stood out to me is how he creates turnovers. He is built like you’d expect a traditional linebacker to be, around 6 foot 2 and 240 pounds, and he plays the game exactly the way his build suggests. This is not a finesse player. Murdock wins with instincts, angles, and physicality. He reads plays quickly, stays square, and finishes tackles. Those plays come from arriving on time, tackling with balance, and punching the ball when the opportunity arrives. He is not a guy you’re lining up in man coverage against slot receivers, he will not be a blitz-every-down linebacker, and he will not wow you with straight line speed.
