NFL Draft: Top D Lineman Include Texas’ Murphy and Sweat

Byron Murphy II – Defensive Tackle – Texas 

Murphy primarily wins with strength and a mean bull rush technique. While he has enough closing speed to easily take down running backs, he also has the pursuit and quickness to pressure quarterbacks. He’s sort of a young Fletcher Cox type of player.

 T’Vondre Sweat – Defensive Tackle – Texas

While Murphy gets most of the attention, Sweat appears to be faster on film. He stands out as an elite pass rusher who may be capable of stopping running backs too. He has elite pursuit and quickness to generate many quarterback sacks early on his career. He instills fear in opposing quarterbacks. While Murphy has more sacks, the numbers don’t necessarily favor Murphy over Sweat. He had 45 tackles as opposed to Murphy’s 29 in 2023. his speed is undeniable. He could easily be a late first round steal.

 Jer’Zhan Newton – Defensive Tackle – Illinois 

Newton has the speed to succeed in the NFL but he’s not the traditional bulky defensive tackle that fans typically see. Newton is drawing early Ed Oliver comparisons which isn’t necessary bad but Oliver took several games to adjust to the NFL offensive lineman. Newton will almost certainly get off to a slow start before he adds a few pounds. Defensive tackles under 300 pounds are usually better off lining up as edge rushers first but he’ll be an effective defensive tackle after he adds several pounds of muscle first. Newton was under 300 pounds during the NCAA regular season. The problem is he’ll likely face many double teams in the NFL which will initially hinder his progress. This could make things easier for other defensive lineman to make plays but he’s not going to be that early season game wrecker. He should be a playmaker in the second half of his rookie season and then take off from there. He’s likely a middle second round pick. He just doesn’t seem like a first round defensive tackle at the moment. Newton added a few pounds since the NCAA season but is approximately 304 pounds now. He has to be a bit bigger before the season begins. He could be a stellar second round steal.

Leonard Taylor – Defensive Tackle – Miami 

Taylor has supreme athletic ability. His fierce combination of strength and speed will make running backs and quarterbacks fear him. Despite his strength though, he appears a bit undersized for the position. If he bulks up a bit before the draft, he could have late first round upside and could be a more valuable selection than Newton.