While Latu was dominating on one side of the defensive line, Gabriel Murphy was doing damage on the other. The better of the two Murphy twins and the one more likely to be drafted, Gabriel was just on pressure shy of Latu’s mark of 62 and finished the year with eight sacks and 40 hurries across 13 games.
Murphy posted an 18.4% pass rush win rate that proves he can be a quality rotational edge at 6-foot-2 and 247 pounds. However, he will have with his slight frame and short arms, he will have trouble keeping offensive tackles off of him in the run game and setting the edge.
Murphy will primarily be used on passing downs, which limits the number of teams who will be interested, but Atlanta should be because the Falcons desperately need to add to the defensive line.
Last season, the Falcons finished 22nd in total sacks despite ranking in the top half of the league in blitz rate. Murphy will help to solve that problem, especially on third downs and late in games when protecting a lead.