Matthew Coller: Did the Vikings strike UDFA gold again?

Two undrafted players have stood out so far in training camp.

Gabriel Murphy / Minnesota Vikings

EAGAN — They can’t keep getting away with this, right?

Last year the Minnesota Vikings picked up an undersized linebacker who had remarkable college production in the undrafted free agent market and by the second week of training camp it was starting to look like Ivan Pace Jr. was going to make an impact right away. He went on to become a key starter and PFF’s highest graded rookie linebacker.

As we get set to enter the second full week of this year’s camp, two 2024 undrafted free agents are getting enough reps to begin wondering if they could fall into the “next Ivan Pace Jr.” category of players who were strangely ignored in the draft but ended up being UDFA steals for the Vikings: Outside linebacker Gabriel Murphy and cornerback Dwight McGlothern.

Let’s start with some background on Murphy.

At UCLA he was one of the most productive players in college football in 2023. He managed 8.0 sacks, 61 QB pressures (seventh most in NCAA) and the 10th best pass-rush win rate by PFF. At the NFL Combine, he scored in the 89th percentile or above in the 40-yard dash, 20-yard split, 10-yard split, vertical and broad jump and over the 80th percentile in the 3-cone and shuttle drills. Even adding his height, weight, bench (25 reps) and arm length, the website Relative Athletic Score came up with Murphy as a 93rd percentile athlete overall.

That seems like a lot of boxes checked for a player that nobody picked. Mock Draft Database, a collection of mocks to form a consensus, had him as the 117th player expected off the board. PFF listed him 149th on its big board. Instead 257 players went ahead of the successful college pass rusher.

Looking through scouting reports, it’s hard to identify exactly the cause. It may have been his wingspan and arm length that were very short in comparison to his peers. Murphy’s arms are 30 and 1/2 inches. First-round pick Dallas Turner’s are 34 and 3/8 inches. That’s quite a gap. He will turn 24 years old early this season. That’s also quite a bit different from a player like Turner, who is 21.

But undrafted?

“We liked him on tape,” defensive coordinator Brian Flores said. “We're sitting there at the end and there's an opportunity to grab him as an undrafted free agent. To a man we were all highly in favor. like, 'Let's do what we've got to do to get this done.' Kwesi [Adofo-Mensah] and his staff were the same way. We were able to get him here and he's done a lot of good things.”

There are always factors that go beyond production and measurables like health, character etc. If those played into Murphy’s drop, they were not publicly reported anywhere.

Whatever the reason, the Vikings’ staff has liked what they have seen. Murphy has been a regular off the edge with the second team and Head coach Kevin O’Connell shouted out Murphy in his press conference as having stood out to him.

“The thing that kind of stands out is his football IQ, he's very bright,” Flores said. “It's very important to him. We were in a staff meeting the other day and we said that Gabe Murphy despises bad football. That's a good thought from a coach about a player.”

Flores made sure to mention that nobody should crown Murphy just yet. The Vikings haven’t played their first preseason game of the year and he hasn’t made the team but there are signals that he could work his way into a roster spot and maybe more.

“He's done a real nice job,” Flores said. “I'm excited to see him moving forward and in preseason games. We've got a long way to go but he's off to a good start.”

As for McGlothern, that is a matter of taking advantage of a situation that presented itself. When second-year corner Mekhi Blackmon was lost for the season with an ACL injury, the Vikings had very few other choices at the position so the former Arkansas ball hawk into the mix.

Dwight McGlothern / Minnesota Vikings

Despite the addition of veteran Fabian Moreau and safety Jay Ward moving to corner, McGlothern has remained a regular with the twos.

“The ball skills would be the first thing that comes to mind,” Flores said of the corner who picked off seven passes in his two seasons at Arkansas. “He's a guy who's got a knack and a feel for being around the ball when it's in the air. Obviously he's got height and length and speed. The instincts are the things that jumped out to me and us as a staff.”

Mock Draft Database expected McGlothern to go 175th and PFF had him at No. 200.

Measurably speaking, he did not perform as well as Murphy, scoring below the 50th percentile in overall Relative Athletic Score. His speed tests were above average but McGlothern was among the poorest scoring corners in vertical jump, broad jump, 3-cone and shuttle. His arms, hands and overall weight were all well below average.

Interestingly, former Dolphins star corner Xavien Howard scored a very similar RAS (52nd percentile) to McGlothern.

Of course, once they step onto an NFL field, things like RAS mean very little in comparison to practice performance. Going into a critical week, he has earned enough practice time to put him under the category of being intriguing to watch going into the preseason games.

There are plenty of undrafted players around the league who are catching eyeballs so we can’t suggest that Murphy and McGlothern are total outliers but a pattern does appear to be developing with UDFAs. Flores explained that the seemingly growing hit rate may have to do with their focus on players who fit exactly what he’s looking for on defense.

“This league is about fit and timing,” Flores said. “Getting to the right place with the right coach with the right system that fits your skill set then it allows an individual player to see his potential… we're all on the same page as far as the fit. 'I think he's going to come here and this is where he fits and were he can play,' and you never really know until they get here. We always say our job is to predict and forecast. Put your scouting hat on, that's what scouting is to predict and forecast. With the undrafteds and late-rounders it's, what's the fit? Does he work hard? Will he do the things he needs to do to develop?”

The two standouts aren’t the only ones who have done enough in the early stage of camp to make their case in preseason action. Receiver Jeshaun Jones and tight end Trey Knox have caught a good number of passes, outside linebacker Owen Porter is receiving pass rushing reps and linebacker Dallas Gant has mixed in.

None of these players can be held to the Pace Jr. standard of contributing in Year 1 but the UDFA class may have the potential to help make up the difference for a team that was short on draft picks last year and is very short on draft picks next year.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

— Sam Darnold continued to lock in with Justin Jefferson. They connected on possibly their most impressive pass yet, a long out-breaking route in which Darnold layered the ball to Jefferson and the superstar receiver rose up above the corner to make the grab in spectacular fashion. They have hit on timing routes across the middle several times as well, indicating that Darnold is getting the rhythm of the offense down better.

— JJ McCarthy had a really solid bounce-back practice after a tough day on Friday. In particular two of his standout plays were a downfield completion against a Flores all-out blitz and a laser to Jalen Nailor on a scramble drill play that highlighted his athleticism and ability to throw on the run.

— DT Jerry Tillery got hurt and spent a long time on the ground before he got up and walked to the cart to be taken off. No word on his injury but Kevin O’Connell and Harrison Phillips both spent time talking to him while he was down, which made it appear potentially serious. We will wait for further updates on his status.

— Jonathan Bullard returned to practice but Levi Drake Rodriguez still saw a number of first-team reps.

— Brandon Powell continued to work with the 1s as much or more than Nailor. The WR3 competition might end up being WR3 and WR3a.

— Will Reichard kicked the stuffing out of the football, going 6-for-6 including two over 50 yards.

— N’Keal Harry left early in practice, leaving UDFA Trey Knox to catch a half dozen passes in his absence. Robert Tonyan was still out as well as Shaq Griffin and Lewis Cine.