ESPN's Matt Miller Talks NFL Draft/Texas Hopefuls

[CJ Vogel]

ESPN's NFL Draft expert Matt Miller fielded questions from media members today following the release of his latest two-round NFL Mock Draft. 

Of course, with Texas sending 11 players to the NFL Combine, there were plenty of Longhorns that were mentioned during the availability and I wanted to share notable quotes and tidbits Miller shared in regards to Texas' Draft hopefuls.

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Where the Longhorns fell in Miller's latest Mock Draft:

• 16) DL Byron Murphy (SEA)
• 32) WR Xavier Worthy (KC)
• 38) WR Adonai Mitchell (TEN)
• 49) TE Ja'Tavion Sanders (CIN)
• 54) DL T'Vondre Sweat (CLE)
• 58) RB Jonathon Brooks (GB)

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Longhorn With Most to Gain at Combine

A: Byron Murphy + Xavier Worthy

"I think a lot of people aren't aware of (Byron Murphy), just because we did not see him in an All Star game and what Texas asked him to do – he was asked him to do, he played head-up on an offensive tackle in a 3-3-5 defense. So he was not asked to pin his ears back and rush the quarterback which is what he actually does very well.

"He is not the biggest guy, he is 6-1, we will see but 300-310 pounds. But his quickness and his raw strength are just jaw-droppingly good.

"I was a little surprised when he declared (for the Draft) because I had not originally heard a lot of buzz. But when guys declare, it is like, 'okay, now I need to watch them.' And as soon as I started watching him closely, it was like 'Okay, he is going to be in my top-40.' Then you watch more and now he is going to be in my top-30, then wait, now top-20 and sure enough he is now in my top-15.

"I think some of that is just getting caught up. When we watch so many games throughout the year, you are not always focused on individual players or trying to take a holistic view. Obviously you watch the quarterbacks because those guys are asked about a lot.

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"I will throw one more name out there – Xavier Worthy. I don't know if it just because how much Texas Football I have watched, but I think he has been slept on just a little bit nationally when I see mock drafts or rankings from colleagues. I am always surprised with how low he is ranked. I think he has a great opportunity next week to come in and show, No. 1 just how fast he is. He is going to burn up the track with that vertical speed. But also to answer questions I think a lot of people labeled him as someone with drop issues because of the 2022 tape. A lot of the drop issues really went away in 2023."

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WR AD Mitchell

Mentioned being in the WR group of Roman Wilson, Keon Coleman, Ladd McConkey right around the end of round one and getting into round two.

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RB Jonathon Brooks

Miller has Brooks as his first RB taken in the 2024 NFL Draft. Added that there will be some movement following the Combine and wants to see how Brooks interviews and updates in his recovery.

In this year's draft, will be two categories of running backs: the bully, downhill runners and the out-of-the backfield guys. Brooks falls into a bit of both. 

High praise heading Brooks' direction even while recovering from the ACL injury. Interestingly, Miller added it is a strong running back class in this Draft, despite the potential of a back not being taken in the first 50 picks. 

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TE Perspective + Bijan Robinson

"Every time that I do a mock draft exercise, (Brock Bowers) is coming off of the board at 13, 14 or 15 because those teams in the top ten have so many needs and they are going to go most likely big positional value - QB, LT, WR or CB. Those are the top ten picks this year it feels like.

"So for a guy like Bowers, despite the fact that he might be one of the five most talented players in the draft, because he is a tight end he tends to slip a little bit in mock drafts. Honestly it is a lot like Bijan Robinson last year.

"Where it was like, we knew how talented he was as a player. But it was really hard to find a natural fit for him. The Falcons were obviously okay with taking a running back very early and they got a great player."

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On Thinner Draft Crop in 2024

"I mean (the draft has) changed tremendously just off of that number alone. I think this will be one of the shallowest draft pools that I've ever covered because so many players are going back to school. We have to remember this, there's the COVID year, I think this is the final year where players are potentially benefiting from that 2020 season.

"But NIL is is huge and I personally think is a good thing for players. Instead of having to make a financial decision and going to the NFL early and maybe being a late round pick, you don't have the opportunity to go back to school you support yourself, maybe support your family if you are taking care of them and improve your draft stock. LSU QB Jayden Daniels is a fantastic example of that. Had he left college last year, he would have been a day-three pick, probably a middle of day three pick because that was a pretty good quarterback last year. He was able to go back to school thanks to NIL and now he's in line to be top three overall pick. So there are a lot of success stories – Bo Nix being another one.

"From the GM side of things, I don't want to say it's a weak draft or bad draft, but just the actual pool of players compared to last year which was probably the deepest draft ever, this will be a pretty shallow one. It is something that kind of goes in waves. Last year was incredibly deep, next year will probably be incredibly deep. I think smart general managers are always looking at least a year ahead at each position group and at the draft as a whole."

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