Summary

Eric Murray was selected in the 4th Round (#106 Overall) in the 2016 Draft out of University of Minnesota. Murray is a veteran safety who brings strong experience, dependable run support, and versatile secondary capability. His strengths are his tackling, sub‑package usage, and ability to make deflections and some key plays. His limitations revolve around elite coverage traits, big‑play turnover production, and the natural questions that come with age in the NFL. In the right role and scheme, he remains a valuable asset for his team’s defense.

Strengths

• Experience & positional versatility: Murray has over nine years of NFL experience, which gives him a deep knowledge of defensive schemes and offensive tendencies. His role has included multiple alignments in the secondary — box, deep safety, and heavy sub‑package work. Jacksonville Jaguars

• Reliable run‑support and tackling near the line of scrimmage: His tackle numbers reflect that he is active and effective when asked to step up in run defense or near the line. For example in 2024 he logged 46 solo tackles. PFF

• Strong in pass deflections and some ball‑skills: In 2024, Murray ranked 3rd among qualified safeties in pass breakups (PBUs) with 7. PFF He also has shown the ability to make key plays — for example an interception returned 38 yards in a playoff game. Houston Chronicle

• High effort and durability in many seasons: While he’s had injuries and changes, Murray has shown he can stay in the lineup and be a dependable starter or rotational piece at safety.

Weaknesses

• Coverage efficiency & deep‑area ability: While good in many roles, his PFF overall grade in 2024 was 61.7 — ranking around 101st of 171 safeties. PFF His deep‑coverage speed and ability to recover against fast vertical threats may be less than elite.

• Pass‑rush and disruptive plays limited: As a safety, Murray isn’t relied on much as a blitzer, and his pressure numbers are low:

• Big‑play turnover production not consistently high: While he has shown flashes, his interception totals over his career are modest. Big‑play production is an area where he could elevate.

• Age / physical peak concerns: At age 31 (as of 2025) and a decade into his career, the question of how much athletic decline will affect him remains. Physical traits such as recovery speed and agility often slow first for veteran safeties.

Fit & Outlook

Murray fits best in defenses that utilize experienced safeties who can manage multiple responsibilities — coverage zones, run‑support, sub‑packages — rather than asking them to be purely deep‑ball specialists or elite man‑coverage safeties. A defense that pairs him with more athletic corners and uses him in a range of roles will maximize his value. If Murray can maintain his physical health and continues to leverage his experience, his value remains high as a starter or veteran leader in the secondary. However, unless his coverage grades improve and his turnover impact increases, he may settle into a steady, reliable contributor role rather than become a standout playmaker.