Kenneth Murray Jr. hopes a fresh start with the Tennessee Titans will help him reach his full potential.
The 25-year-old, who was drafted No. 23 overall in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft, spent his first four seasons with the Los Angeles Chargers. After a mostly positive rookie season in which he accumulated 107 tackles, including five for loss and one sack, Murray was limited to just 11 games, including six starts, in his sophomore campaign.
He returned to form last year, matching his rookie-season tackle total to go along with seven tackles for loss and a career-best three sacks. However, Murray struggled in pass coverage during his tenure with Los Angeles, allowing a combined 76.5 percent completion rate, which played a factor in the Chargers declining his fifth-year option.
The former Oklahoma standout, who signed a two-year deal with the Titans in free agency, is optimistic that a new defensive scheme will allow him to grow as a player and become a leader for this Titans defense.
“What we’re going to allow him to do is just turn himself loose within the system,” Titans inside linebackers coach Frank Bush said via John Glennon of the Nashville Post . “I mean, there are guys all around him so that he doesn’t have to be a hero. You got Jeffery Simmons in front of you, you’re going to be okay. You can just be free to flow and do some of the things we do.
“We’re not looking for a guy to be a maverick and play out of control. But controlled aggression, taking chances, calculating good chances and just freeing himself to go attack the football and make things happen.”
Under defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson, the Titans hope they can unlock the next level in Murray's game in an aggressive, pressing scheme behind a defensive front that features the likes of Harold Landry, T'Vondre Sweat, Arden Key, and Simmons, among others.
“Honestly, when you just know they’re putting you in a position to go down and just wreck stuff and wreck sh**, that’s what I love,” said Murray. “I definitely felt they put me in that position and I’m definitely coming in with the mindset of trying to prove sh**. I’m trying to get sh** done. I love it. Love the way they’re calling it so far and look forward to getting better every day.”
Murray has been drawing rave reviews in the early stages of training camp thus far. On multiple occasions, he has been a disruptor in the backfield. He also batted down a pass intended for running back Tony Pollard in the Titans' practice at Nissan Stadium, which could be a very good omen for the 2024 NFL season.
“Very active, he's hard to block,” Titans head coach Brian Callahan said. “He triggers fast, downhill, which has always been his MO. He's really physical, and he's a downhill player. And so we've had some trouble, especially early on, just coming off combinations and getting to him fast enough because he diagnoses really quick, and he hits it. That's what you want to see from a guy like that.”
At 6-foot-2 and almost 250 pounds, Murray presents an imposing figure, one that ran the 40-yard dash in 4.52 seconds at the NFL Combine. Through the first four seasons of his career, he has been able to showcase that area of his game.
However, the Titans would like to see him become a more versatile player in Nashville, and the coaching staff will certainly put him in every possible position to succeed.
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