Are Byron Murphy II and Byron Murphy Jr. Related? 2024 NFL Draft Prospect and Minnesota Vikings CB’s Connection Revealed

Sharing the same first name is not uncommon in a huge sports league like the NFL. What’s quite rare is two players with the same official name and seniority in the family! We already had two Josh Allens to cause confusion between the Bills and the Jaguars fans. This year, we might have Byron Murphy, to fluster the search engines!

Byron Murphy Jr. is a former 2nd-round pick who plays as the cornerback for the Minnesota Vikings. The Washington product has his namesake entering the league in this year’s draft, a defensive tackle by the name of Byron Murphy II. As the intrigue around their shared names grows, let’s investigate whether there is some connection between the two Murphys.

What’s in a name?

Familial ties are pretty commonplace in the NFL, with the Kelce brothers being everybody’s current favorites. However, it might come as a disappointment that the Murphys are not related, and the likeliness in their names is just a coincidence. Murphy Jr. is a second-round pick of 2019, who the Arizona Cardinals drafted with their 33rd pick. The cornerback is currently in the Vikings and has 180 solo tackles, 34 defended passes, three sacks, and five interceptions in his five-season-long career.

On the other hand, Murphy II is a 2024 Draft prospect from Texas. The defensive tackle is projected to be a late 1st round-early 2nd round pick. The 21-year-old has his agility and upper arm strength as his strengths, but his 6ft 1/2 in height is one of the drawbacks for a DT in this draft. Funnily enough, one of the teams possibly interested in the DT happens to be the Vikings.

Vikings hosted Byron Murphy II for a pre-draft visit

Minnesota had its top 30 pre-draft visits earlier this month, and one of the invited prospects was the Texas DT. With the No. 11 pick in the upcoming draft, they would lose out on the majority of the top quarterbacks, a position the team is in dire need of after Kirk Cousins’ departure. So unless the Vikings trade up to a better spot, the defensive positions are what they would be in contention for. Here, Murphy emerges as a good prospect.

The 2023 Big 12 defensive lineman had 15 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, and two sacks in his freshman year and 26 tackles and one sack as a sophomore. Last year, the DT started all 14 games for the Longhorns and recorded two touchdowns, 29 tackles, 8.5 touches for loss, and five sacks. Termed as an “explosive” defender, Murphy has been rising in the draft this offseason and is expected to find a home in the first two rounds.

Murphy II feels that his “tape speaks for itself” and already has teams like the Vikings and the Bills with their eye on him. If the Texas native joins cornerback Murphy Jr’s squad, it sure will be a weird coincidence, though it might increase the difficulties for the commentators and analysts!