Sep 14, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Minnesota Vikings cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. (7) against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports.
Most of Minnesota’s positives from Sunday’s win over the Jacksonville Jaguars came from defense. One such positive was a Byron Murphy hat trick, which completed a great performance as the Vikings’ defense remained prolific at turning the ball over.
On a day when Sam Darnold imploded, and the Vikings’ offense failed to score a touchdown, Minnesota relied heavily on its defense — and a new-look kicking unit — to allow them to come away from Florida with their seventh win of the season. The Vikings are the most prolific team in the league at turning the ball over, with 20 takeaways from their nine games so far. That includes a league-high 15 interceptions and five fumble recoveries.
Murphy is responsible for four of those interceptions, including one in each of the last three games. This is the first time he has picked off the QB in three successive games in his career. Murphy also has four pass deflections and nine tackles, including a tackle for loss. Pro Football Focus gave him his highest overall grade of his career for his efforts on Sunday. He scored 89.1 — his second grade in the 80s in three games — with a coverage grade of 89.1. Murphy is playing at a high level right now, and it’s great to see.
Murphy’s interception came in a deep ball intended for Gabriel Davis, which he undercut and made a simple catch. That Payne’s sandwiched between a Harrison Phillips fumble recovery and a Camryn Bynum interception as the Vikings defense turned the ball over on the Jaguars’ last three possessions of the game. The Vikings’ social media team had some fun calling Murphy the defensive rookie of the year after the NFL account had earlier used the Vikings’ CB in a graphic instead of the rookie Seattle Seahawks DT of the same name.
This is an opportune time for Murphy to find his best form as a Viking. His contract is up at the end of the season, and with CB, it is an area of focus for the Vikings to improve. He needs to prove he is worth keeping around. There is $4.2 million of dead cap money from Murphy’s current contract to be charged against the Vikings salary cap next season. Extending his stay for a cap hit not too much more than that so the Vikings can have maximum funds to find a bonafide CB1 to play opposite him makes sense to me.
This season 34-year-old Stephon Gilmore has been guarding the perimeter for Minnesota. He has done a decent job, but the Vikings must find a long-term solution for that crucial position. Murphy will never be that lockdown All-Pro CB1 on the outside, but he can certainly be a good number two and mix it up in the slot. At 27 (in January), Murphy is the right age for the Vikings to lock in for the long term. If he continues playing as he has over the last few weeks, it should be an easy decision.
Murphy will have the chance to make it four interceptions in four games when the Vikings travel to Tennessee to take on the 2-7 Titans on Sunday.