One Perfect Late-Round Linebacker For Lions in 2026 NFL Draft

As the NFL Draft gets closer by the day, the Detroit Lions look to put the finishing touches on their draft board and prepare for the three-day selection process.

With each mock draft that is released, there is a consensus that the Lions likely look at the trenches in the first two rounds, with a combination of offensive line and defensive line being the move for Motown at picks No. 17 and No. 50 overall. This leaves a hole on the depth chart at a few spots, most notably the linebackers room.

While Detroit has acquired quite a few bodies at EDGE, defensive back, running back and offensive line, the major move for the linebackers room this offseason was re-signing Malcolm Rodriguez. This occurred while Alex Anzalone, Grant Stuard and Zach Cunningham all departed the organization.

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In the late rounds, there is one name that burst onto the scenes in college that stands above the rest: Red Murdock. Murdock is a player who is the ideal late-round selection for the Lions.

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Murdock entered the season outside of the top 1,300 prospects on some draft boards, despite having a prolific 2024 season alongside current Los Angeles Charger Shaun Dolac. During his junior campaign, Murdock recorded over 150 tackles, 16.5 for loss, and an eye-popping seven forced fumbles.

All Murdock did was put up similar numbers for Buffalo in a defense without Dolac, and it caught the eye of NFL scouts. The linebacker finds himself sitting around no. 200 in the PFF prospect rankings with the draft about two weeks away.

Murdock was a Pro Football Focus darling this season, with both his run defense and pass coverage ranking inside the 90th percentile among all collegiate linebackers with at least 300 snaps.

He trimmed his missed tackles from 21 to 14 this year, while his defensive grade jumped from 74.8 to an astounding 91.2 this season. That grade ranks Murdock fourth among 784 qualifying linebackers in the NCAA, and his “wins above average” metric on PFF ranks 11th.

This is before mentioning that, statistically, there has never been a player in collegiate history more prolific at forcing fumbles than the two-time All-MAC linebacker.

He broke Khalil Mack’s record for forced fumbles in a career, popping the ball out 17 times.

Coincidentally, Mack also played for the University of Buffalo. Murdock’s seven forced fumbles in 2024 rank as the fifth-most in a season all-time, with his six forced fumbles in 2025 being 15th most in a season and second in the NCAA this year behind Heisman finalist Jacob Rodriguez of Texas Tech.

The main concern with Murdock is that Buffalo plays in the MAC, which is not a conference known for being a fountain of NFL talent. Additionally, Murdock lacks elite length and athleticism, leading to questions on if he is a typical “high-floor, low-ceiling” player.

Despite his high grade in pass coverage, he has struggles when left one-on-one, and a lack of recovery speed leaves him as a liability. That was compounded by a few injuries in his collegiate career.

As someone who saw Murdock at his lowest-graded game in 2025 against Central Michigan, the linebacker was hampered by a leg injury that left him outmatched in a conference game.

However, Murdock makes up for it with a high motor. He is a player that will give his all on every practice, every rep, and every snap on gameday, as he said at the NFL Combine in February.

The support he got from his friends and family gave him the confidence to be a playmaker on Saturdays, putting him in this position a few weeks shy of the draft.

“Truly, I’m emptying the tank every single day with people every single day, being uncertain if it would amount to anything,” Murdock said. “It was my supporting cast that believed in me more than I believed in myself at the time. They helped me play for Fort Union (a prep academy post-high school, which led to his chance at Buffalo), and I’ll never forget that.”