Tackles are not the best way to evaluate linebacker play, as Los Angeles Chargers fans found out when they had to sit through this organization trying to make Kenneth Murray into a starting linebacker. The Chargers cut ties, but teams across the league are still giving him chances to emerge.
The Dallas Cowboys have developed a habit of taking chances on former first-round picks that flamed out in their initial destination. That mindset led to the Cowboys bringing Murray in as a lottery ticket. Unfortunately, he is still making the same mistakes from his Chargers tenure.
In the season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles, Hurts completed five of his first six passes to tight ends over the middle of the field. Murray has been thoroughly unable to contain Hurts as a runner, as Hurts had his first two scramble touchdown runs in years during the first half. Philly scored a touchdown on all three of their first-half drives.
Who would have thought that a player who has consistently been subpar in pass coverage and a below-average open field tackler would get picked on by a very smart offensive coaching staff fresh off a championship? Murray's struggles look almost identical to one of his games in Chargers powder blue.
Cowboys fans learning what Chargers fans knew about struggling LB Kenneth Murray
Murray might be a good athlete, but he has never had the ability to avoid getting pulled out of place by an experienced quarterback's eyes. Los Angeles, Tennessee, and Dallas are now aware of his holes in this area after bringing the former Oklahoma star to town.
With subpar depth behind him in Dallas, the Cowboys will likely be forced to lean heavily on Murray in the 2025 season. While Dallas defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus made his name as a linebackers coach before he moved up the ranks, he'll need to pull off the best coaching job of his life to turn Murray around.
While the lack of replacements might lead to Dallas leaning into the Murray experience early in the 2025 season, there may come a time where the former Chargers starter gets sent back to the bench for poor performance once more.