USF's Murphy intriguing possibility for Bears at free safety
When Lovie Smith attended South Florida's pro day March 30 and broke bread with Bulls talented free safety Nate Allen, it led to speculation that the Bears might consider trading up from the third round (75th overall) to draft him.
But a better and more realistic plan might be to draft Allen's teammate, Jerome Murphy, who played cornerback for the Bulls but projects exceptionally well to free safety - where the Bears' defense is in most need of an upgrade.
The Bears really don't have the ammunition to move up into the early-to-middle second round, where Allen is expected to be claimed. And Angelo previously said he isn't in favor of trading next year's picks to improve his draft position this year.
Murphy is projected as a second-to-early-third-round pick, and he's an intriguing prospect. He ran a 4.48-second 40 at South Florida's pro day, which is fine for cornerback but even better for a safety, and he has shown excellent quickness and explosion. His 20-yard shuttle time of 4.05 seconds and his 10-foot-7-inch broad jump and 38-inch vertical jump were all among the top times for defensive backs at the Scouting Combine.
Unlike some other free-safety types or cornerbacks who hope to convert, the 6-foot, 196-pound Murphy has shown a toughness and a willingness to get physical vs. the run. He seems to relish the opportunity for contact.
"That's what separates me," Murphy said. "I came into college playing safety, so that's where I get that physical mentality from."
Although Murphy played in more games (52) than anyone in USF history, he does come with some baggage. He was suspended for the first half of the Bulls' bowl game after the 2008 season for violating team rules, and he was benched in the second half of two games as a senior for drawing multiple penalties.
Still, some draft analysts, like NFL.com's Gil Brandt, have Murphy rated ahead of Allen. Either player might be able to help give the Bears the continuity they crave at a position that has been in flux for most of the past six seasons. If Allen fell to the Bears, it wouldn't be a bad thing, considering he's got the experience of having started all of USF's 38 games over the past three seasons at free safety.
So there shouldn't be much of a learning curve for the 6-foot-1/2-inch, 207-pound Allen.
"They had me back in the secondary making most of the calls and directing traffic back there," he said. "They asked me to make plays, and I was able to do that some this (past) year. I played in the box some, but most of the time they had me back deep."
Allen isn't considered very stout against the run, but he has shown the speed and athleticism to cover a lot of ground and to make plays on the ball, which is what the Bears are looking for in their secondary.
Top 10 Defensive backsFS Eric Berry, TennesseeFS Earl Thomas, TexasFS Taylor Mays, USCCB Joe Haden, FloridaCB Patrick Robinson, Florida StateCB Devin McCourty, RutgersFS Nate Allen, South FloridaCB Jerome Murphy, South FloridaCB Kyle Wilson, Boise StateFS Morgan Burnett, Georgia TechOverview: There is an abundance of talent as safety, a position that traditionally has not drawn much first-round interest. However, with NFL teams becoming more and more pass driven, the value of free safeties who can cover a lot of ground, run with wide receivers and make big plays on the ball has increased. Four of the top five safeties this year are that type of player, and three off them could come off the board before even one cornerback is chosen, which is extremely rare. USC's Mays is the one elite safety who is not considered a good ball athlete. But he has ridiculous size-speed numbers, easily running under 4.4 in the 40 at 230 pounds, faster than all the cornerbacks, and he benched 225 pounds 24 times and had an NBA-like vertical jump of 41 inches.