Scouting WR Louis Murphy

Vital stats
He played in 48 games at Florida, with 26 starts. For his career, Murphy caught 77 passes for 1,245 yards and 13 touchdowns. He caught at least one pass in each of his last 27 games. He had a career-high six receptions against Troy in 2007.

Workout numbers
Ran the 40-yard dash in 4.43 seconds and bench-pressed 225 pounds 12 times at the NFL Combine.

Strengths
Murphy has excellent size and speed and could develop into a deep threat at the next level. He has a strong work ethic and developed into a good blocker at UF. He has shown the ability to make the tough catch. The scouts also like the fact he's a big target with long arms who can go up and make the catch against tight coverage.

Weaknesses
Murphy is not real strong (only 12 reps in the bench press at the Combine) and could have problems getting off the line against physical NFL defensive backs. His inconsistent hands (he had some drops throughout his UF career) also are a concern. Another issue could be that he did not run many NFL routes in the Gators' spread offense.

Projected round
Most analysts have Murphy going in the third or fourth round.

Murphy on the draft
"There are a lot of great receivers in this draft, but I feel I'm right there with the best of them. I don't have numbers like many of them do, but the big thing is I have a track background. I have run 4.25 (in the 40) in the past and I've got the size the NFL likes. I love the deep ball. That's my game."

UF draft fact
The Gators had only two players drafted a year ago (Derrick Harvey and Andre Caldwell), the fewest since only two were taken in 1993 (Lawrence Hatch and Will White). In 2007, nine Gators were drafted.

What they're saying
"What you are getting with (Florida wide receivers) Percy Harvin and Louis Murphy are guys who haven't run NFL-type routes. You take all the speed and explosion and ask how does that translate to an NFL offense."
— Mike Mayock, the NFL Network's lead draft analyst

"During the course of his (UF) career, he has flashed first- or second-round ability. Unfortunately, he also had a problem with dropped passes, which left you scratching your head. To his credit, he made significant strides in the consistency department the past year. He's a difficult prospect to get a handle on for where he will end up on draft day."
— ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr.