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Gabriel Murphy NFL Draft 2024: Scouting Report for Minnesota Vikings EDGE

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Gabriel Murphy NFL Draft 2024: Scouting Report for Minnesota Vikings EDGE


Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

— Impressive overall athlete who is quick, agile and has good change of direction, giving him the potential to be an effective pass-rusher in the NFL.

— Works to get on an edge when bull-rushing and has a nice swim move as a counter off the bull.

— Keeps his legs moving through contact as a pass-rusher and has a high motor to help get coverage sacks.

— Decent bend with a flexible lower half to help turn the corner at the top of the rush.

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— Can use his quickness and athleticism to make offensive linemen miss against the run.

— Use of hands as a pass-rusher needs work. Drops his hands and doesn’t play the offensive tackle’s hands well, which is currently limiting his pass-rush arsenal.

— Needs to finish pass-rush moves with a more violent rip to get clean wins.

— Isn’t physical at the point of attack as a run defender. Lacks the strength to hold his ground against one-on-one blocks from good competition.

— Subpar block recognition, which can lead to him getting reached.

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— 13 G, 38 TOT, 8 SK, 16 TFL, 2 PD

— 3-star recruit in the 2019 class, per 247Sports

— Transferred to UCLA from North Texas ahead of the 2022 season

— Twin brother, Grayson, also is an edge-rusher for UCLA, UNT transfer and NFL draft prospect

Gabriel Murphy has the potential to develop into an effective third-down rusher in the NFL. His athleticism and bend are apparent on film, which helped him win in college and be an effective looper in line games.

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However, he does need to improve his use of hands to develop a go-to move or two. Murphy currently struggles with the accuracy and timing of his initial chops to begin his moves, making it difficult for him to “defeat the hands and defeat the man.” But the movement skills are there for him to develop a nasty stick move and build on his overall arsenal.

Against the run, the UCLA product relies on his quickness and agility to make offensive linemen miss. That can work occasionally, but more athletic and patient offensive linemen will be able to stay in front of him and push him around. He even struggles to hold ground against good blocking tight ends and may never be a three-down player in the NFL.

Schematically, Murphy would be best as a standup outside linebacker who can contribute on passing downs.

GRADE: 6.4 (High-Level Developmental Prospect — 5th Round)

PRO COMPARISON: Cameron Goode

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Stamkos leads Predators past Wild 2-1, locking Minnesota into the West’s third seed

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Stamkos leads Predators past Wild 2-1, locking Minnesota into the West’s third seed


NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Steven Stamkos scored a goal and added an assist to lead the Nashville Predators to a 2-1 victory over Minnesota on Saturday, locking the Wild into the third seed in the Western Conference for the playoffs.

Matthew Wood also scored and Justus Annunen made 21 saves for the Predators, 4-1-1 in their last six.

Minnesota will face the Dallas Stars in the first round of the playoffs.

Michael McCarron scored and Jesper Wallstedt made 20 saves for the Wild, losers of two straight.

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The Predators are now three points behind the Los Angeles Kings for the Western Conference’s second wild card. The Kings defeated the Edmonton Oilers earlier Saturday. Nashville has two games remaining and the Kings three.

Stamkos scored the game’s first goal with 4:59 remaining in the opening period on a wraparound tucked just inside the left post.

The goal was the 40th of the season for Stamkos, the eighth time in his career that he’s scored 40 or more.

Nashville Predators right wing Luke Evangelista (77) keeps Minnesota Wild left wing Kirill Kaprizov (97) away from the net during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, April 11, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. Credit: AP/Mark Humphrey

Wood made it 2-0 at 6:34 of the second after Stamkos corralled the rebound of Nick Perbix’s shot and found Wood in the slot, where he beat Wallstedt with a wrist shot.

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McCarron, traded by Nashville to Minnesota prior to this season’s trade deadline, scored at 6:54 of the third to avoid the Wild’s first shutout of the season. It was his second post-trade goal.

The Wild did not dress forwards Joel Eriksson Ek and Mats Zuccarello or defenseman Jared Spurgeon for the game.

Nashville captain Roman Josi returned to the lineup after missing Thursday night’s game against the Utah Mammoth with an upper-body injury.

Minnesota Wild goaltender Jesper Wallstedt (30) blocks a shot by...

Minnesota Wild goaltender Jesper Wallstedt (30) blocks a shot by Nashville Predators right wing Matthew Wood (71) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, April 11, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. Credit: AP/Mark Humphrey

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Wild at St. Louis on Monday night.

Predators host San Jose on Monday night.

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Ahead of fishing opener, health officials update fish consumption guidelines

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Ahead of fishing opener, health officials update fish consumption guidelines


The new fish consumption guidelines include warnings about eating too much fish caught in northeastern Minnesota lakes and rivers, where fish tend to have higher mercury levels. And the state warns against consuming fish from the Vermillion River, south of the Twin Cities, because of PFAS contamination.



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Minnesota Duluth’s Max Plante wins men’s college hockey’s Hobey Baker Award

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Minnesota Duluth’s Max Plante wins men’s college hockey’s Hobey Baker Award


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Minnesota Duluth sophomore forward Max Plante is the winner of the 2026 Hobey Baker Award as the top player in men’s college hockey.

He edged fellow finalists, T.J. Hughes, a senior forward from Michigan, and Eric Pohlkamp, a junior defenseman from the University of Denver.

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Plante scored 25 goals and had 52 points in 40 games in his second season with the Bulldogs. The 2024 second-round pick of the Detroit Red Wings finished third in NCAA Division I scoring behind Quinnipiac’s Ethan Wyttenbach (59) and Hughes (57).

He’s the first Minnesota Duluth player to win the award since Scott Perunovich in 2020 and the seventh overall.

Plante’s father, former NHL player Derek Plante, also played for Minnesota Duluth and was a Hobey Baker top 10 finalist in 1993.

Michigan State’s Trey Augustine was named the top goaltender in the Friday, April 10 ceremony. He went 24-9-1 for the Spartans with a 2.11 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage.

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Wyttenbach was named college hockey’s rookie of the year.

Recent Hobey Baker Award winners

  • 2026: F Max Plante, Minnesota Duluth
  • 2025: F Isaac Howard, Michigan State
  • 2024: F Macklin Celebrini, Boston University
  • 2023: F Adam Fantilli, Michigan
  • 2022: G Dryden McKay, Minnesota State
  • 2021: F Cole Caufield, Wisconsin
  • 2020: D Scott Perunovich, Minnesota Duluth
  • 2019: D Cale Makar, UMass
  • 2018: F Adam Gaudette, Northeastern
  • 2017: D Will Butcher, Denver
  • 2016: F Jimmy Vesey, Harvard



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