Can This Former Chargers Linebacker Breakout with the Cowboys in 2025?
The Cowboys have big plans for 2025 and are expecting their defense to take a major leap this season. Dallas hopes for strong inside linebacker play after the devastating injury to rising linebacker DeMarvion Overshown last season. This will cause him to miss most of the 2025 season. The Cowboys struggled against the run last year and the team made several corresponding moves at middle linebacker with the signing of Jack Sanborn and the trade acquisition of Kenneth Murray Jr.
Dallas has high expectations for Murray Jr., who is likely to take the bulk of the snaps at middle linebacker to start the season. Murray Jr. was the 23rd overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Chargers, and he has put together some productive seasons defending the run as he has tallied over 400 career tackles. Kenneth Murray Jr. has not developed into the complete do-it-all linebacker like the Chargers had hoped. Murray Jr. is a good run defender at six-foot-two, 240 pounds, but he does not always move well in space and is often a liability in coverage.
These struggles have nothing to do with athletic limitations. The former first-round pick has had a hard time being in the right places and diagnosing different offensive formations, and the mental part of the game has been a slow development. The Cowboys placed a big emphasis on how important defensive improvement was this year when they hired Matt Eberflus, who was previously the head coach of the Chicago Bears. Eberflus struggled as a complete head coach but assembled good defenses over his tenure and is known to be a linebacker whisperer, which could be huge news for Kenneth Murray Jr.
Eberflus also brought in his former linebacker Jack Sanborn, who could see some playing time alongside Murray Jr. When the Cowboys traded for Kenneth Murray Jr. on March 12th, it was clear that Eberflus had major sway in this trade. Eberflus could easily fall in love with the high upside in Murray Jr. and trust in his ability to develop his linebackers. The path is set for Kenneth Murray Jr. to break out in 2025.
