With the final pick of the 2026 NFL Draft, the Denver Broncos took Red Murdock, a linebacker from Buffalo. Someone who was a late-round pick-type of prospect during the entire draft process, Murdock does have a long road to even make the Broncos final roster, but he has a really encouraging draft profile.
He's productive as you can get, tallying nearly 300 total tackles, 30 tackles for loss, and seven sacks during his final two years in college. Murdock might not be a perfect prospect, and he might not be that strong in coverage, but he does have a path to become a key special teams contributor, and he could even see some notable snaps at inside linebacker if all goes well this offseason.
Notably, though, Murdock has the NCAA all-time record in forced fumbles, with 17 across his career, and his answer on how he was able to amass so many will have fans ready to run through a brick wall.
Denver Broncos' rookie Red Murdock just got super blunt about how NCAA record forced fumbles
You really can't get better than this:
Red Murdock on the key to forcing fumbles, he had the most in NCAA history: “Intent and pain tolerance”
— Zac Stevens (@ZacStevensDNVR) May 9, 2026
Said forcing them isn’t painful, it’s the ones you miss that hurt pic.twitter.com/VCpqu7Nxwl
Intent and pain tolerance.
Heck yeah.
Murdock had 13 forced fumbles across his final two seasons in college, and is actually one ahead of Khalil Mack, who also went to Buffalo. Murdock is a 'see ball get ball' player, and that type of mindset absolutely fits in the NFL, but the Broncos especially.
Oddly enough, the team struggled to generate turnovers in 2025, finishing with the fourth-fewest in the league. Denver recovered just four fumbles in 2025. Not only that, but Murdock, while clearly needing to prove himself, may actually have a great shot to see significant snaps at the position in 2025.
The Broncos projected starting duo of Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad really isn't anything special, and it's not like Denver has two top-10 linebackers entrenched in the lineup. Not only is Murdock in the picture, but of note, Taurean York signed as an undrafted free agent, and the Broncos will be giving Jonah Elliss some looks at the position.
As of now, Murdock could absolutely become the team's third linebacker, and that player would see significant snaps. If he can bring this all-time great forced fumble skill into the defense, he'll get on the field quite a bit
But Murdock citing 'intent and pain tolerance' as reasons for this record is flat-out awesome. There isn't a secret formula - Murdock clearly has a strong enough will to get the ball back for his team.
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