Never meet your heroes? Byron Murphy Jr. would disagree

EAGAN — When Byron Murphy Jr. was establishing himself as one of the best high school football players in the state of Arizona, Patrick Peterson was forging a Hall of Fame career.

In 2015, Murphy Jr. spent his Friday nights racking up over 1,700 yards receiving and picking off seven passes. Peterson spent his Sundays earning his third All-Pro en route to an NFC Championship appearance with the hometown Cardinals.

Murphy Jr. was captivated by Peterson.

“Growing up in Arizona I had been watching him my whole life,” Murphy Jr. said following minicamp practice. “Pat P and Tyrann [Mathieu] were my two favorite DBs growing up and still to this day, but Pat was a different guy for me because he plays my position. Pat was someone I watched on film.”

The 25-year-old cornerback, who signed as a free agent with the Minnesota Vikings this offseason, studied the epic battles between Peterson and Detroit’s Calvin Johnson. He loved the fact that Peterson drew the most difficult matchup in every game and watched his footwork closely. He honed in on how Peterson played with aggressiveness and physicality. While Murphy Jr. loved playing receiver in high school, he was a top recruit as a cornerback and wanted nothing more than to play with that same aggression.

“I think defense was my thing because of the physicality and tackling and Pat P being a corner, I gotta stick with the corner side,” Murphy Jr. said.

Stick, he did. At University of Washington, Murphy Jr. became one of the top prospects in the 2019 NFL draft, picking off four passes and racking up 13 pass breakups as a redshirt sophomore in 2018.

Prior to the draft, he had an opportunity to meet Peterson. The former Viking corner, who signed with the Steelers this offseason, owns a car shop in Arizona and held a car show. Murphy Jr. went to see it and got to chop it up with his idol. Immediately Peterson started dropping knowledge.

“Going there and being able to meet him and talk to him and with the draft [coming up] and him telling me about the process and those things. I was like, ‘What if I was your teammate?’ And he was like, ‘That would be crazy, you should come to Arizona, that would be great.’”

They stayed in touch during the pre-draft process and the Cardinals ultimately picked Murphy Jr. with the 33rd overall selection in the 2019 draft.

Unfortunately Murphy Jr. didn’t get to play alongside Peterson right away. In 2019 Peterson missed the first six games of the season due to a suspension. When he returned, the rookie defensive back got exactly what he was hoping for in his favorite player: A mentor.

“When he came back you could tell the leadership and the difference in the room once he got back and the impact he made when he got back when he got on the field,” Murphy Jr. said. “He’s someone who’s helped me grow as a person watching his film and in person asking him questions. To this day, I have to thank him for being a role model for me.”

Murphy Jr. remembered going over to Peterson’s house and thinking, is this really happening? Of course, the experience meant much more than just getting to hang out with his favorite rock star. The young corner soaked up everything Peterson taught him and then made it his goal to pass the knowledge to others through the years.

“When you talk about football and get advice then you keep sharing it and when you get to that stage that they’re at you have to do the same thing,” Murphy Jr. said. “It helps becoming a better person. Pat P matched everything I was looking for as a young guy coming in.”

Coincidentally the Vikings will be looking for Murphy Jr. to pass down knowledge despite being only slightly old enough to legally rent a car. He is the only player in the cornerback room with more than two seasons of experience.

The fifth-year corner won’t just be using the lessons learned from his near 3,500 NFL snaps to help his youthful teammates develop, he’s bringing along Peterson’s ability to lead by example.

“Watching him how he goes about things every day, there was always something he was focusing on getting better at,” Murphy said of the eight-time Pro Bowler. “If it was press technique or off-man or anything detail wise for a corner, he was always working on something every single day and every Sunday he’d put it on the field. To watch that, we knew that we could do that too and follow his steps.”

Again, the Vikings need Murphy Jr. to follow in Peterson’s steps in order for their secondary to make up for the loss of their veteran star. Last season Peterson was one of the NFL’s best corners, ranking second in interceptions (5), 11th in pass breakups (9) and sixth in QB rating allowed (66.8, per PFF). Throughout his four seasons in Arizona, Murphy Jr. had flashes of excellence, picking off four passes in 2021 and only allowing an 87.8 rating into his coverage. The Vikings signed him with the expectation that he can get back to that level and beyond as he continues to grow.

As he takes on the challenge of becoming the Vikings’ CB1, presumably facing off the Megatrons of the league today, Murphy Jr. is bringing along to Minnesota the education he’s been getting from Peterson — whether it was studying his footwork as a high schooler, prepping for the draft or sharing a cornerback room.

“He’s helped me grow as a person watching his film and in person asking him questions,” he said. “To this day, I have to thank him for being a role model for me. ”