Khalil Elijah "Red" Murdock (born September 24, 2003) is an American professional football linebacker for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Buffalo Bulls and is the NCAA's all-time leader in career forced fumbles. Murdock was selected by the Broncos with the final pick of the 2026 NFL draft, making him that year’s Mr. Irrelevant.
Early life Murdock was a middle child, one of his single mother's six children. In the eighth grade, he achieved a perfect score on the Standards of Learning for English exam, a standardized test administered in Virginia.
Murdock attended high school at Hopewell located in Hopewell, Virginia. As a junior in 2019, he missed much of the season due to a hip injury but, along with teammate TreVeyon Henderson, he led Hopewell to a Virginia High School League championship. He underwent surgery after the season to repair a torn labrum. While at Hopewell, he completed an associate's degree at Brightpoint Community College via a dual enrollment program. He did not attract any attention from Division I football programs at Hopewell and made the decision to complete a post-graduate year at Fork Union Military Academy in Fork Union, Virginia to pursue a Division I scholarship. He helped lead Fork Union to an undefeated season but Buffalo was the only program to offer him a college football scholarship.
College career In his freshman season at the University at Buffalo in 2022, he redshirted but played in five games, recording six tackles and a pass deflection.
During the 2023 season, Murdock totaled 60 tackles with nine and a half being for a loss, two sacks, and four forced fumbles.
In May 2024, he earned a Bachelor of Arts in psychology. In week four of the 2024 season, he tallied 12 tackles and a forced fumble in an overtime win versus Northern Illinois. During the 2025 Bahamas Bowl, Murdock notched 13 tackles with three being for a loss, an interception which he returned for a touchdown in a victory over Liberty, where for his performance he was named the game's Defensive MVP. He finished the 2024 season, second in the nation with 156 tackles with 16.5 being for a loss, two sacks, an interception, seven forced fumbles, and a touchdown. His seven forced fumbles led the NCAA and his 156 total tackles were second behind only fellow Buffalo linebacker Shaun Dolac.
Heading into the 2025 season, Murdock was named a nominee for the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. In a victory over Bowling Green, Murdock broke the NCAA record for career forced fumbles previously held by Buffalo linebacker Khalil Mack.
College statistics Year Team GP Tackles Interceptions Fumbles Solo Ast Cmb TFL Sck Yds Int Yds PD TD FR Yds FF 2022 Buffalo 5 6 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2023 Buffalo 12 36 24 60 9.5 2 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 2024 Buffalo 13 73 83 156 16.5 2 11 1 31 1 1 0 0 7 2025 Buffalo 12 53 89 142 13.5 5 33 0 0 1 0 2 0 6 Career 42 168 196 364 39.5 9 56 1 31 3 1 2 0 17
Professional career
Murdock was selected by the Denver Broncos in the seventh round (257th overall) of the 2026 NFL draft, making him that year's Mr. Irrelevant. On May 7, 2026, Murdock signed his four-year rookie contract with Denver. On August 30, he was waived by the Broncos. The next day, he was re-signed to the practice squad.
Notes
References
External links Denver Broncos bio Buffalo Bulls bio