Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Byron Murphy II against the Arizona Cardinals. Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

PFF tabs Seahawks DT Byron Murphy II as prime breakout candidate

Originally posted on Seattle Seahawks on SI
By Jon Alfano | Last updated Jun 11, 2025 9:00 AM ET

When the Seattle Seahawks selected defensive tackle Byron Murphy II at No. 16 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft, they envisioned him as the solution to their downright dreadful run defense. A year later, however, the jury is still out on the former Texas star.

Murphy, 22, played less than half of possible defensive snaps in his rookie season and had just 33 tackles, two tackles for loss and half a sack. He wasn't bad, but he wasn't exactly good either.

Heading into Year 2, Murphy is a player who needs to show some progress. Fortunately, Pro Football Focus included him on its all-breakout team, being one of two interior defenders along with Philadelphia Eagles third-year pro Moro Ojomo, his former teammate at Texas.

"Many thought that Mike Macdonald had found his white whale out west when the Seahawks drafted Murphy 16th overall in 2024," PFF's Bradley Locker wrote. "After one year, that hasn’t looked like the case, but it isn’t time to panic yet. In Year 1, the former Texas star earned just a 57.8 overall PFF grade with a 64.5 PFF pass-rushing grade. Murphy also played only 457 snaps in 14 games, ceding time to Leonard Williams and Jarran Reed — each of whom returns to the team in 2025.

"But, there are still a bevy of reasons to get excited about Murphy, including his 70.0 PFF pass-rushing grade on true pass sets, 10% pass-rush win rate and 76th percentile run stop rate. Macdonald helped Nnamdi Madubuike break out in earnest during the 2023 season, which was Macdonald’s second in Baltimore. Perhaps Murphy will follow a similar arc and become a true disruptor along Seattle’s interior in his second season."

Murphy was a second-team All-American and the Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year in 2023, so it's not like he's a scrub. With a year of experience under his belt, and hopefully better injury luck, perhaps a big year could be in store for him.

This article first appeared on Seattle Seahawks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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