Seahawks' best breakout candidate? NFL analyst reveals

They're in luck, as according to Kole Musgrove of Seahawks Wire, Murphy is the team's top breakout candidate for 2025.

"Numbers never lie but they don’t always tell the whole story," Musgrove wrote. "In his rookie campaign, the stat sheet for Seattle’s former first round selection will only show 36 total tackles and half a sack. However, a defensive tackle’s true impact is rarely measurable on a stat sheet.

"Still, when watching the games in 2024 it felt Murphy was on the verge of a breakout in multiple games. A full season under his belt, not just in Mike Macdonald’s system but the NFL as a whole, should go a long way to having him prepared for year two. Also, with a (hopefully) healthy Uchenna Nwosu and the addition of DeMarcus Lawrence, Seattle’s defensive line could be quite ferocious in 2025. With those two, along with Leonard Williams, Boye Mafe and Derick Hall, it becomes a numbers game. There aren’t enough offensive linemen to block everyone."

Murphy, a second-team All-American in 2023, is more than capable of taking up space in the middle at 6-foot and 306 pounds. Not only will that allow the Seahawks' edge rushers to get to the quarterback more often, but it will also allow the defense to do a much better job of stopping the run, which was a major weakness for years.

Seattle's defense already took a major step forward in 2024, and if Murphy plays up to his potential, the unit will absolutely improve further in 2025.