The Seattle Seahawks have seemingly had a few good drafts in a row, but the 2024 one might still be in question. Last offseason, general manager John Schneider made several poor choices in terms of free agency, but his draft selections didn't seem too amiss.
While tight end AJ Barner was a better receiver than expected, and linebacker Tyrice Knight became a surprisingly efficient starter midway through the season, first-round pick Byron Murphy II didn't seemingly do much.
That could change in 2025, though. According to CBS Sports' Chris Trapasso, Murphy is one of the six second-year players who could see breakout seasons.
Seahawks' Byron Murphy II has all the skills to have a breakout 2025
Seattle certainly needs Murphy to. The Seahawks have a talented defensive line, with players such as Leonard Williams, Jarran Reed, and DeMarcus Lawrence; they also have an aging one. All of the players mentioned in the previous sentence are in their 30s and probably don't have too many seasons left to play.
Murphy needs to step in and begin to take over some of their production. He was taken in the first round because he had excellent quickness and strength and was expected to be disruptive for many years.
Trapasso sees that as potentially being the case in year two for Murphy. He writes, "Despite what probably felt like a disappointing rookie year for a first-round pick, Murphy did register a pressure rate of 8.6%. Hardly terrible. In fact, close to that magical 10% pressure-rate threshold on the interior. Now, with presumably more power to his game, Murphy will take a big leap forward within (Mike) Macdonald's system in 2025."
He makes an excellent point about being in Macdonald's system for a second year. Many Baltimore Ravens had fantastic seasons in their second years in Macdonald's scheme when Seattle's head coach was the defensive coordinator there.
Such was the case for defensive lineman Nnamdi Madubuike, who had 5.5 sacks in his first season under Macdonald, but then had 13 in year two. He also set a career high of 12 tackles for loss. Murphy isn't quite as big as Madubuike, but is just as quick and has a lot of strength.
Murphy might also not get to 13 sacks in his career, but he might get close. His pressure rate should increase simply by having another season in the NFL, let alone with the defensive system. Knowing what professional opponents are trying to do and how to use his own skill set against them takes time.
The Seahawks might not expect Leonard Williams to get 11 sacks again, either. That was the second-highest mark of his career. Murphy might need to take up the slack in potentially less production from Williams. The Seahawks' young defensive tackle has the skill set to do that, now 12s just hope he can apply raw skill to real production.
More Seahawks news and analysis: