The Seattle Seahawks’ top NFL Draft pick in 2024, defensive tackle Byron Murphy II, had somewhat of a quiet rookie season. And, understandably, there hasn’t been much talk about him through this offseason.
That’s not to say Murphy was disappointing last year, though.
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The 6-foot, 306-pound University of Texas product had 36 combined tackles and a half-sack in 14 games at a position where players don’t traditionally stuff the stat sheet. Meanwhile, there was another player on Seattle’s defensive line that was hogging most of the attention for his play.
“Well, we didn’t see a lot of (Murphy) last year because ‘Big Cat’ (Leonard) Williams stole the headlines every week with the way that he played,” NFL Network and FOX Sports analyst Brian Baldinger said to Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk on Friday.
Baldinger, a former NFL offensive lineman, gave good reason to keep an eye on Murphy this year, though.
“Pick Aaron Donald, pick any great defensive lineman in the history of this game, it takes a year to figure things out,” Baldinger said. “You (Murphy) leave the University of Texas and you’re a little bit undersized to begin with, and you’re trying to figure out blocking schemes and who you’re going up against, it’s just takes a little while.”
Could Murphy break out in his sophomore NFL season? Baldinger pointed at what he showed last year and what he’ll need to show in 2025 to make that happen.
“I thought Byron showed you great strength at the point. You know, we gotta see more in in the pass game, we gotta see him defeat some blocks up front right now and some double teams,” he said.
But it shouldn’t be too much of surprise if Murphy turns that corner.
“Usually if guys are going to make a leap in their careers, it’s going to be between their first and their second year,” Baldinger said.
Hear the full Brock and Salk conversation with NFL analyst Brian Baldinger in the video at the top of this post, or the podcast at this link or in the player below. Catch Brock and Salk live from 6-10 a.m. weekdays on Seattle Sports.
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