Sophomore Season Breakout? Byron Murphy II Looking Like Player Seahawks Drafted
When the Seattle Seahawks used the No. 16 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft on defensive tackle Byron Murphy II, expectations were high. Coming out of Texas, he was widely praised for his pass rush prowess, gap‐shooting ability against the run, and his explosiveness off the snap. But his rookie year was more about flashes than full‐time production — and that’s exactly what makes his start to 2025 so interesting.
Last year, his biggest contribution was seeing the difference between when he was healthy and in the rotation and when he was sidelined with injury. His raw counting stats were modest: 36 total tackles, two tackles for loss, just half a sack, one QB hit, and a handful of pressures. But outside of the box score stats, it was clear Seattle’s defense was overall, a better unit with Murphy in the lineup. Still, for being a first round pick, his impact was somewhat underwhelming.
Fast forward to 2025: Murphy is now listed with a 69.6 overall grade from PFF, putting him among the top third of qualifying interior defenders. His pass rush grade has climbed, and his pressure metrics (solo tackles, assists, sacks) are already showing upward movement.
Sunday against the Steelers showed another level of Murphy we haven’t seen in Seattle and he hasn’t shown since his days in burnt orange with the Longhorns. He made life hard for Pittsburgh’s offensive line, bouncing between three different slots along the defensive line. His four quarterback pressures tied for the most he got in any game last year. His seven pressures through two games is the most he has ever had in a two-game span. His seven total pressures also ranks 10th among all interior defensive linemen in the NFL so far. The Texas product is actually leading all interior linemen in “stops” per PFF, which is defined as “tackles that constitute a "failure" for the offense.
Through two games in 2025, we are seeing the version of Murphy Seattle hoped to get when they passed on the likes of Jared Verse and Chop Robinson to pick him two years ago. Against Aaron Rodgers in Pittsburgh, he notched his first ever full sack of his NFL career. In fact, he racked up 1.5 sacks for the first game of his entire career with more than a single sack, drawing praise after the game from teammate Jarran Reed.
Part of this success could be head coach Mike Macdonald moving Murphy around more than last year. His six snaps in the 5-tech position over the offensive tackle on Sunday is twice as many as he had in any game last year. The combination of Murphy being healthy, plus being in Macdonald’s system for another year with an NFL-quality offseason along with the aforementioned creativity, seems to be bringing in early dividends.
Indeed, this is just a two-game sample. The NFL is about sustaining success for long periods of time. But the early returns so far this year suggest Murphy is reaching another level we didn’t see during his rookie year. Hopefully, this is a hint of even bigger things to come in his sophomore NFL season forming a dangerous trio with Reed and Leonard Williams in the middle.
