Seahawks were 'stunned' Byron Murphy II was still available in NFL draft

Tim Weaver

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Seahawks were 'stunned' Byron Murphy II was still available in NFL draft image

Sometimes a thing is just meant to be. Born in Texas to a family of Cowboys fans, Byron Murphy II was a Seahawks fan as a kid, emulating Marshawn Lynch when he was a running back growing up and loving the Legion of Boom era teams.

Considered by many analysts to be the top defensive prospect in the entire 2024 NFL draft class (including general manager John Schneider), Murphy wasn't supposed to be available when Seattle was on the clock in the first round. Nevertheless, the draft board played out in exactly the right way, allowing Murphy to fall to the Seahawks at number 16 overall.

According to Albert Breer at Sports Illustrated, the team was stunned when they saw Murphy was still on the board.

This is particularly satisfying since we now know that the division rival Rams had their hearts set on moving up in order to get Murphy and replace the retiring Aaron Donald. The look on Sean McVay's face when he saw Murphy go to Seattle says it all.

The Seahawks see him as a combination 3-tech and nose tackle, so Murphy should see a significant snap count as a rookie - especially since Dre'Mont Jones is now transitioning to play outside on the edge full-time.

They'll have to prove it on the field, but on paper this looks like one of the best interior defensive line units in the league. More than one analyst has this group ranked as the second-best iDL group in the NFL this year.

Tim Weaver

Tim Weaver Photo

Tim Weaver has been covering the NFL since the 2013 season for a number of different outlets, including Fansided and USA Today SMG. His work began with the Seahawks and has included covering the Eagles, Bears, Panthers, Steelers and Falcons. His pit/terrier mix, Pepper, is a one-cut-and-go kind of girl.