One of the most underrated young cornerstones of the new era of Seattle Seahawks football was the very first pick (16th overall) of the new John Schneider/Mike Macdonald regime.
Byron Murphy II is already accomplished after two years in the league. He sees himself as “dominant” against the run. Stats, but mostly the eye test, confirm that notion. Murphy does a lot of the dirty work on the ground.
His sights, however, are set on improvement across the board, including in pass rush productivity.
When
discussing the run game, Murphy talks his talk, proclaiming in his interview with Seattle Sports: “I know I’m a master at it.” He then immediately pointed out the need to constantly improve, despite that feeling.
Murphy confidently reveals one of his goals for the 2026 season: “I’m mainly focused on pass rushing, though. That’s my biggest thing. I’m trying to get double digit sacks this year.” This, after a 7-sack output in ‘25.
Those are strong words, but ones that are backed up by a belief. That belief is reflected in the opinions of his teammates.
Edge rusher, Derick Hall (who just got paid by the Seahawks) was asked about Murphy II during the preseason in the leadup to an eventual championship run: “Last year I think Murph was hugely effective. He’s one of the best to play the double team in a league, I feel like that’s his strong point being able to add the scale of pass rush” … Derick went on to state how he feels that, “Byron is going to have a really, really huge year for us.”
Indeed, he did. Murphy finished third in sacks among all interior defensive linemen, notching seven QB takedowns. They weren’t flukes either, with BMII ranking top ten in pressures (50).
In a year in which they finished as the No. 1 scoring defense, the Seattle Seahawks stop unit held the New England Patriots to only 78 yards gained through three quarters of Super Bowl play. Per Seahawks.com: “This defense ranks No. 8, all time in DVOA defense going as far back as 1978, which is how far DVOA stats go back.”
After a resounding Super Bowl win with multiple major contributions from a talent-laden “Dark Side” defense, star safety, Julian Love discussed how the defense put up such an impressive performance. Love said, “Yeah, it’s a combined effort. To be able to run the scheme that we do and have success the way we have, it just takes talent. It starts up front. Byron Murphy, honestly, is the heartbeat of our defense. And he’s just an unsung hero. I think his name needs to be mentioned more him, Leonard Williams, Jarran Reed up front, the depth that we have in the interior.”
Byron Murphy talked in a previous sit-down with Wyman and Bob about “how much dedication it took” to grow into his expanded role in 2025. He went on to say, “I know I can be the best D-tackle in this league. In order to do that, I just gotta make strides, each and every day. Work on my game. Yeah man… I’m aiming high this year.”
For the uninitiated, defensive guys have a whole different way about them. You love to see the nasty and the swagger out of those guys.
Murphy said of the return of training camp: “I’m just happy to be here. I was ready to get back. Ready to get back to something I love doing, which is football.”
Can Murphy get even better in year three? If he continues to apply that monster work ethic, that will shine through even in the middle of the trenches. He’ll need three more sacks than he recorded last year to meet one of his goals. It’ll be exciting to see how much better year three of Byron Murphy II can get, and in turn, year three of the Mike Macdonald defense in Seattle.
