Seahawks draft DT Byron Murphy II with 16th pick in NFL draft

SEATTLE — There was no trade for the Seahawks on Thursday night.

Instead, the Seahawks saw a player regarded as the best defensive lineman in the draft fall into their lap — Texas’ Byron Murphy II — and decided to take him with their first pick in 2024 draft at No. 16 overall.

Murphy was just the second defensive player taken after the first 14 were all offensive players, a surprising development that left the Seahawks with almost all of the defensive players their its board available to be taken.

The 6-foot-1, 308-pound Murphy will give new head coach Mike Macdonald a young, dynamic defensive tackle around which to build his defense.

The Seahawks have Jarran Reed and Johnathan Hankins as its projected two starting tackles heading into the season. But each are 31 or older and neither under contract beyond this season.

Seattle can now throw out a rotation of Reed, Hankins and Murphy for their interior defensive line to pair with ends Leonard Williams and Dre’Mont Jones — each signed to big contracts over the last two seasons — as the Seahawks attempt to beef up a defense that disappointed greatly the last two years.

Seattle finished 30th in points allowed last season and 25th in yards allowed and also allowed 4.6 yards per rush to rank 27th, while finishing 31st in rushing yards allowed.

Murphy should provide not only more stoutness against the run but also projected as one of the best pass-rushing interior defensive linemen available in the draft.

Lindy’s draft preview described Murphy as the “quickest defensive tackle’’ available in the draft and wrote that “his first step won’t be matched by many NFL linemen. Murphy had five sacks last season as well as seven QB hits and 8.5 tackles-for-a-loss. That included three tackles, including half-a-tackle for a loss, in the Sugar Bowl against Washington.

Murphy is from DeSoto, Texas, and was named as the Big 12’s Defensive Linemen of the Year in 2023.

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