Three things to know about Seahawks first-round pick Byron Murphy II

With their first pick in the 2024 NFL draft, the Seattle Seahawks selected University of Texas defensive tackle Byron Murphy II at No. 16 overall Thursday night.

Here are three things to know about Murphy:

He’s the highest-graded DT in this class

With an early run on quarterbacks, wide receivers and offensive tackles, the first defensive player wasn’t selected until UCLA’s Laiatu Latu, the former Husky defensive end, was taken with the 15th overall pick by the Indianapolis Colts.

With the next pick, the Seahawks turned to Murphy, who was widely regarded as the No. 1 defensive tackle in this draft class. Some mock drafts had him pegged as a top-10 pick.

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Murphy is listed at 6-foot-1 and 297 pounds. He has 32-3/8-inch arms, and he was clocked at 4.87 seconds in the 40-yard dash.

NFL.com analyst Lance Zierlein called Murphy “a true game-wrecking, three-down defensive tackle” who could project as either a nose tackle or a three-tech in the NFL.

Murphy started all 14 games for Texas in 2023, with 29 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss and 5.0 sacks, earning Big 12 defensive lineman of the year recognition.

Last season, his 19.6% pass-rush win percentage ranked No. 1 among all FBS interior linemen, according to Pro Football Focus.

He’s a ‘Freak’

Murphy was one of the college players featured in Bruce Feldman’s annual “Freaks List” in The Athletic last summer. Murphy had a team-best 455-pound front squat and was clocked at 18 mph in Texas’ GPS readings.

“I’ve heard it — and I think it’s awesome to be called a ‘Freak,’” Murphy told The Athletic earlier this year. “It’s a blessing.”

As a high-school player at Dallas-area powerhouse DeSoto High School, Murphy began his career as a middle linebacker, and he initially resisted a move to the defensive line.

By his senior year, Murphy bulked up to 276 pounds, and he finished the season with 14 sacks to break the DeSoto record held by future NFL star Von Miller.

“I’ve always been athletic, I just got big over time,” Murphy said. “I used to really shake dudes out of their shoes. I’d put moves on guys and do all types of crazy things. I was a stud growing up. And I never lost my athleticism.”

He had a rushing TD vs. UW in Sugar Bowl

On defense and offense, Murphy proved to be a handful for the Huskies in their wild 37-31 victory in the Sugar Bowl.

Murphy rushed for a 1-yard touchdown against UW, his second offensive touchdown of the season. He also caught a short TD pass in a Sept. 16 game against Wyoming.

The one knock on Murphy is that he is slightly undersized for an elite defensive tackle.

“Teams may think they can run at him due to his measurables, but he has great lower-body strength and doesn’t yield much ground versus combo blocks,” PFF wrote in its pre-draft analysis. “Perhaps nothing better sums up Murphy’s strength than that he played nose tackle despite 360-pound T’Vondre Sweat’s presence along Texas’ defensive line. His strength and explosiveness led to excellent pass-rush grades and win rates.”