DT Murphy shining for Seattle Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks had a pair of pretty clear snubs from this season’s Pro Bowl, one of which was second-year defensive tackle Byron Murphy II.

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Murphy, the Seahawks’ first-round pick in 2024, has taken a big step forward in his sophomore season, especially when it comes to production.

After finishing with just 0.5 sacks and two tackles for loss as a rookie, Murphy shares the team lead with 7.0 sacks and has seven tackles for loss this season. The Texas product also has 13 quarterback hits, up from only one in 2024. And his 48 pressures this year are more than double the 21 he had last season, per Pro Football Focus.

Murphy’s jump in production this year helped him lead the Pro Bowl fan vote for defensive tackles, yet he was left off the NFC squad.

The 6-foot, 306-pound defensive tackle didn’t show up much in the stat sheet in Seattle’s 27-10 win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. He logged just one tackle and one QB hit in 40 snaps, but his play on the field still garnered some attention.

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NFL on CBS and Prime Video producer Ben Fennell shared four photos from different plays on social media of Murphy being double teamed by the Titans. In each frame, Murphy used the same technique where he dropped to one knee to create leverage and hold his ground against the blockers. Fennell also posted a video of a play where Murphy uses the technique to split a double team and help stuff a run play.

After seeing the posts, Seattle Sports’ Mike Salk asked Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald just how tough it is to move Murphy off his spot when the coach joined Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk for his weekly conversation.

The usually reserved Macdonald shared some high praise for the 23-year-old defensive lineman.

“Well, just stand next to him and try to imagine what that would feel like to knock him like 3 or 4 yards back into a linebacker’s lap. Once you do that, it becomes pretty obvious,” Macdonald said. “But I’d say that’s like his overall strength: technique (and) anticipation. I think he’s the best in the world right now at especially A-gap double teams. I have a hard time thinking anybody’s better.

“So he’s playing great football for us. He really is. And on third down, he’s playing great ball as well. I mean, he’s a phenomenal player.”

Hear the full conversation in the video at the top of this story. Listen to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6-10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

DT Murphy shining for Seattle Seahawks

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