Byron Murphy and Seattle Seahawks end Texas Football drought as he's taken in first round of 2024 NFL Draft
Last season it was Bijan Robinson that ended a major first round pick drought for Texas Football. It had been 17 years since a Texas offensive player had been selected in round one. Now it's Byron Murphy's turn. As a defensive lineman, Murphy is now the first Texas Longhorns defensive player to be selected inside the […]
Last season it was Bijan Robinson that ended a major first round pick drought for Texas Football. It had been 17 years since a Texas offensive player had been selected in round one. Now it's Byron Murphy's turn. As a defensive lineman, Murphy is now the first Texas Longhorns defensive player to be selected inside the first round in nearly a decade.
Malcolm Brown, a dominant force in his time at Texas, was selected at pick 32 by the New England Patriots and went on to play for seven seasons in the NFL. That was the last defensive first pick for Texas. Byron Murphy not only cracks the defensive streak for Texas first round selections, but he's also the earliest defensive selection since Kenny Vaccaro was taken at pick 15 in 2013.
Now that he's been selected in the first round by the Seattle Seahawks, Byron Murphy could go down as the best Texas defensive lineman ever. His 17% pass rush pressure rate at Texas was the best among any interior defensive line prospects in the class. He tested as an 82nd percentile athlete at the NFL Combine. Murphy looks like a truly special prospect.
When I spoke with Murphy at the combine here's what he had to say about being the best interior pass rusher in the entire class:
The Seattle Seahawks already have a super stacked defensive front, so there may not be a real rush to thrust him onto the field to play an every down role. Thanks to his pass rush ability he will likely be asked to play a lot of third downs right away though, creating unique mismatches with his quick feet, hands, and agility for his size.
Some say he's too undersized, but they're absolutely wrong. At 6'1" 297 pounds he profiles like the perfect Jurrell Casey comp, who was a top tier interior defensive lineman for the Tennessee Titans for a long time. As he grows alongside Leonard Williams, Jarran Reed, and Dre'Mont Jones expect him to become one of the best interior defenders in the league.
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And if you want to watch some Byron Murphy highlights to get pumped for his NFL future with the Seattle Seahawks just check out the video below!
