Texas Football: 3 NFL Draft landing spots for Byron Murphy
Texas football has two top-tier defensive tackle prospects in the 2024 NFL Draft class. Junior defensive lineman Byron Murphy and redshirt senior T'Vondre Sweat are both projected to be Day 1 or Day 2 picks in the 2024 NFL Draft, according to most experts.
Murphy and Sweat have a chance to solidify their statuses as early-round picks in the 2024 draft over the next week or so in Indianapolis, IN, at the NFL Combine. Sweat must show how his ability and power on the field can translate while testing at the combine.
A strong combine showing can vault Texas football DL Byron Murphy II into early Day 1 pick status
Murphy, meanwhile, can show how special his athletic gifts are to catch some team's attention drafting in the first round this year with a good performance at the combine.
If any Texas defender in this draft class has the chance to skyrocket up draft boards with a first-round projection from a solid showing at the combine, it's likely Murphy. The reigning Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year was slotted among the top three in Bruce Feldman's Freaks List from The Athletic early this week.
Assuming Murphy does fall in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, here are three viable destinations for the Texas defensive tackle this spring.
Seattle Seahawks
It was already an up-and-down season for the Seattle Seahawks defense in 2023, which ranked 31st in the NFL in rushing defense and 21st in passing defense. If the front office can't replenish some key departures on the defense this offseason, the problem could get worse in 2024.
The Seahawks' defensive front is losing a big piece to free agency this offseason, veteran one-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Leonard Williams. Finding a replacement for a big addition to the defensive line midseason for the Seahawks is a primary task to get the front seven in a spot to succeed more consistently heading into the future.
That said, Murphy could be the defensive tackle of the future for the Seahawks. He could join a defensive front that has some potential heading into the future in Seattle, including linebacker (and team sack leader in 2023) Boye Mafe and defensive end Dre'Mont Jones.
Murphy could help bolster the Seahawks porous run defense while adding a physically-gifted disruptor to the interior pass rush. Murphy was one of the highest-graded run defenders in the Power Five last season.
Many of those physical traits that made Murphy such a proficient run stopper at Texas, namely his high-end speed and driving power off the line of scrimmage, translated into his effectiveness as an interior pass rusher.
The Seahawks hold the 16th pick in the first round of the 2024 draft, which is right around the area where Murphy is being projected to be selected by NFL Draft experts in the media.