Seahawks fans have to prepare for the possibility that the team will not be able to re-sign Leonard Williams if he hits the open market. If that does end up happening, then interior defensive line suddenly rises to the team’s greatest roster need going into the 2024 NFL draft.
While there are a lot of other paths they could take – including trading down to get their second-round pick back – selecting the best interior pass rusher on the board would be a good way to use their No. 16 overall pick. That’s just what they did in a new mock draft from Daniel Jeremiah at NFL.com, who has Seattle taking Texas DT Byron Murphy II.
“Leonard Williams is a pending free agent, but even if the Seahawks work out a deal with him, Murphy would be a nice complement on the interior defensive line.”
Murphy (6-foot-1, 297 pounds) is a popular mock pick for the Seahawks at this spot, as is Alabama edge Dallas Turner. In 34 games with the Longhorns, Murphy has totaled eight sacks and 15 tackles for a loss.
Given the similarity of their frames, there will be the inevitably silly Aaron Donald comps. Fans should know focus on the fact that Murphy is already a solid lineman on his own without having those kinds of expectactions unfairly heaped on his shoulders.
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