2025 Seahawks Most Valuable Player Rankings: #2

After a solid but forgettable rookie campaign, Byron Murphy II broke out in a massive way in 2025, being a major reason why the team won the super bowl.

Seattle Seahawks defensive lineman Byron Murphy II gestures during an NFL football game against the Houston Texans. | AP Photo/Stephen Brashear

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be listing out my rankings for most valuable Seattle Seahawk player for the 2025 season, starting at #12 and counting down to #1.

An Anonymous Rookie Year

2024 Byron Murphy was fine. You would have been justified in expecting more from a first round pick, but you probably would have been wise to understand that a twenty-two year old was going to take a while to really get going. Fourteen games, 36 tackles, two for loss, contributing to an improved defense. But something was missing.

Leonard Williams (99) and Byron Murphy II (91) of the Seattle Seahawks celebrate during the third quarter of the game against the New Orleans Saints at Lumen Field. | Jane Gershovich / Getty Images / The Athletic

Murphy wasn’t a sack artist in college as a member of the Texas Longhorns, with eight across three seasons, but by 2023 he was quite the disruptor. Pro Football Focus gave him 45 pressures on 273 pass rush snaps, impressive even if he only found five sacks. So when that rookie season came with just a half a sack and five (PFR) pressures, it felt disappointing.

Sophomore Breakout

Everything clicked into place for Byron last season. And I mean everything. For one, the team run defense went from lackluster (2,053 yards and 4.6 yards per carry allowed) to elite (1,563 yards and 3.7 yards per carry allowed), in large part because of his worth at nose tackle. Playing out of position due to necessity, Murphy was brilliant as the first line of attack.

Seattle Seahawks defensive lineman Byron Murphy II (91) takes part in drills during mini-camp. | Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images

But it was his massive strides forward as a pass rusher that really turned heads. Despite still playing many snaps as a one-tech, Murphy came up with seven sacks and twenty-one pressures. That kind of production getting after the quarterback as a nose tackle is rare, and that Murphy was able to put it together at the age of twenty-three is special.

His excellent play persisted into the postseason, where the Seahawks allowed just barely over a hundred yards rushing per game while Murphy threw in two sacks and a fumble recovery in the super bowl. It was a full season of excellent play, and it’s impossible to imagine the Seahawks accomplishing what they did in 2025 without him, and him specifically.

The Bottom Line

Seattle Seahawks defensive lineman Byron Murphy II (91) and linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) combine for the tackle in a 27-19 home win against the Texans. | Seattle Seahawks

When I think of the 2025 Seattle Seahawks, the first thing I’m going to think of is their run defense. They were best in the league at stopping the run despite also having a league high rate of playing nickel defense. That’s something that doesn’t happen without phenomenal play from the defensive linemen, specifically the nose tackle. Murphy is that guy.

— Enjoy free coverage of the Super Bowl champions from Seattle Seahawks On SI —

Sign Up For the Seahawks Daily Digest - OnSI’s Free Seattle Seahawks Newsletter