Byron Murphy's latest breakout game cracks 4-year Seahawks record

Defensive tackle Byron Murphy II, the Seattle Seahawks' first-round pick in 2024, has fully put his quiet rookie season behind him.

Following the Seahawks' 20-12 Week 6 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, Murphy now has 4.5 sacks on the season after having just half a sack in 14 games last season. But his impact goes even deeper than that on a down-to-down basis.

Veteran edge rusher DeMarcus Lawrence said Murphy is Seattle's "No. 1 run defender, hands down" after the game, which is likely true with how frequently the 23-year-old clogs up the middle of the line of scrimmage. On top of that, his pass-rush consistency is also growing.

Murphy totaled seven pressures against the Jaguars in addition to his pair of sacks, according to ESPN's Brady Henderson. That's the most by a Seahawks player since Carlos Dunlap in Week 16 of the 2021 season.

Watch out for Byron 👀

📺: @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/LaMVqmmXjs
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) October 12, 2025

When head coach Mike Macdonald was told about Murphy's overall productivity, he couldn't help but crack a smile.

"Byron had seven pressures on his own?" Macdonald said, almost in disbelief. "That's pretty good. I'm going to claim I was right on Byron. I've been telling you for two years."

The Seahawks totaled seven sacks on Trevor Lawrence after the Jaguars quarterback had only been brought down six times in Jacksonville's first five games. Seattle now has 20 team sacks on the season, which might put them in the top 5 league-wide by the end of Week 6.

Murphy has been a critical piece of that as he continues to develop into a complete player. There's very little he isn't doing for a rising Seahawks defense so far this season.

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