Rival Scout Identifies the Seahawks' Not-So-Secret Weapon

Coming off a dominant performance in Super Bowl LX, the Seattle Seahawks have understandably been compared to the Legion of Boom Seahawks that won the franchise's first Lombardi Trophy in 2013. Both teams were led by their defense. There are a few similarities between the Legion of Boom and the 2025 squad, whose defense was nicknamed the Dark Side, but the current squad has one major difference.

The Legion of Boom featured an All-Pro linebacker in Bobby Wagner and a stellar secondary led by cornerback Richard Sherman and safety Earl Thomas. The Dark Side features an All-Pro linebacker in Ernest Jones IV and a stellar secondary led by cornerback Devon Witherspoon and safety Nick Emmanwori.

Unlike the Legion of Boom, however, the Dark Side's Darth Vader is up front.

While the Legion of Boom was not particularly dominant along its interior defensive line, the Dark Side boasts one of the league's most underrated players in nose tackle Byron Murphy II.

"Nobody has much success blocking Byron Murphy II," said one rival scout. "He's the headliner of a deep defensive line."

Those comments appear in the Athlon Sports 2026 NFL Preview magazine, which is available online and at newsstands nationwide.

Murphy doesn't get as much attention as Seahawks defensive ends Leonard Williams and DeMarcus Lawrence, but he's a force at nose tackle. In addition to stuffing the run, the 6-foot, 306-pounder can collapse the pocket on passing plays. Murphy tied Williams for the team lead last season with 7.0 sacks.

Byron Murphy II gets his turn with the QB in the Super Bowl pic.twitter.com/IL7MqBXofk

— Dugar, Michael-Shawn (@MikeDugar) February 9, 2026

In Seattle's Super Bowl LX victory over the New England Patriots - a game that wasn't as close as the 29-13 score might indicate - Murphy recorded two sacks and recovered a fumble.

Now heading into his third NFL season, the 2024 first-round pick out of Texas could become an even bigger weapon for this defense.

"Well, the three-down pass rush plan for him, being able to rush from different spots, taking his pass rush to another level, which I actually thought was really good last year," Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said during team OTAs in May when asked what's next for Murphy. "But talk about a guy that has a process that he believes in and just does the daily inputs. I think that's where he's probably made the most strides in his game and where he's at right now. I know he had a great practice, looks great. Just keep on doing his thing."

With Murphy's help in the middle, the Seahawks had the third-best run defense in the NFL last season, holding opponents to 91.9 yards per game on the ground. They ranked 10th in passing defense (193.9) and sixth in total defense (285.6).

"The defending champions are proof that NFL teams can win it all on defense, provided that the offense holds up its end of the bargain," the rival scout said. "Could the Seahawks run it back? Sure, not out of the question, even with a tougher schedule."

The schedule is challenging enough with two games apiece against the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers. The Seahawks played both of those NFC West rivals three times last year, defeating both of them in the postseason on the way to the Super Bowl. Other than the 49ers and Rams, last year's schedule included four other teams that reached the playoffs. The 2026 schedule includes six playoff teams outside the division.

If the Seahawks are going to make a run at repeating, you can be sure Murphy will play a big part in it.

Related: Athlon Sports 2026 NFL Preview Magazine Now Available

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This story was originally published July 13, 2026 at 12:14 PM.