Seattle Seahawks Looking to Go From Bullied to Bullies With New Draft Class

Emphasizing the line of scrimmage throughout this year's draft, the Seattle Seahawks may not have made any flashy selections, but they addressed their most critical needs to get back to physical football.

Ted Gangi (CollegePressBox)

When Mike Macdonald was named the new head coach in Seattle in late January, many envisioned the Seahawks building a team resembling something similar to what the Baltimore Ravens have under John Harbaugh, his former mentor.

Racing to the top seed in the AFC, the Ravens have a rough, tough squad built from the inside out, ending last season with the top-ranked scoring defense in 2023 and the top rushing team in the NFL on offense.

How do the Seahawks achieve similar success? By drafting players that fit the mold of a physical, tough, grinding team. That starts in the trenches.

Fellow All Seahawks writer Tyler Forness mentioned that Macdonald liked the versatility of this draft class. It looks like the Seahawks also displayed a shift towards being more focused on the trenches and being more physical in general.

Adding punch and athleticism on defense, the Seahawks will be counting on Byron Murphy II to immediately help improve their porous defense upon arrival as a first-round pick. / Bryan Terry / USA TODAY NETWORK

During the last several years of the Pete Carroll era in Seattle, the Seahawks seemed to get bullied in the trenches more often than not. In the final three seasons under Carroll, Seattle went a lackluster 25-26. How many times did we see those teams getting bullied at the line? How many times did they come out of the game saying, “they were more physical than us?"

Hopefully, under Macdonald's leadership, that will be no more.

If that’s the hope, the 2024 draft class in Seattle is certainly a good indication that it’s well on its way. If you want to start taking the lunch money of your opponents instead of getting stuffed in a locker yourself every Sunday, Byron Murphy II along the defensive line is a great start. He knows a thing or two about being a bully in the trenches.

Per Pro Football Focus, Murphy was the top-ranked interior defensive lineman for pass rush grade, and second in overall PFF grade. He also ranked eighth in total pressures along the interior, proving to be as disruptive as any defensive player in all of college football last season.

Murphy didn’t just pick on the little guys on the block either. He posted four pressures against Alabama in Texas’ Week 2 win and he had three games of six pressures or more, all in Big 12 conference play.

On the other side of the line, there’s Christian Haynes out of UConn. Can a brick wall be a bully? In Haynes’ case, it appears so.

Over the last two seasons, in 749 pass blocking snaps, he allowed a whopping one sack. Some might scoff at his lack of elite competition, but a deeper dive suggests that isn’t a correct assessment.

For starters, Haynes earned an 82.9 overall grade against Michigan in 2022. Last year, he played NC State and Duke, earning top marks in those games as well. Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb and the rest of the offensive staff hope Haynes can translate that success to being an elite pass-protecting guard in the league.

The first of Seattle’s fourth round picks, linebacker Tyrice Knight, was disruptive in his own right. He led all FBS defenders with 84 solo tackles, along with 15.5 tackles for loss, with 4.5 sacks, showing off an elite nose for the football and a penchant for disruptive plays with good physicality at 233 pounds.

At tight end, the Seahawks opted for a versatile and tough former Michigan Wolverine in AJ Barner. Unlike some tight ends these days that prefer to be split out wide and be more of a big wide receiver, Barner has no problem getting down and dirty, as he received a stellar 81.4 run blocking grade per PFF. Michigan only deploys tight ends who can hold their own in the run game and he also offers special teams value right away.

Seattle did take two defensive backs on day three in Auburn cornerbacks Nehemiah Pritchett and D.J. James, but they also selected two more players who can contribute along the offensive line in the sixth round.

Offering right tackle and right guard starting experience, Sataoa Laumea comes from a very physical offensive line at Utah. The Utes prefer to bully opponents in the run game and Laumea fits the bill, as a run-first blocker. He graded well in the run game at right tackle as well as right guard.

Additionally, Laumea allowed zero sacks in 388 pass blocking snaps in 2023, so he made stark improvements in his second year as a tackle, showing he can handle all aspects of the blocking game against Power 5 competition.

A relative unknown coming into the draft, Michael Jerrell rounds out the draft class out of Findlay. Being from a Division II school, there is little data to assess his performance. However, winning G-MAC Offensive Lineman of the Year, which he did in 2023, is notable, and he also earned All-American honors each of his final two years with the Oilers.

If you’re counting at home, that’s three offensive lineman, a blue-chip, dominant interior defensive tackle, and a hard-nosed tight end all coming from this class for Seattle, and most of those players will influence the game inside the tackles.

While the 2024 Seahawks still might be a work-in-progress, one thing appears certain: the days of the team getting manhandled along the interior are over.

It seems like Macdonald and the new regime have sights on trying to turn back the clock to the days where Seattle dominated on both sides of the line of scrimmage. Seahawks fans have nearly forgotten what that feels like and if the draft is any indication, the franchise wants to refresh their memory on the field next season and beyond.