Seattle Seahawks Rookie Byron Murphy Draws Comparison to Perennial Pro Bowler

While analysts and fans have made an unfair comparison to an ex-Seahawks nemesis, Senior Bowl director Jim Nagy sees another Pro Bowler in Byron Murphy II's game.

Seahawks rookie Byron Murphy II participates in a tackling pursuit drill at OTAs. / Corbin Smith/All Seahawks

MOBILE, Ala. - Given his scouting background with four different NFL franchises, including spending five seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, Senior Bowl director Jim Nagy isn't a fan of comparing incoming draft prospects with current or former players.

From Nagy's viewpoint, media pundits and draft analysts alike have "overdone" player comps over the years rather than looking at the unique qualities of every prospect as NFL teams themselves do. As just one example, Seahawks general manager John Schneider mentioned former Rams star Aaron Donald when discussing first-round pick Byron Murphy II's skill set shortly after selecting him, only to quickly backtrack with a chuckle.

But every now and then when watching film during the pre-Senior Bowl evaluation process, natural comps will arise and in the case of Murphy II, Nagy can't help but see many similarities to a different defensive line prospect he fell in love with when he was still with the team's scouting department in 2015.

"I stay away from the player comp thing," Nagy said in an interview with the Locked On Seahawks podcast. "But the guy that he reminded me a lot of was Grady Jarrett coming out of Clemson. I want to say I was scouting for the Hawks when Grady came out I think. He was one of my favorite players in that draft and he ended up going in the fifth round."

From a physical standpoint, it's not difficult to see why Nagy saw Jarrett when scouting Murphy at Texas over the past few years. Both players have shorter, compact builds at 6-0 tall and nearly weighed identical weights at their respective NFL combine workouts with Murphy only being seven pounds lighter than the 304-pound Jarrett.

Athletically, the two players nearly mirrored one another in their combine workouts as well. Though Murphy ran significantly faster in the 40-yard dash at 4.87 seconds and also had a higher vertical jump, Jarrett showcased rare change of direction skills with a lightning quick 7.37 3-cone drill and also posted a better broad jump distance. Per Relative Athletic Score, the two tested quite close with Murphy having a slight edge over Jarrett with a 9.23 score compared to 9.14.

Interestingly, Murphy and Jarrett traveled similar paths at the college level as well. Both players had to wait their turn to receive extensive playing time, as Murphy didn't become a full-time starter for the Longhorns until last season and Jarrett similarly wasn't a full-time starter until his junior season with the Tigers. Both broke out in their final seasons on their respective campuses, as Murphy racked up five sacks and 45 pressures last season and Jarrett tallied 10 tackles for loss and 33 pressures in 2014 before each of them declared for the NFL draft.

Despite that production, Jarrett's limited sack numbers coupled with his smaller stature for the position led to him falling all the way into the fifth round before the Falcons selected him. Vastly exceeding his draft position, he has earned All-Pro honors once and made two Pro Bowl teams while producing 34 sacks and 68 tackles for loss in nine NFL seasons, providing a valuable lesson Nagy thinks teams are taking to heart now with similar undersized talents.

"I think over time we've learned, when you get to players that are maybe a little undersized and don't have the measurable stuff you got to sit back and be like 'well who does he remind you of?' Well, in hindsight, Grady Jarrett should have been a mid-first round pick and not a fifth round pick," Nagy remarked. "He's going to be in the Falcons Ring of Honor someday and he's one of the best players in franchise history. So if that's the player he [Murphy] reminds you of, my gosh, if you guys can get a career close to what Grady Jarrett has been for the Atlanta Falcons up there in Seattle, it's a hell of a pick. "

Joining a Seahawks defensive line anchored by Leonard Williams, Jarran Reed, and Dre'Mont Jones, Murphy won't be asked to shoulder the load right out of the gate, and it may take some time before he's able to break into the starting lineup. For the Seahawks, that creates an ideal scenario where the incoming rookie can learn from his veteran counterparts while carving out a rotational role early with hopes of developing into a star soon down the road.

If such circumstances sound familiar, Jarrett traveled much the same path in Atlanta. Back in 2015, he only started two out of 15 games played, but he still had a productive season with 24 tackles and four tackles for loss. Breaking into the lineup for good in 2016 and emerging as one of the league's best game wreckers, he tallied more than 20 sacks over the next four seasons and earned Second-Team All-Pro distinction in 2019.

Considering Murphy comes into the league as a first-round pick with far loftier expectations, the Seahawks will be banking on him being a more impactful player from day one than Jarrett was. Filling a major void that the franchise has had for quite some time, Nagy envisions him being able to live up to that hype and if he develops into the same type of disruptive force as Jarrett or hits an even higher ceiling, Seattle will have hit another home run with its latest first-round selection and there will be plenty of No. 91 jerseys in the Lumen Field stands.

"He's active, explosive. Just a really fun player to watch. That's the highest compliment I can give any player. When I talked to him, especially when I was scouting I'd be like, 'Man, you're one of the finest players I saw play this year.' He's violent with his hands, heavy with his hands, active, never stops. Quick off the ball. You just notice him."