Dave Boling: Seahawks draft pick Byron Murphy II is a perfect fit for new coach Mike Macdonald's defense

Apr. 25—RENTON, Wash. — Conspiracists suggest the NFL scripts its games for maximum viewer interest.

If such string-pulling were plausible, we might suggest that Seahawks General Manager John Schneider had arranged the entire first round of the NFL draft to serve his purposes Thursday night.

With teams gobbling up six quarterbacks in the first 12 choices, and offensive players occupying the first 14 picks, the Hawks were left with almost all the best defenders in college football available for their choosing.

When many suspected that Schneider might be tempted to trade down for extra picks, the Hawks made the call to Texas defensive tackle Byron Murphy II, a 6-foot, 306-pounder who is quick and strong, and disruptive.

To get a player considered the best in the country at a position of greatest need, well, it was almost as if scripted.

For the past couple of seasons, the Hawks had fallen to near the bottom of the league in run stopping. The chronic weakness was obvious and contributed to a sense of futility as opponents consistently overpowered Seattle defenders.

Guaranteed, that was one of the reasons the Seahawks fired popular head coach Pete Carroll and hired a young defensive "wizard" — Mike Macdonald.

So, with the first pick in the new front-office configuration, with Schneider in full control and Macdonald as head coach, the Seahawks found the perfect prospect around whom they can rebuild their defense.

The first big move this offseason was the recent resigning of top defensive tackle Leonard Williams. The second, Thursday night, was picking up Murphy.

If Macdonald, just 36, the youngest coach in the league, was the instigator of these moves, he's pinpointed the primary weakness and has quickly addressed it.

He's reputed to be a smart guy, as a summa cum laude grad of Georgia (finance major). As defensive coordinator for Baltimore, he guided the 2023 Ravens defense to the NFL lead in fewest points allowed, and most sacks and takeaways.

His defense held Seattle to three points in a lopsided Hawks defeat last season, and also shaped the Ravens' defense that held rival San Francisco to 19 points with four interceptions of Niners quarterback Brock Purdy.

With five sacks last season at Texas, Murphy seems able to both rush the passer and stop the run.

As a stout man, Murphy might remind Seahawks fans of a Brandon Mebane.

A little shorter than typical for the position, with a low center of gravity, Mebane had a great motor and could penetrate or root firmly in the hole.

During his conference call, Murphy claimed that the Seahawks were his favorite team as a youth. He sees his strength in his versatility, being "a three-down defender." That, and his aggressiveness.

Macdonald will be able to put that all to use.

At a recent seminar for high school coaches, Macdonald was asked about his demands for players along the defensive front. Quoted from the Seahawks' website, Macdonald said: "We believe in knocking ... the guy in front of you ... and then some."

With one answer, the coach captured the essence of defensive success. Technique? Sure. Scheme? Necessary. But at the root of it all is getting low and dominating another professional who is also well-paid to do the same to you.

And, sometimes, even that isn't enough. We can only imagine that is the reason why Macdonald added the "and then some."

The annual draft has become one of the biggest weekends on football fans' calendars, when ACLs across the country are tweaked from knee-jerk reactions.

Based on one pick, and after having viewed a few online highlights, fans are either certifiably assured of imminent playoffs with their new star, or convinced their team is surely Dumpstered.

The last time the Hawks used a first-round pick on a defensive tackle from Texas, it was Marcus Tubbs in 2004, who showed promise before succumbing to a knee injury.

And the last time they used a 16th pick on a player it was 1991, and the player was quarterback Dan McGwire.

Enough said on that.

Barring trades, Schneider and Macdonald have six more picks on Friday and Saturday to add to their 2024 player grab. So, who knows where it goes from here?

But one pick into their new regime, it all seems to be following the script.