Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald jokes about tempering excitement over Byron Murphy II

The biggest headline coming out of the last few days of Seattle Seahawks training camp practice and their preseason opener is that they have a star in the making in first-round draft pick Byron Murphy II out of Texas . On Saturday night Murphy made quite a first impression against the Los Angeles Chargers, posting an impressive tackle for a loss and just barely missing a sack despite seeing double and even triple teams.

After yesterday's joint practice with the Tennessee Titans, head coach Mike Macdonald was asked about not getting too carried away with the excitement over Murphy. Unable to hide a smile, Macdonald replied that he didn't know what the reporter was talking about.

Assuming that Murphy continues ascending and does become a disruptive star up front for Seattle, he'll be their first dominant defensive lineman since they traded Michael Bennett back in 2018. After the draft, Murphy said he grew up modeling his game after Bennett, for whatever it's worth.

One way that Macdonald is keeping his rookie grounded is not naming him part of the starting lineup right away. On the team's unofficial depth chart Murphy is listed as a backup behind Jarran Reed. It's a sharp strategy for now, but it's only a matter of time before Murphy pushes out either Reed or Johnathan Hankins and becomes a full-time starter.