What the selection of Byron Murphy taught us about Coach Macdonald

Brady Henderson of ESPN revealed much of the decision-making process that led to the selection of Byron Murphy II at No. 16.

As we posited before the draft, I believe this reveals a few elements of the new partnership between Mike Macdonald and John Schneider.

1: True top talent. Not a rebuild, not looking for more darts.

I wrote this last week as one of the three paths the Seahawks might take during the draft.

John Schneider will be left with several players who might ordinarily be a top-10 talent. There's a chance they could take the second or third defensive player of the year - at 16!

It's unusual to say the least, and since they don't need a receiver or (hopefully) a tackle, it works in their favor. Besides Troy Fautanu, it means that positional leaders like Byron Murphy II, Jared Verse, or Laiatu Latu might all be in play when otherwise it would be more likely that only one of their ilk would be around by then.

If Schneider picks at 16, it's going to be for someone with a real first-round grade. Perhaps that's what they feel they need to start this new era.

The highlight of both Henderson's piece and Mookie's follow-up were the five teams that looked into trading up to the Seattle pick. Schneider claims he gave strong consideration, but that the player was "too good." They didn't need the extra capital as much as they might if they were...bad.

It's the second time the top brass has indicated the Hawks are not in a rebuild. Nobody's saying they were one defensive lineman away, but it certainly seems they're saying the new coaching staff plus a few pieces will have them closer to the top than last season.

2: Investment up the middle, belief in the edge.

By not going Jared Verse or anyone else as an outside pass-rusher in the draft, the Seahawks reinforced something Macdonald has been preaching since before he got here. He wants to be extremely stout up the middle, force everything to the outside.

With a slew of investments over previous two years in Boye Mafe, Darrell Taylor, Uchenna Nwosu, and Derick Hall, coach Macdonald apparently feels confident they'll be able to get value out of the current rotation.

Conversely, one could argue the two biggest moves that have been made with him as head coach are signing Leonard Williams and drafting Byron Murphy.

3: Reward, not risk.

Henderson's insight about injury concerns was telling. It's the polar opposite of what happened with, say, Darrell Taylor a couple years back. This time, to not have Laiatu Latu on the board makes sense but I'm sure not entertaining Troy Fautanu surprised a great deal of fans.

Additionally, while it's impossible to say anyone is a "safe" pick, Murphy is far more of a traditional immediate-value type of selection. Even Devon Witherspoon at No. 5 last year was questionable in some circles for the simple fact that a corner can be out-schemed in a way that a defensive tackle cannot. Witherspoon showed how he's able to impact the game on a per-play basis, which is not always a given in the way that the guy bulldozing Seattle's the center to smack the quarterback.

The team opted for immediate playmaking at the anchor point of the line, and it's something we've watched the NFC West rivals do for years. Looks like it's coach Macdonald's turn.