Could Seahawks’ Byron Murphy II answer a problem … on offense?

The Seattle Seahawks’ struggles to run the ball in short-yardage situations have been a glaring problem in recent weeks.

Brock weighs in on Seahawks’ continued short-yardage struggles

The Seahawks keep finding themselves in crucial spots where they need to pick up a yard. And with the offensive line struggling to generate movement up front, they keep falling short.

Facing a third-and-1 in overtime of a Week 9 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, Seattle turned the ball over on down in the red zone after running back Kenneth Walker III was stuffed for no gain on back-to-back runs.

Facing a fourth-and-1 while trailing in the fourth quarter of a Week 10 win over the San Francisco 49ers, the Seahawks again turned the ball over on downs after running back Zach Charbonnet was stopped for no gain.

And while trailing in the third quarter of Sunday’s win over the New York Jets, Seattle failed to score despite having eight consecutive snaps inside the 5-yard line – including five snaps from the 1.

How can the Seahawks fix their short-yardage woes? During Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy on Monday, producer Curtis Rogers floated an off-the-wall idea: What if they Seahawks used 6-foot, 306-pound rookie defensive tackle Byron Murphy II as a fullback in goal-line situations?

The idea might not be as crazy as it sounds. Murphy, the No. 16 overall pick in April’s NFL Draft, scored two offensive touchdowns for Texas last year as a fullback. He caught a 1-yard TD pass against Wyoming and then plowed into the end zone for a 1-yard TD run during the Longhorns’ Sugar Bowl loss to the UW Huskies in the College Football Playoff semifinal.

“We’re at the point of the season now where it’s just kind of like any idea is a good idea when it comes to fixing the Seahawks’ goal-line offense,” Rogers said. “… I get that NFL defensive lines are a little more stout than college defensive lines, but the Huskies’ defensive line last year was really, really good, and Byron Murphy still managed to find his way into the end zone.

“And there is literally nothing else that is working for the Seahawks in these kinds of situations.”

BIG MAN TD 🤘

📺: ESPN pic.twitter.com/F38Z9FdeKq

— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) January 2, 2024

Former NFL wide receiver Michael Bumpus is on board with giving the idea a try.

“I think everything is on the table at this point,” Bumpus said. “I don’t think they’ll do it, but I think that they should at least explore it because it’s frustrating down there. I went back and watched every attempt inside the 5-yard line (on Sunday), and there is just no push from the offensive line.”

With the Seahawks struggling to create a push up front, Bumpus has been clamoring for the team to invest in a true fullback. Seattle doesn’t have a fullback on its roster, but recently has been lining up Charbonnet and backup offensive lineman Jalen Sundell at fullback in short-yardage situations.

Given that he doesn’t think the Seahawks will acquire a fullback at this stage of the season, Bumpus thinks it’s worth experimenting with Murphy in that role.

“They have to do something, because what they’re not gonna do is go out and get a fullback this year,” Bumpus said. “I think maybe next year (they could), because I’m looking at (Seahawks offensive coordinator) Ryan Grubb’s offense and he’s implementing more under-center type stuff. He’s looking at some (de facto) fullbacks. We’ve seen a couple of guys back there. It’s a personnel thing, I think.

“I don’t think he’s gonna do the Byron Murphy thing, but he’s got to at least look at that film and scratch his head and think, ‘Maybe we try it.'”

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