NFL Draft: Newest members of the Legion of Boom

By Zachary Wnek | May 7, 2015

Over the last weekend, certain picks get people excited, like Frank Clark and Tyler Lockett. I’m here today to talk about some of those picks which might have been overlooked. Today we dive deep into the world of the Legion of Boom. Looking at the Seahawks recent draft history (John Schneider and Pete Carroll) some of if not the best draft picks are in the later rounds.

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With the 34th pick of the fifth round, the Seattle Seahawks selected Tye Smith, Defensive Back, Towson.

First and foremost, Towson University is a small school in Maryland, playing in the Colonial Athletic Association. Last year Townson finished 10th out of 12 in the Colonial Athletic Association. However this article isn’t about how people finished last year. This is about next year and the next 3 years with the Seattle Seahawks.

Looking at Tye Smith the first thing that I noticed was his size. Standing at 6’0″, 195 lbs I can’t help but think that he might be a great candidate for gaining some muscle mass and size. However when doing my homework for this article I watched some of his highlights at Townson…. he plays much bigger than his numbers.

I saw Smith moving to the ball with great speed and playing in position to make plays. Looking at how he moves on the field I saw many tip drill interceptions which means that he was in position to make a play on the ball when the opportunity arose. These are all good things. The other thing that surprised me was his ability to initiate the tackle on the outside. He took on taller, stronger looking wide receivers with the Legion of Boom attitude of hit first and collect my thoughts later.

Tye Smith (24) lowering the Boom against the Eastern Washington Eagles. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

This is the type of physical play Seahawks fans have come to love on the outside. To take a look at his combine numbers, he ran a 4.51 and a 4.61 on his two times running the 40 year dash which should give him enough closing speed to jump right into the slot in the Seahawks nickel packages.

However with the Seahawks and Pete Carroll he will have to earn that honor. Beating out Tharold Simon, and Jeremy Lane once he is healthy, and the balance of the entrenched members of the Legion of Boom will be no easy task. I’m very excited about this young man as a great addition to the Legion of Boom and, most likely a situational contributor as he gains experience and size.

There was a second addition to the Legion of Boom over the draft, Ryan Murphy of Oregon State University. Murphy was selected by the Seahawks with the 31st pick in the 7th round (248 overall).

Murphy played safety and returned kicks with the Beavers. Murphy has great size at 6’3″, 214lbs. Ryan Murphy has been known to play a little light against the pass, which seems strange for a defensive back, but he is a bruiser who initiates contact from the backfield.

Looking at his highlight reel Murphy moves across the field in order to make plays to help his team. Murphy appears to play with that fantastic Kam Chancellor ball hawking mind set. Murphy undoubtedly will have his first shot to contribute to the Seahawks on special teams where he can begin to compete in returning kicks. I look for Murphy to compete to play on defense as a situational player this year and hopefully compete for a starting spot in the future.

Ryan Murphy (25) lowering the Boom on Oregon Ducks tight end Pharaoh Brown (85) runs the ball at Reser Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Olmos-USA TODAY Sports

After looking at the new additions to the Legion of Boom I am very optimistic about the future of our secondary. Personally I’m excited to see these guys compete and add their stamp to the Legion of Boom. Great things are ahead for the Seahawks and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Next: Michael Bennett still wants a trade

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