Latest Johnny Newton surgery leaves Byron Murphy in a class of his own

Consensus in the 2024 NFL draft held that there were two high-quality interior defensive linemen: Byron Murphy and Johnny Newton.

The Seattle Seahawks met with both men at the NFL combine, but went with Murphy in the first round, while Newton fell to the Washington Commanders a full 20 picks later.

There may be an answer as to why, as Newton just had surgery on his second foot in half a year.

Newton played through a Jones fracture last season, so now it looks like it’s affected him on both feet.

This continues to strengthen the trend of reports that the Seahawks were simply not interested in any injury risks this draft. Laiatu Latu and Troy Fautanu were both flagged for separate medical concerns, and neither was on the Seahawks’ draft board.

Typically when things happen under this type of timeline, it’s not a surprise to the drafting team.

However, Darrell Taylor is Seattle’s most recent example, and he missed his entire rookie season.

The surgery doesn’t necessarily put Newton’s 2024 season in jeopardy, but for the small handful who held Newton as their preferred pick over Murphy, this would confirm why the two weren’t drafted as close together as people originally projected.

Either way, John Schneider got his guy, and Murphy is poised to be the biggest rookie d-lineman by a long shot.