NFL teams competing for a Super Bowl hope their incoming first-round picks become meaningful contributors immediately who help the team win now and be stronger in the future. Unfortunately for the Cincinnati Bengals, it currently seems like that won’t be the case with Myles Murphy.
Murphy, a 6-foot-5 defensive end, was taken with the 28th pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. A first-team All-ACC edge rusher at Clemson, Murphy was drafted ahead of players like edge rusher Nolan Smith, cornerback Joey Porter Jr and tight end Sam LaPorta.
- Myles Murphy college stats: 36 tackles for loss, 18.5 sacks in three seasons
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Cincinnati hoped that Murphy, who offers an intriguing combination of size, length and athleticism, could emerge as a third pass rusher for the upcoming season. A few weeks into training camp, though, it appears the rookie is off to a rough start.
Paul Dehner Jr of The Athletic wrote about how the Bengals’ rookie class has performed through 10 training camp practices this summer. While there have been several standouts, the team insider noted that Murphy is one of the young players struggling to make a positive impression.
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Dehner noted that Murphy has been “quiet” through the first 10 practices, spending most of his time with the backups. Reporters did recently get to see the rookie defensive lineman play on the third-down subpackage, the role he was expected to serve this season, but those opportunities have been rare to this point. Overall, Murphy’s performance thus far has been described as a slow start.
“We are not going to overreact to good or bad in the first padded practices. Just continue to improve on his technique and things that Marion (Hobby) is working on with him.”
Cincinnati Bengals coach Zac Taylor on the early struggles from Myles Murphy
It’s not an immediate source of concern from Cincinnati’s perspective. Sam Hubbard and Trey Hendrickson are the starting edge rushers in the Bengals’ defense and both will play at a high level in 2023. Behind the starting duo, Joseph Assai is an ascending pass rusher who should have a much bigger impact in the fall.
However, having a first-round pick largely spend his season on personal development and serves a limited on-field role during the regular season is an inefficient use of a roster spot for a Super Bowl contender. While the Bengals love Murphy’s long-term upside, his slow start coincides with Smith and LaPorta performing well thus far for their respective teams.
