So far, as expected, things have been pretty quiet when it comes to Cincinnati Bengals first-round draft pick Myles Murphy.
Other than a fun story about Trey Hendrickson challenging and pushing the rookie already, there hasn’t been a ton of noise about Murphy, which fits alongside his status as a likely rotational pass-rusher at best during his debut season.
But little buzz doesn’t have to be a bad thing.
Case in point, in an ESPN column polling each team’s beat writer, Ben Baby wrote the following about Murphy:
How he has fared so far: The combination of size and speed that Murphy displayed at his Clemson pro day has been evident during offseason workouts. He has looked as explosive as advertised in the team’s position drills. Murphy’s reps have predominantly been with the backups, but the Bengals had a handful of 7-on-7 reps during mandatory minicamp. Cincinnati wants Murphy to be on the field for key pass-rushing situations as the Bengals try to increase their pressure rate. Murphy already has an approval stamp from receiver Tee Higgins, a fellow former Clemson player.
If Murphy already looks the part amongst a defense that includes Hendrickson, Sam Hubbard and Joseph Ossai, that’s a pretty good sign for his trajectory ahead of training camp.
Murphy joining that four-deep rush is why the Bengals made the pick in the first place, so even a quiet bit of buzz for him right now is good news in June.
