Bengals first-round pick Myles Murphy got his first taste of NFL game action against the Packers last week and he got some constructive criticism about his performance this week.
The rookie edge rusher played 34 snaps in the preseason opener and ended the night with two tackles and a quarterback hit. Murphy said he felt he did some good things in the game, but wasn’t as effective as he hoped to be and learned that he needs “more confidence” to go with “a plan when it comes to pass rushing.”
Defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo said that Murphy needs to understand that game situations call for a different level of effort than he might be used to from college or practices.
“Again, I think a lot of those guys, first NFL game, we’ll chalk it up to that,” Anarumo said, via Laurel Pfahler of the Dayton Daily News. “Hopefully, we’ll see an improved group when they’re out there as one, but he’s gotten better every day out here. He’s getting better. He’s just gotta shift it into a different gear when he gets out there in the game.”
The Bengals have Sam Hubbard, Trey Hendrickson, Joseph Ossai, and Cam Sample back as part of their edge rushing group, so Murphy won’t be asked to lead the attack right off the bat. How much he is ultimately asked to do will be related to how successful he is when it comes to finding that extra pep in his step.