Myles Murphy had to wait a while to hear his name called in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft on Thursday night, but the former Clemson star defensive end finally came off the board when the Cincinnati Bengals selected him with the 28th overall pick.
During ESPN’s coverage of the draft, analyst Booger McFarland weighed in on the Bengals drafting Murphy, saying he loves his high ceiling but wants to see more consistency from the 6-foot-5, 268-pound edge rusher.
“A ton of upside,” said McFarland, a 1999 NFL draftee. “His freshman year left me wanting more. You want to see it more and more, and you never saw it consistently. I think that’s the thing. He’s got a ton of upside. His good is really, really good, but his bad just leaves you like, how can a guy with those freaky stats, that type of athleticism not make play after play, not make more plays.”
Murphy will be playing for Bengals defensive line coach Marion Hobby — who in the past had two separate stints on Clemson’s coaching staff — and McFarland thinks he will be tasked to get the most out of Murphy’s talent.
“I think he showed you glimpses,” McFarland said, “but it’s going to be up to the defensive line coach, can you get it out of him every single snap with the consistency.”
Fellow ESPN analyst Louis Riddick also chimed in on Murphy going to Cincinnati and said he loves the defensive end room that Murphy is joining, as well as the fact that Murphy will be playing for a defensive coordinator that Riddick is very fond of in Lou Anarumo.
“When you talk about guys like Sam Hubbard and Trey Hendrickson, these guys are motor players, they’re effort players,” said Riddick, a 1991 NFL draftee. “Lou Anarumo, the defensive coordinator, who I absolutely love, will get it out of this guy. I didn’t have any problem with his motor, and I’ll tell you what, he has got power for days.”
A blue-chip recruit coming out of the Atlanta area in 2020, Murphy started 27 of the 38 games he played in three seasons for the Tigers. He led Clemson in sacks each of the past two seasons and finished his career with 17.5 sacks and 139 tackles, including 37 for loss.
An injury prevented Murphy from working out at the NFL Scouting Combine and Clemson’s Pro Day in March, but he impressed during a private pro day workout ealier this month, running a 4.52-second 40-yard dash.
Murphy joins fellow Clemson products Jackson Carman, Tee Higgins and D.J. Reader on the Bengals’ roster.
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